Almost before the farmworker voting rights march set out for Sacramento last week, their 217-mile pilgrimage was cut short by the Governor’s veto of the bill they supported.
The march sought to press Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would have brought farmworker union elections into line with the voting process used in California general elections. Instead, the governor refused to allow changes in a 50-year old election process that workers say favors growers – changes that he has ‘s advocated for in general elections, like the recall vote he just overcame.
«Why was the absentee ballot process good for the Governor when he depended on it to defeat the recall, but not good for farmworkers?» asked Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers.
AB 616 would have made it easier for farmworkers to vote to unionize by allowing them to fill out and mail ballots as absentees, just as voters do in a general election. Under AB 616 a union could distribute ballots to workers at home, which they could mail back to California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board in envelopes that keep the vote confidential, just like voters can do in any political election.
Newsom, in a veto statement, said he «has worked tirelessly to protect and support workers across California.» However, he added, «this bill contains various inconsistencies and procedural issues related to the collection and review of ballot cards.» No specifics were given in the message, or beforehand to the union and the bill’s sponsors.
Presently, workers are forced to vote in polling places on the growers’ or company’s property. Voting by absentee would make it possible for farmworkers to cast their ballot away from foremen and anti-union consultants.
Currently, when workers want to organize a union, they have to sign cards that authorize the union to represent them. The union then presents them to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. If the Board decides a majority of the grower’s workers have signed, and other requirements have been met, it sets up a polling place on the company property. Workers have to cast their votes there, in favor or against the union.
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