Posts tagged Wonderful Company
California’s richest agricultural family is shuttering a farm the UFW sought to unionize
August 14, 2025 // The nursery has been operating at a significant loss for several years, Oster said, but he did not say for exactly how long or just how much it has lost. It was not immediately clear whether UC Daviswould recognize the farmworkers union once it takes control of the nursery. In a statement, UC Davis spokesperson Bill Kisliuk said the university is grateful for the gift, which includes the Wasco facility combined with a $5-million startup donation.
Labor Relations Radio E145: Did you know that 95% of unionized employees NEVER VOTED to unionize? I4AW’s Vinnie Vernuccio explains.
September 4, 2024 // As Americans, every two, four, or six years, we head to polls to cast our ballots for who we want to represent us. For unionized workers in the private sector, the vast majority never voted to unionize. According to a new study [in PDF] by the Institute for the American Worker (I4AW), 95 percent of private sector union workers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) are represented by a union they have never voted for.
‘Unprecedented’ lawsuit could roll back farmworker union wins from 2023 California law
August 25, 2024 // The Wonderful lawsuit is the latest legal challenge brought forth by employers against the ALRB and the state’s landmark 1975 Agricultural Labor Relations Act. This law was the first in the country to grant farmworkers the right to collective bargaining without retaliation, which farmworkers were not granted under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. The exclusion was rooted in racism because, at the time, many of those workers were Black.
A California court just granted an ag giant a win. It could jeopardize new farm union law
July 23, 2024 // Growers’ associations have spent millions running advertisements on Spanish radio networks and other platforms discouraging farmworkers from unionizing, the Sacramento Bee has reported. The industry has also objected to what they say is confusion in how the new law works; the labor board this month was still scheduling hearings on formal regulations to implement the law. Four of the five employers have objected to the new unions, which prompts the board to investigate and hold administrative hearings.
Judge grants temporary halt in UFW’s unionization of Wonderful Co. nursery workers
July 21, 2024 // Within days, Wonderful accused the UFW of having baited the employees into signing the authorization cards under the guise of helping them apply for $600 each in federal relief for farmworkers who labored during the pandemic. The company submitted nearly 150 signed declarations from nursery workers saying they had not understood that by signing the cards they were voting to unionize.
Major agricultural firm sues California over farmworker unionization law
May 16, 2024 // Under the law, once a union is certified, employers must enter into collective bargaining within 90 days, Wonderful said in its lawsuit. That would be June 3 for the newly formed union at Wonderful Nurseries in Wasco, Calif., that was certified by the state’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board. Wonderful filed a complaint with the board, saying its workers didn’t want a union. The company says many employees thought the cards they signed were to access $600 payments under a federal pandemic relief program administered by the UFW, the largest farmworker union in the U.S. The UFW denied the allegation.
Union push pits the United Farm Workers against a major California agricultural business
May 10, 2024 // The 2022 law lets the workers unionize by collecting a majority of signatures without holding an election at a polling place — a move proponents said would protect workers from union busting and employers said lacked safeguards to prevent fraud. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom reluctantly approved the changes with a nudge from the White House after farmworkers led a weekslong march to the state Capitol. Farmworkers in California are overwhelmingly Latino and among the state’s poorest and most vulnerable residents. Many are seasonal workers, which makes it tough to organize a job site, and many lack legal status in the United States. The new law could lead to a rise in union influence and a resurgence of the UFW, which represented at its peak tens of thousands of farmworkers but has seen its numbers dwindle, said Christian Paiz, a professor of ethnic studies at University of California, Berkeley.
Farming giant claims UFW lied to farmworkers to unionize under new law
April 9, 2024 // An apparently successful card check campaign to unionize Wonderful Nurseries faces allegations of a scheme involving $600 federal relief funds.