SALINAS CALIFORNIAN

September 6, 2007

Schwarzenegger attends farm worker rally at capitol

By JAKE HENSHAW
The Salinas Californian Capitol Bureau

SACRAMENTO — Farmworkers rallying on the Capitol lawn Wednesday for a bill on union organizing got an unexpected visitor: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The governor made an unscheduled appearance before several hundred workers clad in red shirts at the United Farm Workers event. The UFW union is the sponsor of Senate Bill 180 on the governor’s desk.

The bill would allow agricultural workers and labor the choice of using secret ballots, as now authorized, in organizing drives or a card check approach, which allows them to collect signatures of a majority of workers.

The governor didn’t indicate whether he would sign the bill, according to his press office, but instead said he wanted to welcome the rallyers to the Capitol.

He previously had worked on a number of issues to benefit farm workers, including housing and regulations establishing worker protection practices in a heat wave, such as shaded rest areas and access to water.