Farm workers protest Brown veto of union bill

June 29th, 2011 - Orange County Register - By Martin Wisckol

Farm workers demonstrated outside the state Capitol this morning, protesting Gov. Jerry Brown‘s veto of a bill that would make it easier for them to unionize and vowing to push the measure through the Legislature once more.

The measure would have allowed farm workers to unionize by signing petition cards rather than by holding a secret-ballot election.

In his veto message Tuesday, Brown indicated that he might be agreeable to a version of such a measure in the future, but that he wasn’t yet sure such a big change was needed.

“Before restructuring California’s carefully crafted agriculture law, it is only right that the Legislature consider legal provisions that more faithfully track” the framework of the existing law, he wrote.

In his campaign for governor, Brown said that farm workers should not be squeezed like an orange and then thrown away. Farm workers’ demonstration today reminded Brown of that statement.

“Farmworkers and supporters walked single file by Brown’s office, squeezing juice from orange halves into boxes,” according to the Sacramento Bee piece, which includes a video of the demonstration.