California Gov. Brown signs bill that will allow regulators to automatically certify farmworker unions if agriculture employers violate union election rules

Andrew Rogers

SACRAMENTO, California , October 10, 2011 (Associated Press) – California will soon punish agriculture employers found to have violated union election rules by letting regulators automatically certify farmworker unions as a penalty.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Sunday that he had signed the bill, SB126.

The bill, by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat from Sacramento, lets the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board certify the union if it finds election misconduct.

Brown, who signed the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act during his first stint as governor in 1975, vetoed another farmworker unionization bill earlier this year. SB104 would have made it easier for unions to organize farmworkers by allowing them to sign petitions away from the fields.

He and Steinberg compromised on SB126 after Brown said Steinberg's first bill would change the framework of the original law.

© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.