CHARLOTTE OBSERVER July 7, 2006
Union wrestles with uncertainty By Inside a one-story ranch home on a rural road, Baldemar Velasquez handed out mugs and poured coffee for Latino union leaders. He asked them to drink and get comfortable as he sat down in a recliner at the center of their circle. With clenched fists, he spoke with zeal about the critical importance of their work: Saving, through strength in numbers and unity, the future of their union. "We have to teach people that they do have power," he said, his voice fluctuating. "We must remain positive, respect ourselves and be confident in our ability to survive." Nearly two years ago, Velasquez, as head of the Ohio-based Farm Labor Organizing Committee, brokered a groundbreaking contract for 8,000 Mexican laborers brought to the country by the N.C. Growers Association on temporary work visas. Now, his labor organization is being threatened as farmers question whether they can continue hiring union workers because of the costs. Farmers are leaving the association in droves. Many are finding it easier and cheaper to hire illegal immigrants. "The program has gotten so expensive that it's really forced employers to go and use illegal aliens," said Stan Eury, executive director of the N.C. Growers Association. Velasquez came south in 1998 to unionize cucumber fields as production of the crops shifted to states such as North Carolina. He secured better wages for farmworkers, and in 2004 negotiated a major contract with Mt. Olive Pickle Co. Inc. and farmers who grow crops for the company. But now the group expects to lose a third of its 750 farmers this year because of the costs. "It's just got out of hand," said Denny Lee, who raises tobacco and sweet potatoes on his 350-acre Erwin farm. It will be difficult to remain in the program this year, he said. In the last year, his cost per worker has risen from $508 to $950. "It's getting more and more burdensome to sell our product and pay the high price of labor," he said. For Lee, hiring American workers is not an option. Job postings don't work. Americans don't want the work or need a more full-time position, he said. Picking season on Lee's farm is typically four months a year. More than 100,000 migrant farmworkers come to North Carolina each year to harvest cucumbers, potatoes, tobacco and other crops. Most are illegal workers. But many, like Adrian Briones, a 29-year-old from Nayarit, Mexico, are part of the federal guest-worker program, known as H-2A, and enter the country on temporary work visas to work in agriculture. North Carolina is the largest user of the federally regulated program. Velasquez was credited with doing what few thought possible. He unionized thousands of immigrant laborers in a "right-to-work" state. Briones and others credit Velasquez for higher wages, better working and living conditions, and job security. "A lot has changed," said Briones, who picks cucumbers, sweet potatoes and tobacco, while taking a smoking break at the meeting. "Before, they'd tell you that if you didn't produce you couldn't come back. Now you can." Velasquez said his work is far from over, but disputed the union is in trouble. He said he sees only "obstacles." He added FLOC will continue to reach out to other immigrants -- even those who are undocumented -- to prevent companies from hiring them instead of union workers. He's directed union leaders, like Briones, to spread the word that challenging times are ahead and members can't be swayed by intimidation tactics. They must stick together for the union to survive. An ordained evangelical minister who sometimes conducts weddings in the fields, Velasquez, 59, talks about his cause being guided by God. He says all workers, even those who are undocumented, deserve a fair wage for their work. "It's a matter of humanity," he said. The son of migrant workers, Velasquez knows the rigors of what's often referred to as "stoop labor." His parents toiled for years in Ohio fields picking cucumber and tomatoes. Born in 1947 in Pharr, Texas, Velasquez and his family would migrate each year to the Midwest for the annual picking system -- often living in barns and converted chicken coops. His clearest memory is how powerless his parents were to labor bosses who would curse at his family for being tired, working slowly and taking too long on water breaks. "When I was younger, I made a vow, that as soon as I could do something about it, I would," he said. He founded FLOC in 1967 to improve working conditions in Ohio fields. In 1986, after leading a seven-year boycott of Campbell Soup Co., he negotiated the region's first labor contract. It was an innovative three-way agreement with Campbell and northwest Ohio farmers who grow produce for the company. "He wants respect," said Leticia Zavala, head of the local FLOC chapter, who herself worked as a child on the Ohio farms. "He wants to make a difference. People know he's not going to stop. He won't stop until a difference is made." When he set his sights on North Carolina in the late '90s, Velasquez tackled what seemed to be a daunting task: unionizing workers who often won't complain out of fear of losing their jobs in a state with a history of hostility toward organized labor. His target: Mt. Olive Pickle -- the second-biggest selling brand of pickles in the country. He called for a boycott and employed some of the same tactics he used in Ohio. He persuaded grocery stores to remove jars of Mt. Olive. He led a four-day, 70-mile march along N.C. highways from the pickle company -- one of N.C. Growers Association's biggest employers -- to the state Capitol steps in Raleigh. He won the support of the National Council of Churches and Bishop F. Joseph Gossman of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. Five years after stepping foot in North Carolina, Velasquez sat proud at the table, adorned with pickles, flanked by migrant workers wearing shirts that read "Hasta la victoria!" or "Until the victory!" as he signed a contract with the growers association and Mt. Olive Pickle. Mt. Olive Pickle President Bill Bryan calls Velasquez "a persistent and dedicated advocate" for his cause. "We have disagreed in the past. And we continue to disagree on some things," he said. "But we do it respectfully. We realize that both of us have a different point of view on different issues." The N.C. Growers Association also says working with Velasquez has been a challenge. It fears the union could threaten its ability to stay afloat in a growing, competitive marketplace. N.C. growers in the association and the H-2A program pay at least $8.53 an hour, Eury said, more than $3 over the federal minimum wage of $5.15. They also must pay for the workers' transportation into the country, their housing and workers compensation benefits. Lee said more than 90 percent of the agriculture community is already using illegal workers because of lower costs and lack of enforcement. In essence, he said, farmers who work with the association are being "punished" for abiding by the law. "You can see why people are not in the program," he said.
FLOC Timeline Highlights of Baldemar Velasquez and the Toledo, Ohio-based Farm Labor Organizing Committee: • 1967: Founded FLOC and led a strike that won contracts with 33 tomato growers in northwest Ohio. • 1983: Led nearly 600-mile march from tomato and pickle fields in Toledo to Campbell Soup's headquarters in Camden, N.J. • 1986: Signed three-way labor contract with Campbell and Ohio farmers that recognized the union of more than 3,100 farmworkers. • 1994-1995: Signed five-year union agreements with H.J. Heinz Co., Vlasic Foods and Dean Foods. • 1998: Launched national boycott of Mt. Olive Pickle Co. in campaign to organize workers in North Carolina; led a four-day, 70-mile march along N.C. highways from Mount Olive to the state Capitol steps in Raleigh. • 2004: Signed a three-way labor agreement with Mt. Olive Pickle Co. and N.C. Growers Association, which covered 8,000 H-2A workers on 1,050 farms across North Carolina.
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