Taylor Farms workers help push CA bill to protect temp workers

The Teamster organizing struggle at Taylor Farms in California moved to the state capitol yesterday where workers helped push forward a bill to make companies responsible for workers hired through temp agencies.

AB 1897 passed the Committee on Labor and Employment on a party-line vote in a defeat for the 25 corporate lobbyists who tried to paint the bill as a "job killer." Lawmakers, including Republicans on the committee, highlighted Taylor Farms as a "bad apple" whose abusive labor practices make laws like AB 1897 necessary. The California Labor Federation and Teamsters from Locals 439 and 601 stood with Taylor Farms food processing workers who traveled to Sacramento to lobby in support of the legislation.

Teamsters with Assemblymember
Roger Hernandez, author of AB 1897

AB 1897 would hold companies accountable to the temp agency workers they hire -- workers who they constantly deny responsibility for yet depend on for labor. The law will require companies to ensure that the temp workers they use are getting fair pay and a safe work environment, and that the agencies are paying their fair share in taxes.

Taylor Farms workers know firsthand how exploitative the labor contracting system is. At its plants in Tracy, Calif., the company hides behind two staffing agencies, SlingShot and Abel Mendoza. The agencies, which staff up to two-thirds of the facilities, allow the company to get away with serious labor violations. One young worker with SlingShot has worked at Taylor Farms for 10 years -- he started working there on the onion line when he was 9 years-old.

When workers are injured, the company and temp agencies deny being the "employer of record" so workers can't get compensation. Taylor Farms pays Abel Mendoza $14 per hour for each worker but Abel Mendoza pays the workers only $8 per hour, costing already impoverished workers over $10,000 a year.

The temp labor contracting scheme also allows companies like Taylor Farms to crack down mercilessly on workers who try to organize. When Taylor Farms workers tried to join Teamsters Local 601, the company retaliated with a non-stop fear campaign run by paid union-busters who threatened and harassed workers, especially immigrant workers. The company got rid of pro-union workers by making the agencies fire them.

All of this made it easier for the company to effectively steal the election when workers held their vote on union representation, forcing the NLRB to impound ballots while it investigates Taylor Farms' extreme misconduct.

By making companies like Taylor Farms responsible for all of their workers, including "temps," AB 1897 will make it harder to violate workers rights with impunity. Teamster friend Roger Hernandez, a California assemblymember for the 48th District, authored AB 1897 with Taylor Farms workers in mind -- similar to his anti-retaliation law signed by the governor which was inspired by Marquez Brothers workers' fight for Teamster representation.

While the NLRB investigates charges against the company, Teamsters and Taylor Farms workers are expanding the campaign for union representation in Tracy by reaching out to allies, the media and political leaders.


Teamsters, Taylor Farms workers at the state capitol

AB 1897 now moves to the Appropriations Committee. As the labor contractor system has moved from the fields of the Central Valley into the food processing facilities -- and as corporations throughout the economy increasingly adopt this employment scheme -- laws like AB 1897 are becoming more urgent than ever.

Taylor Farms workers and the Teamsters plan to continue holding up Taylor Farms as a poster child for temp labor abuses.

No ICE for Calif. employers

The Teamsters are hailing the passage of a trio of California bills this week that protect immigrant workers from abusive employers. The measures crack down on retaliation when workers attempt to organize or speak out against unfair treatment or wage theft. They now head to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk for his consideration.

The governor has until Oct. 13 to act on all three bills.

AB 263, offered by Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, and SB 666, sponsored by Sen. Darrell Steinberg, are identical versions of the same bill. They help enforce basic labor laws by barring bosses from calling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials after working condition complaints are filed against the business. AB 524, offered by Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, prohibits similar threats against workers who file complaints about not being paid fairly.

Art Pulaski, the California Labor Federation’s executive secretary-treasurer, said the legislation plays an essential role:

Employers should be on notice that with these bills, retaliating against workers who stand up for their basic rights will have serious consequences. These new protections are vital to protecting all workers who are afraid to report these abuses.

The lengths companies will go to in an effort to keep their workers quiet was on full display earlier this year during a committee hearing. Owners of the Marquez Brothers cheese facility in Hanford intimidated one worker who testified before the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee in March. The company hired notorious labor-hating law firm Littler Mendelson to follow her and other employees who attended the hearing in Sacramento. The testifying employee, a mother of four, was later fired by Marquez.

Workers at the Marquez plant have been trying to negotiate a first contract as Teamsters for about a year, to no avail. But at least the company’s workers will be allowed to speak out, said Gerardo Aguirre, a former Marquez worker who was fired while standing up for his rights:

The workers at Marquez Brothers are united in standing up to intimidation, at work and in the state legislature. We need laws that allow all workers to speak up and protect immigrant workers from these kinds of abuses.

Gov. Brown has until Oct. 13 to sign them into law.

California's newest state lawmaker loves being a Teamster

Lorena Gonzalez is a Teamster. She is also California's newest assemblywoman and the union's first member ever to be elected to state office there.

A dues-paying member of Local 36 since 2007, she was elected on May 21 in a special election to represent the San Diego area's 80th district. She found out she's the first active Teamster to be elected to state office from Joint Council 42's newsletter. (We found out on Twitter!)

Joint Council 42 President Randy Cammack said Assemblywoman Gonzalez has done a great job working with organized labor and  unionists for years. She previously served as chief executive officer and secretary-treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council. Said Cammack:

We're very proud of her and and the efforts of Teamsters to help get her over the top on election day.

The daughter of an immigrant farm worker and a nurse, she understands the struggles of hard-working families and how government can help. That's why she was pleased she got to cast one of her first votes to raise California's minimum wage:

I came up here to represent working people, those who have a union, want to have a union and those who work hard and will never have a union. I loved working in organized labor and loved being a member of the Teamsters and will continue to be.

She has seen firsthand how workers -- especially immigrants -- are threatened by employers when they try to unionize or report illegal wages and working conditions. She said just last month one San Diego hotel boss threatened to call immigration on his employees in attempt to stifle a union drive.

AB 263, currently being considered in the Legislature, could go a long way toward helping the situation. The bill would stiffen fines on employers who retaliate against workers for speaking out about being exploited:

It is difficult enough with our broken federal labor laws to organize. When you lay on top of that people who have immigration issues, it not only is difficult, it becomes dangerous. A number of things could happen. They could lose their job. We have seen a number of things happen to a person who is just trying to get by for their families and their kids.

Sister Gonzalez says she plans to champion both labor and education issues while in the Legislature. A single parent herself, she is a strong supporter of a state-subsidized child care bill that made it through the Assembly already. She also touts the need to improve technical job training for high school students who don't plan to attend college.

You can follow her on Twitter at @LorenaGonzalez.