Sympathy: Work to resume on Friday.

By JACK FOLEY
Mercury News Staff Writer

A sympathetic gesture by the United Farm Workers in response to a death in the D'Arrigo family has led to an agreement that will put union members back to work Friday at the family's farms in Salinas.

UFW members, who walked off the job about a month ago, will also resume contract negotiations Sept. 23, said UFW spokesman Marc Grossman.

"In general, the workers and the union are satisfied,'' he said.

Representatives for the company could not be reached for comment.

The agreement was hashed out Wednesday during an afternoon-long meeting in which attorneys for D'Arrigo Bros. Co. met with two UFW vice presidents and worker representatives to consider a union offer to halt its strike.

The offer, from UFW President Arturo S. Rodriguez, was made Wednesday in sympathy for the D'Arrigo family after the death Monday of David A. D'Arrigo in a car accident in Salinas, Rodriguez said Wednesday.

D'Arrigo, a 41-year-old father of two, was quality assurance manager for the firm, which is owned by his parents. His automobile was hit by a pickup truck near the family's business.

Rodriguez on Wednesday said the union's offer to suspend the strike and strike-related activities against the giant vegetable grower was heartfelt and unconditional.

"There was no way we could sustain the activities knowing what the (D'Arrigo) family was going through,'' he said.

The UFW is attempting to become the bargaining unit for its workers, many of whom have said they do not want the UFW to represent them.

"I know that when Cesar (Chavez, UFW founder) passed away, it had a huge effect on us as an organization and a family; knowing what John (D'Arrigo) and his family must be going through, we felt it was the right thing to do,'' he said. "These are the types of events when you have to re-evaluate and reassess what you are doing.''

Rodriguez stressed early Wednesday that the offer, which was made in consultation with union members, was for workers to return to their jobs with no preconditions.

Rodriguez said he sent a personal letter of condolence to the D'Arrigo family.

"We are very sorry about what happened and certainly have the family and John in our prayers,'' he said Wednesday.

Grossman said the two sides also reached agreement on union access to workers. Agriculture Labor Relations Board rulings allow unions access to workers before and after work and during lunchtime. Grossman said that during the strike the company limited UFW access to lunchtime.

He said Wednesday that the company agreed to let organizers speak with workers before and after work as well.

Asked if the offer to suspend the strike might not be construed as a shrewd attempt to manipulate public opinion and put the company in a difficult public relations position, Rodriguez said, "I don't think we are quite that sophisticated; we are just trying to be very honest about our feelings.''