A key provision of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act – the mandatory mediation and conciliation statute – was found unconstitutional by the state’s Fifth District Court of Appeals on May 18, 2015. Immediately, Vice President of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union announced they would appeal this ruling to California’s Supreme Court.

If the Supreme Court upholds the Court of Appeals' decision, it will be much harder for the Agricultural Labor Relations Board to force farm workers into union contracts.

A recent In These Times article on the matter credits the Center for Worker Freedom for helping the workers at Gerawan Farming, who are victims of this unconstitutional statute.

“Another Gerawan supporter is the Center for Worker Freedom, which organized and financed demonstrations against the labor board. The center was set up by Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, allegedly with money from the Koch brothers. The center's director, Matt Patterson, first achieved notoriety when he managed the campaign against the United Auto Workers two years ago, at the new Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Employing a similar strategy, the Center bought billboards in Sacramento attacking the UFW and the ALRB.”

To read the full article, click here.