Demand Margarita & Valentin Gonzalez and other grape workers get their jobs back

We need your immediate help to force the VBZ grapes and their farm labor contractors to follow the law. Last year, VBZ illegally fired workers for union activity, refused to rehire pro-union workers and threatened workers for supporting the union. This years grape season is now beginning and VBZ is again breaking the law by refusing to hire workers who supported the UFW.

The UFW has just filed new charges against VBZ. Please help workers by e-mailing California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board immediately and ask them to have a quick hearing on these new charges and in the meantime to have the state of California order the company to hire back the workers who are being discriminated against because they voiced their support for the union. Without the ALRB taking immediate action, workers who stood up and asked for a union will continue to lose their jobs.

The UFW had filed for a union election last September. When we filed the request with the ALRB we had more than 65% of the workers sign authorization cards. A week later, due to company intimidation, we lost the election. Several workers also lost their jobs. Additional UFW supporters were not rehired this year.

Two of the workers Margarita and Valentin Gonzalez, tell us how they never had problems with the company until they openly started supporting the union. Valentine said “The foreman spoke to me in an angry manner and made several harassing comments to me, calling me "Mr. Union," saying he knew who the union supporters were, that he was going make life difficult for union members until they quit their jobs.”

On April 7, the ALRB issued a complaint against this company seeking an order requiring the company to stop threatening workers jobs and to return Margarita Gonzalez, Valentin Gonzalez and Richard Soto—who lost their jobs because of their UFW support—back to work with back pay for lost wages.

Instead of listening to the ALRB complaint, the company continued their illegal actions. They not only refused to re-hire Valentin and Margarita, but also carried through on their threat not to hire other union supporters. Additional charges were filed by the UFW on May 1 and May 23, 2007.

Please send your e-mail today. Tell the ALRB that workers can’t afford to wait months for them to issue a ruling. The grape season is starting and workers’ livelihood is being threatened.