Farmhands' Union Bill Heads to Governor

San Francisco partner John McLachlan was quoted in the June 21 San Francisco Daily Journal article "Farmhands' Union Bill Heads to Governor." The article cites a proposed California bill that would allow farm workers to organize by submitting a petition to the state instead of holding a secret ballot election. Similar legislation was vetoed four times by former Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger. Opponents of the legislation say it would present a radical change in current practices that would cut employers out of the unionization process. John noted, that while there have been instances of employers intimidating farm workers, the legislation would limit employers' ability to "communicate to employees about the perils or benefits of unionization." He said: "To go from the point of there may be violations [by the employer] to not permitting speech at all is a pretty broad jump. There might not be any opportunity for the employer to say anything on the subject."