PUBLIC ACTION

Write to Governor Kulongoski and Senator Smith
Update on NORPAC Negotiations

Write to Governor Kulongoski and Senator Smith
June 2004
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski is the first governor to endorse the Employee Free Choice Act, a legislative proposal currently pending in Congress that specifically calls for mandatory binding arbitration, card check elections, and employer neutrality in representation elections (or enhanced penalties against employer retaliation).

Governor Kulongoski has also made his position on farmworker collective bargaining known through his support of the EFCA. He has made it clear that he supports arbitration and card check not just for workers covered by the EFCA, but for all workers, including farmworkers.

Please use the talking points listed below to write to Governor Kulongoski and thank him for standing up for farmworkers' rights:
· Thank you for promoting workers’ rights through your support for the Employee Free Choice Act, and for farmworkers’ rights in Oregon.
· This legislation will ensure that unionization is, as it should be, a decision made solely by workers, preventing or discouraging interference from the employer.
· This is an important step towards leveling the playing field in the unionization process, which is currently slanted to the benefit of the employer.
· Adequate enforcement is key to the success of any laws designed to balance workplace power. Laws without adequate remedies like injunctions to reverse retaliatory actions do nothing to discourage an employer from abusing his or her power.
· As one of the first governors to come forward in support of this legislation, you have clearly demonstrated the importance of protecting workers’ rights in Oregon and nationwide.
· I applaud your position that any farmworker collective bargaining bill in the 2005 session contain card check elections and mandatory binding arbitration in order to win your support and signature

You can mail your letter to:
Governor Kulongoski
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301
or E-mail Governor Kulongoski

Also, please contact Oregon Senator Gordon Smith to urge him to suppor the Employee Free Choice Act. You can use the following talking points for your letter:
· I am writing to ask you to join your colleagues in the Oregon congressional delegation by co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act.
· This legislation will ensure that unionization is, as it should be, a decision made solely by workers, preventing or discouraging interference from the employer.
· This is an important step towards leveling the playing field in the unionization process, which is currently slanted to the benefit of the employer.
· Adequate enforcement is key to the success of any laws designed to balance workplace power. Laws without adequate remedies undermine people’s faith in fairness of the democractic system.
· Strong unions mean good jobs for Oregon and increased prosperity for employers and employees alike.

You can mail your letter to:
Senator Gordon Smith
404 Russell Building
Washington, DC 20510
or E-mail Senator Smith

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NORPAC Update
June 2003
After a series of intense negotiations, PCUN and NORPAC have reached a deadlock regarding the selection of a commissioner, the neutral party responsible for making final decisions on and administering the rules for collective bargaining on selected NORPAC farms.

PCUN and NORPAC entered negotiations regarding the establishment of a framework for collective bargaining on NORPAC member farms following pressure from food service provider Sodexho, Inc. As part of the framework agreement, signed last Feb. 14, 2002, PCUN also suspended its nearly ten-year boycott of NORPAC Foods, Inc. NORPAC is a grower-owned food processing cooperative. The boycott was launched in resonse to worker complaints of poor working conditions on member farms and desire to have union representation on various NORPAC member farms.



Oregon Farm Worker Union "PCUN" and NORPAC Foods, Inc. Create Framework for Managing Farm Labor Relations
February 14, 2002
Governor Kitzhaber helps PCUN and NORPAC Foods, Oregon’s largest food processor reach agreement

SALEM, Ore. – As a result of a two-week mediation effort conducted at the request of Governor John Kitzhaber, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), and NORPAC Foods, Inc. jointly announced today an agreement that will result in labor relations guidelines for farm workers and farmers. The parties will define the specifics for these guidelines in a process they have committed to complete by early May. Additionally, under the agreement, PCUN suspended its boycott of NORPAC products.

NORPAC is a cooperative of 240 Willamette Valley growers of fruits and vegetables. PCUN (Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United) is a union of farmworkers, nursery and reforestation workers based in Woodburn.

The innovative agreement – still subject to ratification by NORPAC’s board of directors – is a direct result of Governor Kitzhaber’s concern about the future well-being of Oregon agriculture, including farm workers and growers.

Ramon Ramirez, president of PCUN, and Rick Jacobson, president and CEO of NORPAC Foods both said the joint agreement holds the promise of a new era in farm labor relations between Norpac and PCUN in Oregon.

“This is an historic accomplishment for farm workers, who will now have clear and enforceable guidelines that provide them with an opportunity to elect PCUN to represent them,” said Ramirez. “If they do elect to join PCUN, it also establishes a framework for contract negotiations with the participating NORPAC member-growers.”

“We are extremely pleased with what we’ve worked out so far because it provides a regulated, fair process that the growers and farm workers are involved in,” said Jacobson. “I appreciate that PCUN has cooperated with us in developing a framework that will bring benefits to farm workers and NORPAC’s participating family farmers.”

Governor Kitzhaber’s mediation process was in part encouraged by the involvement of one of NORPAC’s major customers. Sodexho, the leading provider of food and facilities management in the U.S. and Canada, became involved when PCUN asked them to support its boycott. Sodexho sent a senior executive to Oregon to investigate the situation and then issued a letter urging PCUN and NORPAC to resolve their dispute.

The mediation has been taking place under the direction of the National Consensus Center (NCC) at Portland State University with the involvement of NCC Director Greg Wolf and Mediator Paul F. Stuckenschneider of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The agriculture industry in Oregon is exempt from State and Federal collective bargaining laws. Because of this exemption, and in an effort to provide collective bargaining for some of Oregon’s farm labor force, PCUN called for a boycott of NORPAC products in 1992. NORPAC has maintained that in order for a representation and collective bargaining process to be fair to workers and farmers, there had to be a framework of protective rules for all parties. Both NORPAC and PCUN said today that the current agreement is an important step in the right direction toward providing those guidelines.


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