University of California

10/4/97 News Report -- The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa 

HEALDSBURG -- Flanked by about 100 vineyard workers at the gates of Gallo property in northern Sonoma County, United Farm Workers official Dolores Huerta announced Friday that the union is filing unfair labor practices complaints against the company, even though they are in the middle of delicate contract negotiations.

""Things are moving so slowly in talks that I don't think it will end the talks,'' Huerta said. ""We must let the Gallo company know that we have serious issues that they must meet us on.''

Gallo representatives and UFW officials have been meeting since early September in historic talks between the winery giant and the union started by the late Cesar Chavez. Although spokesmen for both sides had earlier said they would not comment publicly on negotiations, Huerta insisted the UFW announcement did not mean the union was unilaterally walking out.

"We have been at the table more than a month and I don't know why Gallo is holding back, but we need to get the talks moving,'' Huerta said. ""There are a lot more serious measures we can take, like calling for a boycott.''

Huerta and other UFW officials made their announcement late Friday and Gallo officials in the Modesto headquarters were not available for comment.

Huerta said the union would file about a half dozen complaints of discriminatory practices allegedly used by Gallo against workers who have been active in organizing activities. Some complaints concerned discrimination against about two dozen workers and others pertained to only a few people, she said.

Salvador Mendoza, who heads the UFW in Sonoma County, said he had collected complaints from Gallo workers who felt they had been denied better vineyard jobs and had some promotions taken away from them because they were active in the union.

Mendoza also said Gallo is requiring new workers to go through a labor contractor outside of Sonoma County, rather than hiring directly. He said the practice has the effect of excluding local residents from getting jobs at Gallo.

Mendoza said Gallo wants to exclude from any contract those workers who are hired through a contractor, which Mendoza said presents a major stumbling block in negotiations.

According to the UFW, Gallo negotiator Charles Stoll has maintained in negotiations that workers hired through contractors should not be part of the bargaining unit, should not be covered under the union contract and should not be considered union members.

"We want equal benefits for all the workers, no matter what job they perform or where they end up in the fields,'' Mendoza said.

The UFW struggle with Gallo goes back to 1994, when workers in Sonoma County voted to join the union. Gallo challenged the validity of the election and the issue was stalled until July, when the Agricultural Labor Relations Board ordered Gallo to begin negotiating a retroactive contract. The board ruled the company had used administrative appeals and legal challenges to forestall collective bargaining.

A contract between Gallo and the UFW would be precedent-setting because the winery is one of the largest vineyard owners in Sonoma County, and no other winery has a contract with the UFW. Union officials said there was a short-lived UFW contract in 1973 at the defunct Italian Swiss Colony winery at Asti.