Silvia Lopez’s family arrived in the United States hoping to escape a government that rewarded entrenched interests over individuals. Now Lopez is fighting for her voice to be heard—and she could change the state of labor in California.
Lopez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, has worked at Gerawan Farms in Fresno, California for more than 15 years. For two years she has attempted to decertify the United Farm Workers union (UFW). She thought she had achieved her goal in November 2013 when she and her 5,000 coworkers had the opportunity to vote on union membership for the first time since 1990. However, California’s agricultural labor arbiter has refused to count the ballots.
"In Mexico there’s a lot of corruption and my father told me the United States is the best place to live because we can have freedom of speech and human rights, but not right now. Where’s all that justice that he taught us about? We’re doing our best and we’re not getting justice," she said. "The [Agricultural Labor Relations Board] treats you like a criminal. That’s the way you’re treated in Mexico when you exercise your rights."
Lopez said she went to work at Gerawan in 1998 after seeing the union hurt her previous farm job.
"There were so many complaints from my coworkers that had nothing to complain about," she says. "I was working at a good place and the unions shut it down."
Lopez has been working since 2012 to remove the UFW from Gerawan’s fields. She sparked the petition drives that enticed thousands of farmworkers to hold an election concerning union membership. California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board, however, seized the ballots and has refused to count them following the UFW’s allegations of voter fraud.
"I think that that’s silly. They say things that we never did with the election happened, so the ALRB refuses to count our votes," she said. "The ALRB has shown that it is out to protect the union."
Lopez joined Gerawan, "the best place you could work at," in 1998 and immediately earned a pay bump for her work tending the grape and peach fields. She received vacation days and time off to attend to sick relatives, end of season bonuses, discounts at local eateries, and an opportunity to return to work after extended absences.
"Everybody knows that they’re the best company," she said. "It’s a very good company, very just, very fair with their pay and they treat us very good."
Lopez has been so happy with her pay and work conditions that she has recruited cousins, in-laws, and her two daughters to tend the fields with her. The one entity she hasn’t invited into Gerawan is the United Farm Workers. For more than 20 years, the UFW has withdrawn 3 percent of worker pay in dues money, she says.
"They’re taking our money and it’s not just. It’s not fair," she said.
The ALRB may not be counting Gerawan workers’ votes, but it is trying to force the company to implement a contract with the UFW. The board denied the company’s motion to hold off on a union contract until the votes had been counted. Once a contract is in place, workers will be forced to pay union dues no matter the election outcome. Lopez considers this a betrayal.
"We try to follow the law and I don’t know why they don’t follow the law. They’re not neutral," she said.
The ALRB did not respond to request for comment.
Lopez led a rally of Gerawan employees outside of local ALRB headquarters on Tuesday afternoon calling on the members to count the ballots. She hopes board members will serve to protect the wishes of workers, rather than unions.
"We have been suffering and protesting too much and nobody’s listening," she said.