UFW
calls for 'aggressive' heat-illness enforcement [Bakersfield Californian]
A
Central Valley farmworker died Friday afternoon while working on an irrigation
system in Richgrove, prompting the United Farm Workers union to call Monday for
stricter enforcement of heat-illness prevention laws. The 37-year-old man was
checking irrigation equipment in a field owned by Visalia-based Etchegaray
Farms four miles east of Highway 65 when he collapsed, according to a company
report cited Monday by Cal-OSHA. It said the man was unresponsive when
emergency medical workers found him at 3 p.m. Cal-OSHA said it is investigating
the case….A Monday news release from the UFW said the incident "appears to
have been caused by neglect rather than ignorance." Asked why the union
believes the man died of preventable heat illness, UFW Vice President Giev Kashkooli
responded in an email saying, "Ochoa's brother, Alejandro, reported to the
media he and his brother, Juan, were working without shade and that he (Juan)
had to walk approximately three miles to get help."
Editorial: Unions Don't Like
Farm Workers California tries to gut collective-bargaining in agriculture.
[Wall Street Journal]
Jerry
Brown has changed a lot since he was first Governor of California in the 1970s,
but not as much as his old friends in the United Farm Workers. The union has
lost about 90% of its membership, and instead of fighting for labor protections
it is now trying to cram down contracts that strip workers of their
collective-bargaining rights. Exhibit A is the union's gambit to impose a
contract via binding arbitration at Gerawan Farming, one of the Central
Valley's largest fruit growers….The UFW won an election to organize Gerawan in
1990 with merely 536 votes total, and two years later was certified by the
California Agricultural Labor Relations Board. The union held a single meeting
in 1995 but then abandoned the farm due to lack of worker support. No contract
was ever negotiated. The union resurfaced last fall claiming to represent
Gerawan workers—most of whom weren't around when the union was certified in
1992—and demanded a contract that would require field hands to pay 3% of their
wages in union dues. Workers rejected the UFW's second coming since they were
treated well and didn't want to forfeit pay….Gerawan is now suing the board for
violating due process by compelling workers and the company into confidential
mediation without their consent. Workers ought to sue the union for false
representation. Meanwhile, Democrats in Sacramento are rushing through
legislation to let the union force arbitration whenever a contract expires,
thus obviating collective bargaining in its entirety. Why would the union ever
negotiate with an employer when it can get an amenable mediator to impose a
contract? The bill has passed the Senate and is moving fast through the
Assembly. If Democrats lack the spine to stop this union assault, then Governor
Brown will have to protect the rights of farm workers and California
agriculture with a veto.
Dems
draw firm line on path to citizenship [Associated Press]
Setting
up a potential clash with the Republicans who control the House, congressional
Democrats insisted Tuesday they will not agree to any immigration bill that
lacks a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living illegally in
the United States. Lawmakers staked out the position after a private meeting
Tuesday morning between the House Democratic caucus and the four Senate
Democrats who helped write a comprehensive immigration bill that passed the
Senate last month."Without a path to citizenship there is not going to be
a bill, there can't be a bill," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters
after the meeting. The stance is likely to meet quick resistance from House
Republicans who are expected to meet Wednesday on how to move forward with the
immigration issue. Many conservatives who control the House oppose giving citizenship
to people who crossed the border illegally or overstayed their visas. Rep. Trey
Gowdy, R-S.C., who chairs the House Judiciary Committee's immigration
subcommittee, said in an interview that Democrats risk ending up with no bill
at all if they insist on citizenship for all those here illegally."When
the bar has been set, as it has been by some of my colleagues on the other side
of the aisle, that it's full-fledged citizenship for all 11 million or nothing,
because that's so overtly political they may end up with nothing," said
Gowdy.
Grants
spur solutions to address nitrate issues [Salinas California]
No
one likes excess nitrates in Central Coast water. Not farmers, not
environmentalists and certainly not those charged with stemming the problem.
Nitrate contamination is present in many places across the country, but the
Salinas Valley ranks toward the top in terms of the amount present in
groundwater. The primary source of nitrates is from agricultural practices, a
fact not even growers argue with. These nitrates carry serious health and
marine wildlife implications for the valley and Monterey Bay (See related
story). So, armed with recent grants totaling more than $1.25 million, the
Water Quality Protection Program of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
is undertaking two separate projects to address the problem. One will help disseminate
crucial information and the other will provide assistance with nitrate
monitoring systems for growers. The projects are a collaboration among key
partners — including nonprofit groups and agricultural interests — to cut down
on the amount of nitrate contaminated runoff water coming from farming in the
Salinas Valley.
Healthy
habits drive up Solano walnuts' value [Vacaville Reporter]
For
the second year in a row, walnuts topped the Solano Agricultural Crop and
Livestock Report by being the No. 1 commodity, with a value of more than $46
million. And the trend isn't likely to slow down….Joe Martinez, who has farmed
walnuts locally for some 38 years, said the rise in demand is attributed to
recent studies showing the health benefits of including nuts in a diet….He said
demand worldwide has picked up, which benefits the United States….Russ Lester
owns Dixon Ridge Farms and grows organic walnuts. He said the price of walnuts
has increased because the value per ton is higher. He said it's popular to grow
walnuts in the Solano County area because walnuts are less labor-intensive than
other crops -- and the environment is just right.
American
Tastes Branch Out, and Food Makers Follow [New York Times]
While
the effect of changing demographics has been seen in voting patterns and
employment trends, the growing influence on America’s palate of the influx of
immigrants from Latin America and Asia has been more subtle, even as grocery
shelves increasingly display products containing ingredients like lemon grass
and sriracha peppers. For years, multinational food companies have been
experimenting with ingredients, often being unable to find appeal broad enough
to start or sustain a new brand. But as the buying power of Latino and Asian
consumers expands, fruit flavors, hotter spices, different textures and grains
and even packaging innovations are becoming essential for big food manufacturers
trying to appeal to diverse appetites, according to company executives….Two
years ago, for example, the Campbell Soup Company purchased Bolthouse Farms, a
farming company that produces fruits and vegetables, in part to have greater
access to the foods that are more attractive to the new American palate, for
instance salad dressings like Miso Ginger Vinaigrette.
Ag
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