University of California

10/7/97 News Report -- The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa 

Gallo Vineyards of Sonoma said it regrets that the United Farmworkers Union filed charges of unfair labor practices before allowing the wine company to investigate the charges so it could take corrective action.

"We renew our request to the UFW to work with us in finding out whether there are problems and, if so, to resolve them,'' Gallo said in a prepared statement issued Friday.

The UFW on Friday staged a protest and news conference outside Gallo Sonoma's Healdsburg vineyards to announce it was filing charges of unfair labor practices against Gallo with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, a state agency that mediates farm labor disputes.

The UFW charges that Gallo has discriminated against farm workers who have been active in union organizing. Gallo said the UFW has failed to provide specific incidents of discrimination so it could take ""corrective action'' with the labor contractors it hires to develop and maintain its Sonoma County vineyards.

Gallo has 3,000 acres of vineyards in Sonoma County.

Gallo's stance is that employees hired by the labor contractor are not Gallo employees and would be excluded from the UFW contract now being negotiated. Gallo and the UFW have been in contract negotiations since early September, with another negotiating session scheduled for today at the Hilton Hotel in Santa Rosa.

The UFW said Gallo is using labor contractors to avoid having its growing work force represented by the UFW. Gallo workers in 1994 voted to be represented by the UFW.

""We would stress that we believe the allegations of misconduct have to do with an independent land manager, not Gallo Vineyards. Its employees are not our employees,'' said the Gallo statement.

But Gallo said it would not condone labor law violations by labor contractors it hires.