Blue Diamond workers need a union

Some 600 people process and pack almonds and ship them all over the world from the Sacramento, California plant run by the Blue Diamond Growers cooperative (BDG). California leads the world in almond production and BDG calls this plant the world’s largest. And the workers at this world-class facility have been organizing since September 2004 to join the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

They’re bringing Cesar Chavez’ vision from the fields to the line.

The Blue Diamond workers want the respect and recognition that comes with a union contract. They want to sit down with BDG and negotiate wages that keep up with the cost of living. They want affordable health care and a safe and healthy workplace.

Many of the workers have given BDG 30 years or more. Their wages have crept up. The costs of health care, gas and rent have shot up. People go to work hurting every day from carpal tunnel and other injuries. Because they have no union contract, the workers can be fired at any time for any reason or none.

Since they started organizing, the company has raised wages and made it easier to qualify for benefits. But the workers know how they got these gains and how quickly they could lose them--unless they get a union.

Blue Diamond workers need your help

The company came down hard on the workers’ organizing.

Blue Diamond fired four union supporters for the flimsiest of reasons. It threatened that people would lose their pensions if they brought in the union, or else the plant would have to close. It interrogated people about their support for the union.

U.S. labor law enforcement is slow and feeble.

U.S. labor law bars such firings, threats and harassment. A judge for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency which enforces that law, found Blue Diamond guilty of 20 violations in March 2006. The judge told the company to re-hire two of the fired workers, give them back pay plus interest, and post a notice promising to follow the law. Though the company did bring back the fired workers, it paid no penalties beyond their back pay. It fired two more people--one for taking home two empty cardboard boxes. That case is on appeal. Union supporters say BDG continues to harass them, and fear hangs over the plant.

Fear robs workers of free choice.

Blue Diamond needs to sign on to fair election rules. Standard NLRB election rules let management keep its huge advantage. The employer has power over the workers and easy access to them. The union has neither. Fair rules level the playing field. Under fair rules, Blue Diamond would promise to step back and stop its harassment and threats. Union supporters could speak freely, and union reps would have access to the plant. The election would take place on neutral ground. Without such fair rules, fear would still pollute the atmosphere in the plant. Fair rules protect the workers’ freedom to decide for themselves whether or not they want a union.

Like the farmworkers in the 1960s and ‘70s, the Blue Diamond workers know they cannot win justice alone. They are weaving a web of solidarity that stretches from Sacramento clear around the world. With your help, the web can grow!

(View PDF Copy)

• Photo Journal