Farmworker news and UFW website-from Bluesteins of Fresno

Sun Jul 23 12:06:10 PDT 2000

Hello, All,

Here is a listing from the Bluestein Clan in Fresno. It contains a good
website  
at the end. Thanks  -sheila

Nice to hear about some successes once in a while.

By OLIVIA GARCIA
Californian staff writer
e-mail: ogarcia at bakersfield.com

WASCO ó Florentina Olvera once worked at a job where she was afraid to
speak up, saw rampant favoritism and endured pay cuts when she
accidentally made mistakes.

"We didn't have a voice," Olvera said, as she saw workers who were close

to managers gain better positions. "Whenever we made an error, they
would take away $1 from us for every mistake."

Now she's at a company where she openly talks to managers, brags about
her benefits and is far more happy than she was a couple of years ago.

Olvera hasn't changed jobs in 20 years. Instead, the job has changed
around her, thanks to a different type of corporate thinking and a newly

cooperative relationship between the company, Bear Creek Production Co.
and the United Farm Workers, which represents employees at the
Wasco-based company.

Bear Creek is the nation's largest rose producer and Wasco's largest
employer, according to Bear Creek officials.

Together, they have formed a progressive six-year partnership,
countering the conventional wisdom that UFW and growers can't get along,

said UFW President Arturo Rodriguez.

With a deep-rooted, sometimes controversial history of advocating for
farm workers and organizing strikes and boycotts, UFW is now also
changing its way of thinking.

Traditionally, the farm worker labor union would treat workers as its
customers and agricultural employers as its adversaries.

Today, UFW sees them both as customers.

"It's unique; it's innovative," Rodriguez said. "This is what both the
employer and the union, both of us, should be looking at more: How do we

meet mutual needs and benefits?

"The employer has needs. The workers have needs. There's no reason we
shouldn't be dealing with them together."

But the process wasn't easy.

The UFW union contract was the first ever in Bear Creek's history.

In 1995, the first year of the labor agreement, management and union
both tested their roles.

More than 130 grievances were filed during the first 18 months. About 16

were filed in the 1998-99 year.

"Both parties worried whether or not they were being taken advantage of
on subtle things like power," said Bill Williams, Bear Creek's chief
executive officer. "Fortunately, we were able to rise above that."

Since the organizations teamed up, Bear Creek and UFW officials said, a
series of changes have taken place. They include:

Between 1997 and 1999, average earnings for hourly workers have
increased from $7.62 to $8.02.

More workers became eligible for paid vacation and holidays, including
one honoring Cesar Chavez, the late founder and president of UFW.

A biannual meeting held at Bear Creek and union sites was created for
managers and UFW representatives.

A leadership group ó  30 union representatives and 30 non-bargaining
unit foremen and lead persons ó has been formed. It started out
examining the labor-management partnership, but its mission has expanded

to include a bilingual curriculum on improving communication and
problem-solving skills.

Through a grant, Bear Creek has sought the help of the Center for
Professional Development at Bakersfield College to teach training
classes in Spanish and English.

Bear Creek is creating a rose in honor of Chavez.

>From March 1995 to March 1998, foremen positions were reduced, saving
the company money, and union-member workers filled those duties as crew
leaders.

The number of injuries have been cut in half and the number of workers'
compensation lawsuits almost eliminated to one a year. Absenteeism and
tardiness have decreased as well.
On a recent day, Rodriguez and Williams walked side by side touring the
Wasco operation, appearing more like pals than business associates.

As they toured the facility, Rodriguez helped translate conversations
between Williams and Spanish-speaking workers such as Amelia Felix. At
one point, Rodriguez teased Williams in good nature about his Spanish
language skills.

But Rodriguez credits Williams with creating the partnership. Williams
was the one who made the first move, calling Rodriguez so they could
talk.

Williams said it was a logical choice, given that workers are
stakeholders as much as customers, investors and suppliers.

"This is exactly what I had in mind," Williams said.

Bear Creek Production Co. has been in Kern County for more than 30
years, employing about 1,400 workers, with its work force peaking
between October and January.

The company grows about 10 million rose plants each year on a sprawling
5,000-acre farm in Wasco. A variety of roses are cultivated, such as
garden roses, tree, shrub and miniatures. At Bear Creek, workers' duties

include rose preparation such as trimming, washing and grafting.

One of the key improvements has been communication, said Everado
Vidales, general secretary of UFW's worker board at Bear Creek.

Workers are more confident that their problems will be heard and solved
by union representatives and management, Vidales said.

Magdalena Reyes agreed. The rose worker is most happy that she receives
health benefits and paid vacation. Previously, seasonal workers weren't
eligible.

But she continues to learn through the training classes that are offered

to them.

"I've learned how to communicate better, and it's helped me at home,
too," she said.

Another rose worker, Amparo Flores, echoed Reyes' sentiments.

"A lot has changed ó especially communication," Flores said. "We have
more confidence. Before, we were scared."

Fear is no longer a part of the operation, officials and workers said.

"We've gone from the traditional labor-management relationship where if
you mess up outside the contract, we grieve," said Ed Cuellar, UFW
partnership coordinator. "We've gone beyond that."

While executives continue to promote the alliance, others say it's still

evolving.

"We're still meeting twice a year at high levels," said Tom Selim, Bear
Creek human resources vice president. "We're still in discovery. We do
know we're on the right track."

Understanding each other is what will make the difference, said Tanis
Ybarra, UFW national vice president.

"These adversarial relationships don't help anybody," Ybarra said.
"You're always going to have problems. You'll have people coming late to

work or don't show up at all.

"We're just trying to deal with the problems on day-to-day basis and not

deal with it as an adversarial issue."

For more information on the Farm Worker Movement visit web site at
http://www.ufw.org and/or subscribe to the Farm Worker Movement list
serve by sending an e-mail to UFW-subscribe at topica.com.  To unsubscribe
send an e-mail to: UFW-unsubscribe at topica.com.

--
Gene & Ellie Bluestein
http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~geneb/

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