A California Bill Would Make It Easier For Farm Workers To Organize Unions

http://www.laborradio.org/node/9250

A California bill could make it easier for farm workers there to unionize. Jesse Russell reports:

Allegedly, six farm workers have died from heat exhaustion this year alone. Since 2003, it has been 15. A new bill that was passed by the California Assembly could make it easier for farmworkers to join a union. Unions could request a “mediated election” which would allow workers to fill out a ballot or in the traditional booth style. The idea is that allowing workers to fill out a ballot away from a booth election would relieve some of the pressure workers are put under by growers as they go to vote. The bill also establishes penalties if union organizers attempt to influence the ballot voting. The bill needs to return to the Assembly for Senate amendments and will then go to the desk of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governor had previously vetoed two similar bills.

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