Newsom relents, signs farmworker union bill after pressure from Biden and labor

Gov. Gavin Newsom ended the suspense over a farmworker labor bill by agreeing to sign it two days before deadline and after much prodding by national and state union leaders and President Joe Biden.

Farmworkers in California will have an easier process for forming unions for the next five years under AB 2183, which Newsom signed on Wednesday. The bill lets farm workers vote by mail in union elections, shielding them from potential intimidation from their bosses, says the United Farm Workers, the bill sponsor.

Newsom struck a deal with the UFW and the California Labor Federation to support new legislation next year that would do away with mail in elections, leaving farmworkers with the simpler option to unionize commonly called card check. It is a victory for labor groups after the governor vetoed similar legislation last year. 

Business groups such as the California Chamber of Commerce and the Western Growers Association fiercely opposed this bill. Opponents decried the measure as a move to tilt farm worker union elections in the UFW’s favor. Read more