Court rules UFW won’t represent Wonderful Nurseries workers, for now

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — For the time being, United Farm Workers (UFW) is no longer representing Wonderful Nurseries employees.

A Kern County judge on Thursday granted a preliminary injunction in the case of Wonderful Nurseries versus United Farm Workers and California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB),
stating, “… public interest weighs in favor of preliminary injunctive relief given the
constitutional rights at stake in this matter.”

The case has been a months-long back and forth that turned into legal battles on whether Wonderful employees were tricked into unionizing with the UFW.

That’s an allegation the UFW strongly denies.

The debate began with a new California card check law that took effect in 2023 — if a majority of employees sign an authorization card, then all employees become part of a union. The matter now focuses on the greater question of whether this new law is, in fact, constitutional.

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The California Agricultural Labor Relations Board — also a defendant in this lawsuit — has already certified the signatures UFW submitted. That decision too has been the subject of an ongoing hearing at the state level.

Wonderful and 148 of its workers allege they were tricked into signing a card and want out. The next court date is set for August 23.

Below is the full statement from Wonderful Nurseries.

We are gratified by the Court’s decision to stop the certification process until the constitutionality of the Card Check law can be fully and properly considered. The Court has determined the Card Check law is likely unconstitutional, and it recognized that, absent an immediate injunction, Wonderful would suffer largely irreparable harm if forced to comply with the certification. In addition, farmworkers had been wrongly barred from objecting to a union being forced on them, and this ruling states that Wonderful indeed has the standing to fight to ensure those constitutional rights of farmworkers, including their due process and First Amendment rights, are not violated. As the Court said, this ruling is in “the public interest.” Most importantly, it is a victory for farmworkers, who, like all citizens, deserve the basic right to a fair election, a secret ballot, and a process free of fraud. That is why The Wonderful Company challenged this law.

Below is the full statement from UFW.

The ruling ignores 89 years of labor law precedent saying an employer must go through the election objections process before seeking judicial intervention. Wonderful’s entire lawsuit to stop enforcement of the law and enjoin the ongoing election objections hearing is based on the company’s bogus claim that workers were misled into supporting the union, a claim that was thoroughly debunked by the complaint—tantamount to an indictment—issued by the ALRB General Counsel following a neutral investigation. There is already a process to address wrongdoing in elections and Wonderful was in the middle of that process. Why does Wonderful want to halt that process and silence workers so their voices are not heard?

It’s very clear Wonderful is determined to use its considerable resources to deny farmworkers their rights. These workers are courageous and determined to seek what they deserve: dignity at work and a fair union contract. We look forward to the appellate court overturning the court ruling.

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