[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 31 (Thursday, March 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E360]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E360]]
                       UFW WINS HISTORIC CONTRACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 11, 2004

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I wish to call my 
colleagues' attention to a recent collective bargaining agreement 
between Pictsweet Mushroom Farms in Ventura, California and the United 
Farm Workers. This agreement deserves note on several counts.
  First, it marks the first time since 1987 that the employees at 
Southern California's largest mushroom farm have been able to work 
under a collective bargaining agreement. As a result, 300 workers will 
enjoy higher wages, increased job security, and a company-paid health 
plan.
  Second, it removes Pictsweet products from the boycott list. 
Pictsweet was first organized in 1975 and operated under a collective 
bargaining agreement until 1987, when the plant was bought by United 
Foods Inc. United Foods was intransigent in its refusal to enter a 
collective bargaining agreement with the UFW. In 2000, the UFW called 
for a national boycott of Pictsweet products and that boycott forced 
the plant to cut production by as much as half. By finally agreeing to 
deal fairly with its workers, Pictsweet will become a more profitable 
and productive facility.
  Most importantly, however, this contract is the first to result from 
the enactment of California's law allowing farm workers or growers to 
seek mandatory mediation for farm labor negotiations that have reached 
impasse. Pictsweet was adamant in its refusal to negotiate a bargaining 
agreement. The UFW submitted the dispute to mediation in July and the 
mediator issued a proposed labor agreement on January 30. The company 
has decided to proceed with implementation of the mediator's report. As 
a consequence, the right of workers to benefit from collective 
bargaining has been preserved and the company has the opportunity to 
move from intransigent, ideological views of labor relations to 
pragmatic considerations of how best to work with their workers. 
Pictsweet workers were among the strongest proponents of the mandatory 
mediation when it was under consideration. It is fitting that they and 
their employer are the first to benefit from it.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the workers at Pictsweet and President 
Arturo Rodriguez and the leadership of the UFW for this historic 
achievement. I also want to commend my colleagues in the California 
Legislature for developing a model for the rest of the nation on how we 
can provide workers with a meaningful voice in the determination of 
their wages and working conditions. Legislation that I have introduced 
to restore meaningful collective bargaining rights to American workers, 
the Employee Free Choice Act, includes a similar provision providing 
for mediation and arbitration of first contracts.

                          ____________________