(OR) House approves farmworker union bill

[struggle4progress]

By Niki Sullivan
The Associated Press

SALEM - Farmworkers would be allowed to unionize under the state's collective bargaining laws for the first time under a bill passed by the House on Monday. <snip>

Farmers have opposed laws allowing workers to unionize because they fear seasonal employees could strike during the short harvest season, jeopardizing an entire year's crops.

But farm groups have supported the House bill, while farmworker groups have opposed it. Former Gov. John Kitzhaber vetoed a similar bill in 2002.

Rep. Brad Witt, a Democrat from Clatskanie, said the measure was ``all about smoke and mirrors'' because it would require unions to be certified by the state's Employee Relations Board, which he said could take 70 days - meaning seasonal workers would already have moved on to the next job. <snip>

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/05/17/d4.or.farmworkers.0517.html

[merwin]

1. Good for them! If they're afraid that migrants might strike, maybe they're

taking advantage of them and not paying them enough.

[depakid]

2. If it's coming out of the Oregon House

You can GUARANTEE that it's a bad bill.

Karen Minnis, Jeff Kropf and the rest of the corrupt Republican crowd that run the show there wouldn't do a positive thing if their lives depended on it....

[struggle4progress]

3. Thanks: that is exactly the impression I got from the write up. eom