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Resolution

on

FARM LABOR

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS

November 20, 1975



June 5, 1975 marked an important turning

point in the history of farm labor relations in the

United States. It was on that day that the Cali-

fornia Agricultural Labor Relations Act was signed

into law by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. This

is the first law ever enacted in any jurisdiction,

federal or state, guaranteeing farm workers the

right to determine, by secret ballot elections,

which union, if any, they want to represent them.

It is a good law and one that might well serve as

a model for parallel legislation in other key agri-

cultural states as well as at the congressional

level in Washington. While it will not automati-

cally resolve all of the problems involved in the

farm labor dispute, it does provide the parties

with a set of enforceable procedures through

which they can begin, at long last, to settle their

differences in an orderly manner. In short, it

represents an historic step in the right direction.

We salute the innovative leadership of Gov-

ernor Brown who set into motion the process

which resulted in the enactment of this long

overdue statute by an overwhelming vote of the

California legislature and with the almost unani-

mous support of the parties involved. We sin-

cerely congratulate all who participated in this

process: members of the legislature, the many

and varied grower organizations, the United Farm

Workers of America, the Western Conference of

Teamsters, and the technical advisors and con-

sultants who helped to draft the statute.

We call upon all concerned—state officials,
growers and union representatives—to cooperate
with one another in implementing the spirit as

well as the letter of the law. It would be a tragedy

if the purpose of the law, which holds out such

promise for the future of sound labor relations

in the agricultural industry, were to be thwarted

in practice, for whatever reason. If experience

demonstrates that either the statute itself or its

administration needs to be improved, we pledge

our support to this end. The National Confer-

ence of Catholic Bishops stands prepared to co-

operate with the parties to the fullest possible

extent in their common effort to bring about a

new era of peace and justice in the agricultural

industry, not only in California but throughout

the nation.

UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005

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