Coastal Berry Co

A rival to the United Farm Workers union was declared the winner in an election to represent workers at the nation's largest strawberry grower. Final election results at Watsonville-based Coastal Berry Co. showed 725 workers had voted for the Coastal Berry of California Farm Workers Committee, compared with 616 for the United Farm Workers. The Coastal Berry committee already led the UFW by 90 votes in the June 4 balloting, but 92 disputed ballots remained uncounted, until this week.

One of the nation's largest strawberry growers and the United Farm Workers have reached agreement on a new three-year contract, union officials said. The contract freezes wages for Coastal Berry Co. pickers at the current rate of $7.75 an hour for the first year and provides better medical coverage with lower premiums. Wages will rise 1.5% in both 2007 and 2008.

State labor officials have ruled that pickers at the nation's largest strawberry grower should be represented by separate bargaining units in Oxnard and Watsonville, increasing the likelihood that the United Farm Workers will once again represent pickers in Ventura County. The ruling, affirmed Tuesday by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, clears the way for a June election at Coastal Berry Co.'s Oxnard operation.

State labor officials have accused the United Farm Workers union of forcing the dismissal of Oxnard strawberry pickers because they refused to join the labor organization. The complaint, issued last week by lawyers for the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, stems from charges filed in 2001 by the National Right to Work Foundation on behalf of workers at the Coastal Berry Co., the nation's largest strawberry grower.

Strawberry pickers at Coastal Berry Co. voted in favor of union representation Thursday night in a victory for an upstart workers group, and a defeat for the rival United Farm Workers. The Coastal Berry Farmworkers Committee received 523, or nearly 54%, of the 972 ballots cast with the California Agriculture Labor Relations Board. The committee needed more than half the total votes cast to represent workers in negotiating with Coastal Berry, the nation's largest strawberry grower.

One of the nation's largest strawberry growers and the United Farm Workers have reached agreement on a new three-year contract, union officials said. The contract freezes wages for Coastal Berry Co. pickers at the current rate of $7.75 an hour for the first year and provides better medical coverage with lower premiums. Wages will rise 1.5% in both 2007 and 2008.

The United Farm Workers union is stepping up its drive to prevent the formation of a rival strawberry union at Coastal Berry Co., claiming that the company broke labor law by failing to notify 162 of its workers in Oxnard that they could cast ballots.

An upstart labor union was declared the winner Tuesday in an election to represent workers at the nation's largest strawberry grower, more than two months after berry pickers in Oxnard and Watsonville cast ballots in the high-stakes contest. Final election results at the Watsonville-based Coastal Berry Co. showed 725 workers had voted for the Coastal Berry of California Farm Workers Committee contrasted with 616 for the United Farm Workers.

The Western Growers Assn. has sued the United Farm Workers union and Coastal Berry Co., alleging that the Watsonville-based strawberry grower/shipper has colluded with the union to allow the UFW to control the company. The suit also alleges that Coastal Berry, acquired from Monsanto division Garguilo Inc.

State labor officials have ruled that pickers at the nation's largest strawberry grower should be represented by separate bargaining units in Oxnard and Watsonville, increasing the likelihood that the United Farm Workers will once again represent pickers in Ventura County. The ruling, affirmed Tuesday by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, clears the way for a June election at the Coastal Berry Co.'s Oxnard operation.

State labor officials have ruled that pickers at the nation's largest strawberry grower should be represented by separate bargaining units in Oxnard and Watsonville, increasing the likelihood that the United Farm Workers will once again represent pickers in Ventura County. The ruling, affirmed Tuesday by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, clears the way for a June election at the Coastal Berry Co.'s Oxnard operation.

State labor officials have ruled that pickers at the nation's largest strawberry grower should be represented by separate bargaining units in Oxnard and Watsonville, increasing the likelihood that the United Farm Workers will once again represent pickers in Ventura County. The ruling, affirmed Tuesday by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, clears the way for a June election at Coastal Berry Co.'s Oxnard operation.

In a decision that could produce a victory for the United Farm Workers union in Ventura County, a state labor judge has recommended that workers at the nation's largest strawberry grower be represented by separate bargaining units in Oxnard and Watsonville. The decision is considered a coup for the UFW, which last June lost a statewide election effort to represent pickers at the Coastal Berry Co. to a rival union, the Coastal Berry of California Farm Workers Committee.

In a decision that could produce a victory for the United Farm Workers union in Ventura County, a state labor judge has recommended that workers at the nation's largest strawberry grower be represented by separate bargaining units in Oxnard and Watsonville. The decision is considered a coup for the UFW, which in June lost a statewide election to represent pickers at Coastal Berry Co. to a rival union, the Coastal Berry of California Farm Workers Committee.

A rival to the United Farm Workers union was declared the winner in an election to represent workers at the nation's largest strawberry grower. Final election results at Watsonville-based Coastal Berry Co. showed 725 workers had voted for the Coastal Berry of California Farm Workers Committee, compared with 616 for the United Farm Workers. The Coastal Berry committee already led the UFW by 90 votes in the June 4 balloting, but 92 disputed ballots remained uncounted, until this week.

An upstart labor union was declared the winner Tuesday in an election to represent workers at the nation's largest strawberry grower, more than two months after berry pickers in Oxnard and Watsonville cast ballots in the high-stakes contest. Final election results at the Watsonville-based Coastal Berry Co. showed 725 workers had voted for the Coastal Berry of California Farm Workers Committee contrasted with 616 for the United Farm Workers.

In a decision that could produce a victory for the United Farm Workers union in Ventura County, a state labor judge has recommended that workers at the nation's largest strawberry grower be represented by separate bargaining units in Oxnard and Watsonville. The decision is considered a coup for the UFW, which last June lost a statewide election effort to represent pickers at the Coastal Berry Co. to a rival union, the Coastal Berry of California Farm Workers Committee.

State labor officials have accused the United Farm Workers union of forcing the dismissal of Oxnard strawberry pickers because they refused to join the labor organization. The complaint, issued last week by lawyers for the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, stems from charges filed in 2001 by the National Right to Work Foundation on behalf of workers at the Coastal Berry Co., the nation's largest strawberry grower.

The United Farm Workers union on Wednesday appeared confident to score its first major victory in a costly and frustrating three-year campaign to organize laborers in California's burgeoning strawberry industry. State officials counted union-certification ballots into the night from 1,500 employees of Watsonville-based Coastal Berry Co., the nation's largest strawberry grower, which has been torn by fighting between supporters of the UFW and a small upstart union for nearly a year.

In one of its first acts under Democratic control, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board this week voided an election at the nation's largest strawberry grower, handing a victory to the United Farm Workers and its organizing efforts in Oxnard. The board upheld a judge's decision to throw out results of a union election at Coastal Berry Co., the focus of a three-year UFW campaign to unionize the strawberry industry.