On October 1, more than 200 Gerawan farmworkers gathered at the Radisson Hotel in Fresno on Wednesday to protest their treatment at the hands of the California Agricultural Relations Board (ALRB). The farm workers are angry because the ALRB refuses to count their votes from a decertification election last November.

Among the speakers at the protest were Tal Cloud, President of the Conservative Lincoln Club, Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno), Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, (R-Bakersfield), and Fresno City Council Members Clint Olivier and Steve Brandau.

According to the Fresno Bee:

 “Many [workers] brought signs or wore T-shirts that read, ‘Count our votes’.  The workers also denied that they were told to attend the rally or were paid for the day.

“We are here because we want to be here,” said Jose Mendez, a tree fruit picker. “If they had paid us to be here, the entire company would be here.”

Lourdes Dominguez, who picks grapes for Gerawan, said she does not support the union and wants the election issue resolved.

“We just want them to count the votes,” Dominguez said. “A lot of us don’t want the union here because we don’t need them.”

ABC TV News 30 spoke with Assemblyman Jim Patterson at the hearing. "In this Kangaroo Court [farm workers] are not getting representation, they are not getting their day in court, they are being absolutely intimidated by a state institution that is biased against them,” Patterson told reporters. Watch the video here.