ALRB Pushes Worksite Access in Upcoming Public Hearings

By Laurie Greene, Editor

Announced TODAY, The Agricultural Labor Relations Board ( ALRB) will be traveling to key agricultural areas in the state next month to hear comments from  farmworkers, employers and the public on the ALRB’s proposed rule to permit ALRB staff worksite access to educate farmworkers and field supervisors about the rights and responsibilities provided by the Agricultural Labor Relations Act (Act).

The public hearings will be held in Fresno, Salinas, Santa Maria and Oxnard, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or until such time that all public testimony has been received.

Further information about the hearings appears at the end of this article.

THE PURPOSE OF THE ACT

The ALRB reports:

In 1975, the California State Legislature passed the Agricultural Labor Relations Act guaranteeing certain rights to California farm workers. The purpose of the Act is to “ensure peace in the agricultural fields by guaranteeing justice for all agricultural workers and stability in labor relations.” The Act states that it is the policy of the State of California to encourage and protect the right of farm workers to act together to help themselves, to engage in union organizational activity and to select their own representatives for the purpose of bargaining with their employer for a contract covering their wages, hours, and working conditions. The law prohibits the employers from interfering with these rights, protects the rights of workers to be free from restraint or coercion by unions or employers, and it prohibits unions from engaging in certain types of strikes and picketing.

The Agricultural Labor Relations Board is the agency which administers the Act and protects the rights of agricultural employees in various ways. For example, the Act creates a method by which workers may select a union or other representative to bargain with their employer if they wish. Agents of the Board conduct secret ballot elections to determine whether workers wish to be represented and if so, by whom. Also, the Act gives authority to the ALRB to investigate, process and take to trial employers or unions who engage in actions which the Act describes as “unfair labor practices” (ULPs). When Board employees conduct an investigation and obtain enough evidence to show that an unfair labor practice has been committed, a “complaint” is issued and a hearing is held at which each party has a right to present its side of the case. The Act guarantees the rights of employees to engage in, or to refrain from, union activities or “concerted activities,” such as acting together to help or protect each other in matters related to their employment.

ALRB HEARINGS AND LOCATIONS

• Each facility will accommodate between 150-200 persons.
• Spanish, Mixtec, Trique and Hmong interpreters will be available for language assistance. Other language services are available upon request.
• The hearings will be recorded and an electronic copy of the transcript will be available.

FRESNO

Wednesday, September 9th

Doubletree by Hilton Fresno Convention Center 2233 Ventura Street, Salon C, Fresno (559) 268-1000

SALINAS

Monday, September 14th

Elks Lodge, 614 Airport Boulevard, Salinas  (831) 424-8039

SANTA MARIA

Tuesday, September 15^th

Santa Maria Inn, 801 South Broadway Santa Maria (805) 628-7777

OXNARD

Wednesday, September 16th

Courtyard by Marriott, 600 E. Esplanade Drive Oxnard (805) 988-3600

You may contact the ALRB Executive Secretary’s Office at (916) 653-3741 or jbarbosa@alrb.ca.gov with any questions.