ILWU International Vice President Robert McEllrath (at podium) introduces some of the Blue Diamond workers, who were being honored at the U.C. Berkeley Labor Center’s gala April 27. The Labor Center dedicated this year’s fundraising event to “rank-and-file working people who have put in extra effort, courage and vision to make this a better society for everyone.” Eugene Esparza (far left) accepted the award on behalf of his co-workers, with (left to right) Petra Esparza, Randy Reyes, Laura Reyes, Danny Hessel and Gloria Hessel accompanying him. “Blue Diamond campaigned hard against the union,” Esparza said. “The NLRB decision has helped bring back two employees with a total of 55 years at the company…I would like to thank ILWU Local 17 and everyone who has helped with our struggle. We still have a long way to go but we’re very grateful for your support.” The Labor Center, which carries out research and education projects to help workers and their organizing efforts, honored the Blue Diamond workers “for their courage and perseverance in standing up for the freedom of association in the face of illegal and unethical employer intimidation.” Photo by: David Bacon.
By Marcy Rein
SACRAMENTO—The Capitol hearing room got so quiet it seemed like everyone was holding their breath. Some 60 people had gathered for a forum on the Employee Free Choice Act hosted by U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) and joined by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento). Ivo Camilo from Blue Diamond Growers was describing what happened to him exactly a year before, while he and his co-workers were organizing to join ILWU warehouse Local 17.
“In March 2005, we went public with our demand to gain a voice and respect on the job,” Camilo said. “A month later I was fired."
“Management accused me of ‘willfully contaminating the almonds’ and on April 20th at 2 p.m. two supervisors escorted me out of the building. I was suspended pending investigation. I was asked to surrender my badge. I thanked the company for the 35 years that I had worked with them, and left the property,” Camilo said.
For a minute he couldn’t go on. He swallowed hard. He pushed up his glasses and wiped tears out of the corners of his eyes, then continued. “After losing my job I felt angry and betrayed,” he said. “I also learned that I would do it all over again. I would join the organizing committee and speak with my co-workers about the need for health coverage, better wages and better conditions at work.”
Four days after the hearing, Camilo and fellow organizing committee member Mike Flores were getting congratulatory hugs from co-workers as they stood outside the plant in the 6 a.m. chill, ready for their first day back at work.
The National Labor Relations Board found Blue Diamond broke labor law when it fired Camilo and Flores. In a March 17 ruling, NLRB Administrative Law Judge Jay R. Pollack ordered the company to rehire them. Judge Pollack also found Blue Diamond guilty of illegally disciplining Alma Orozco, illegally interrogating workers about their union sympathies and illegally threatening them with plant closure and loss of pensions and other benefits.
Blue Diamond insisted it had done nothing wrong. It vowed to appeal the order. The NLRB was also seeking a court order against the company. Blue Diamond said it would fight that too.
But then the company blinked. It let the April 14 deadline for appeals go by.
Blue Diamond Growers Organizing Committee member Ivo Camilo gets a hug from a co-worker as he returns to his job on April 24 after a year's absence. The NLRB ruled that Blue Diamond illegally fired him because he supported the union. The company had to rehire him and give him back pay with interest. Photo by: Marcy Rein.
“The union is glad to see that Blue Diamond recognizes they’re not above labor law,” Local 17 Secretary-Treasurer Jack Wyatt, Sr. said. “Local 17 will remain vigilant to see the company respects the rights of its workers.”
Inside the plant, the company only announced the decision not to appeal in two departments, committee member Cesario Aguirre said.
“The supervisor in manufacturing just said it would be a waste of time and money to appeal. This says to me everything is still business as usual,” Aguirre said.
Despite the ruling, the company has continued to harass union supporters. The ILWU filed more unfair labor practice charges March 20 on behalf of Aguirre and fellow committee member Leo Esparza. BDG wrote up Aguirre for putting aside his safety glasses for a moment to examine a sinkhole he was drilling. They fired Esparza for pulling a broken weed-whacker out of the trash and taking it home without a “property pass.” In the past Esparza had scavenged many items from the garbage without being disciplined. Once he even tied an old desk to the top of his car and drove right past security with it.
The weaknesses in labor law mean the damage to people’s lives and their rights still lingers. Camilo was out of work for a full year, Flores for 10 months.
“Getting the decision from the NLRB has helped the vibe in the plant, but people are still scared,” committee member Randy Reyes said at the forum.
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) discussed at the forum aims to make the organizing process fairer by stiffening the penalties for employers who break the law. Rep. Miller introduced EFCA (H.R. 1696/S. 842) in April 2005 with 212 co-sponsors, including Rep. Matsui.
Under EFCA, employers found guilty of illegally firing workers during a drive would have to rehire those workers and pay them triple back pay. Employers could be fined up to $20,000 per violation committed to thwart organizing, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) would have to seek court injunctions against employers if there was “reasonable cause to believe” their law-breaking would have a major impact on an organizing drive.
So if EFCA were in place now, the NLRB could have gone to court just after Camilo and Flores got fired and asked for an order putting them back to work. The company could be facing as much as $560,000 in fines for its illegal threats and firings. Instead it only has to pay out about $60,000 in back wages plus interest.
EFCA would also make it easier for workers to get representation. Card-check recognition would replace NLRB elections a way of seeing whether a majority of workers want to join a union. Under a “card check” agreement, the employer has to recognize the union if a majority of workers in a shop sign cards or petitions saying they want representation. Current law allows card check but doesn’t require it. Most employers refuse card check. They prefer the more drawn-out election procedure, which gives them time to campaign against the union.
Workers from Cingular Wireless joined those from Blue Diamond at the Sacramento forum. Rosa Samaniego and Cherie Heinze talked about their experiences organizing under the neutrality card-check agreement between Cingular and the Communications Workers of America. The 800 workers in Cingular’s Sacramento call center and more than 100 in local Cingular retail stores joined CWA in October after a majority signed cards confirming that they wanted CWA to represent them.
“Prior to the neutrality agreement, we couldn’t go into the stores,” Cherie Heinze said. “After the agreement, we had access and could even sit in the break room to answer questions and give information.
“Organizing a union with neutrality in place allows workers to get information and enables them to be able to truly make a free choice on the question of union representation,” she said.
This sounded good to the Blue Diamond workers, who have already been working hard for a year and a half.
“We want what they have,” committee member Ann Hurlbut told Reps. Miller and Matsui. Working closely with the International Organizing Dept. and Local 17, the committee is aiming to get a neutrality agreement from the huge almond cooperative, as a first step towards representation and a contract.
After Camilo and Flores walked back into the plant April 24, lead organizer Agustin Ramirez took a moment to reflect. “This was huge for the workers,” Ramirez said. “It was a huge step, but a huge step on what could be a very long road.”
