Fresno
County farmer challenges state's mandatory labor mediation [Fresno Bee]
A
Fresno County farming company is suing the state, saying it unfairly imposed a
requirement to negotiate with a labor union on behalf of thousands of its
workers. Gerawan Farming Company, one of the largest tree fruit growers in the
state, is suing the Agricultural Labor Relations Board and the United Farm
Workers union, alleging the state failed to meet the requirements for imposing
mandatory mediation against the company.…The lawsuit stems from a recent push
by the union to represent more than 3,700 Gerawan workers, 22 years after it
won the right to do so. Although the company was shocked that the union
resurfaced after a two-decade lapse, it agreed to negotiate a contract. The two
sides met in 10 bargaining sessions and company officials were pleased with the
progress, according to the lawsuit. But on March 29, the union filed a demand
with the ALRB to force Gerawan into mandatory mediation.
Senate
bipartisanship on display, briefly, as committee focuses on border security
[New York Times]
As
the Senate Judiciary Committee began plowing through more than 300 amendments
intended to reshape — and, in some cases, derail — legislation to overhaul the
nation’s immigration laws, signs of bipartisanship emerged Thursday, with the
committee accepting at least eight Republican proposals to strengthen border
security….At the same time, members of the bipartisan group — as well as
Democrats on the committee — were eager to demonstrate that they were operating
with an open mind and a willingness to accept Republican suggestions to improve
security at the border. By Thursday afternoon, they were pointing to the eight
approved Republican measures as a sign they had done just that, hoping to
increase Republican backing for the bill….Despite the generally congenial tone
and the roughly two-dozen amendments, from both Democrats and Republicans, that
ultimately passed, tempers were running high by the end of the day.
ACID
looks at selling water to San Joaquin Valley farmers [Redding Record
Searchlight]
A
statewide drought could pay off for the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation
District. A group representing agricultural irrigation districts in the San
Joaquin Valley has offered to buy water from the district, which would enable
the district to raise $475,000 from selling the water this summer. But some
customers say the district is likely to face turbulence Wednesday when the
board of directors considers the issue.
Officials
warn of potential damage caused by water hyacinth [Stockton Record]
For
three months this past winter, cargo vessels pushing up the Stockton Deep Water
Channel were forced to drop anchor at nightfall, delaying their arrival at the
Port of Stockton. Why? Radar systems could not distinguish between land and the
dense, floating mats of water hyacinth. Any delay in shipping costs about
$2,000 per hour per vessel. If 50 vessels each lost a night's work this past
winter, the total cost of the hyacinth infestation might have topped $1
million, a port official said at a state Senate subcommittee hearing in
Stockton on Thursday.…And if you eat, you're affected. The cost of agricultural
shipping delays is ultimately passed on to consumers, Wingfield said - to the
fertilizer dealers, to the farmers and finally to customers at the grocery
store.
Citrus
disease with no cure is ravaging Florida groves [New York Times]
Florida’s
citrus industry is grappling with the most serious threat in its history: a
bacterial disease with no cure that has infected all 32 of the state’s
citrus-growing counties. Although the disease, citrus greening, was first
spotted in Florida in 2005, this year’s losses from it are by far the most
extensive. While the bacteria, which causes fruit to turn bitter and drop from
the trees when still unripe, affects all citrus fruits, it has been most devastating
to oranges, the largest crop. So many have been affected that the United States
Department of Agriculture has downgraded its crop estimates five months in a
row, an extraordinary move, analysts said….Florida is no longer alone in its
battle against greening. The disease has spread to Texas, California and
Arizona, where officials are anxiously watching developments in Florida. They
are also joining the fight to speed up research.
Editorial: U.S. Senate needs
to tweak bill on big water projects [Sacramento Bee]
The
water infrastructure of the United States is aging, and aging fast. Yet
Congress hasn't enacted a Water Resources Development Act, authorizing U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers projects and providing policy direction, since 2007.
Senate bill 601, now on the Senate floor, is an achievement. California Sen.
Barbara Boxer, who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, won a
rare unanimous vote to get the bill to the Senate floor….But the rare unanimity
in the Senate committee has come at a cost. Under the guise of
"streamlining," Boxer has allowed provisions that would make the
environmental review process of Corps projects more bureaucratic while
undermining the nation's bedrock environmental laws.
Ag
Today is distributed to county Farm Bureaus, CFBF directors and CFBF staff, for
information purposes, by the CFBF Communications/News Division, 916-561-5550; news@cfbf.com.
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