San Francisco Labor Council Supports the Driscoll's Boycott Global Day of Action

Resolution in Support of the Sept. 29 Global Day of Action for the Driscoll's Boycott and in Support of the San Quintín (Mexico) Farmworkers

Whearas, on July 14, 2015 the San Francisco Labor Council adopted a resolution in support of the 70,000 farmworkers in the Valley of San Quintín, Baja California (Mexico), who have been waging intermittent strikes and organizing mass mobilizations since mid-March 2015 to demand an increase in their daily wage, an eight-hour workday, healthcare, overtime pay and vacation days, an end to the widespread sexual abuse, and, most important, the legal recognition of their independent union and the signing of a collective-bargaining agreement; and

Whereas, the San Francisco Labor Council noted that these farmworkers pick strawberries, tomatoes, and other fruit primarily for export to the United States under the label of Driscoll's, through its Mexican subsidiary, BerryMex; and

Whereas, the San Francisco Labor Council voted to call upon the entire trade union movement in the United States to add Driscoll's to their "Do Not Patronize" list and to actively promote a boycott of Driscoll's produce; and

Whereas, in a resolution adopted July 14, 2017 in opposition to NAFTA and in support of workers' rights in Mexico, the San Francisco Labor Council reiterated its support for the San Quintín workers and their struggle to get Driscoll's to sit down with the leadership of their independent union - the SINDJA - and sign a collective-bargaining agreement that addresses the workers' just demands; and

Whereas, the leadership of the Alianza de Organizaciones Sociales and of SINDJA have called for a Global Day of Action on September 29, 2018, in support of the Driscoll's boycott and in support of the farmworkers' fight to obtain a collective-bargaining agreement;

Therefore be it Finally Resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council will forward this resolution to other Bay Area labor councils and to the California Federation of Labor for concurrence.

Submitted by Alan Benjamin, OPEIU 29; Olga Miranda, SEIU 87; Alisa Messer, AFT 2121; Vince Courtney, LIUNA 261; Conny Ford, OPEIU 29; and Shelia Tully, CFA, and adopted unanimously by the San Francisco Labor Council on September 10, 2018.

Respectfully,

Rudy Gonzalez
Executive Director
OPEIU 29 AFL-CIO 11

San Francisco Labor Council
1188 Franklin Street, Suite 203
San Francisco, CA 94109

http://sflaborcouncil.org/