Walmart-at-the-Crossroads-FINAL-06.04.15

3. Profile: Gerawan Farming, Tree Fruits Supplier
Gerawan Farming sells grapes, plums, peaches, and other tree fruits to Walmart
under the brand name Prima.
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After Gerawan workers voted for the United Farm Workers
(UFW) union in a state-conducted secret ballot election, the UFW began to negotiate a union contract
with the company in the 1990s. Workers involved in the initial campaign experienced harsh backlash
from Gerawan in response to their union activities, including the illegal firing of union supporters and
the shutdown of farm labor camps. The following years involved several UFW attempts to bargain with
Gerawan, but according to the union, the company maintained its staunch anti-union stance.
Photo courtesy of the United Farm Workers Union
To counter the stern resistance to contract
bargaining by Gerawan and other agricultural
employers, the UFW won passage of California’s
Mandatory Mediation Law in 2002. This law
allows neutral third-party mediators to help
negotiate union contracts when growers will not
agree to them.
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At the urging of Gerawan
workers, the UFW reinitiated union negotiations
with the company in 2004 and again in 2012.
When those efforts did not result in a contract, the UFW filed for mandatory mediation in 2013. State
prosecutors, subsequently, issued a series of formal complaints, tantamount to indictments, against
Gerawan alleging serious, multiple, and repeated violations of state labor laws. According to the
Agricultural Labor Relations Board general counsel, the latest complaint charges Gerawan with aiming
to decertify the UFW and to “prevent [the union] from ever representing its employees under a
[contract].”
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A neutral mediator, personally selected by Gerawan, issued a union contract that was approved
by the state in 2013. The company continues to refuse to implement the contract, which
constitutes another violation of the law according to state prosecutors. Gerawan is a
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