Coalition hosts ‘Come to the table’ fundraiser
■The Walk for Farmworker Justice coalition wants to convince
farming cooperatives to negotiate on worker rights
By Lindsay Buchele
Oregon Daily Emerald
In the latest, attempt to address
poor conditions facing farm work
ers, a coalition of worker rights
groups has been formed to launch
events that will push Oregon’s farm
ing cooperatives into negotiations
over workers’ rights and wages.
The newly formed Walk for
Farmworker Justice coalition is
hosting a spaghetti dinner Sunday
from 5 to 8 p.m. at Central Presby
terian Church, 555 E. 15th St., in an
attempt to raise money for the first
ever Walk for Farmworker Justice.
The WFJ coalition is made up of
nearly a dozen labor, religious and
community groups, including the
Eugene-based Committee in Soli
darity with the Central American
People. The walk, which will take
place in June, will cover most of the
Salem, Woodburn and Stayton ar
eas. The coalition’s targeted farming
cooperative, NORPAC Foods Inc., is
located in Stayton.
“We’re just trying to get NORPAC
to come to the table and negotiate,”
CISCAP coordinator Scott Miksch
said. “That’s why the theme of the
fundraising dinner is ‘Come to the
table.”’
NORPAC, made up of 240 farm
families, is one of the largest grower
owned processing cooperatives of
frozen fruits and vegetables west of
the Mississippi.
The Oregon Farmworker Union,
which has a Spanish acronym
PCUN, has been attempting to nego
tiate since 1989 with NORPAC over
worker wages and the right of work
ers to organize into a union. PCUN
officials said every attempt at nego
tiation has failed.
Rebecca Saldana, the religious li
aison for PCUN working with the
coalition, said NORPAC has been ig
noring the rights of workers and
even firing workers for challenging
working conditions.
“When it comes to labor practices
and rights, workers need to be pro
tected against retaliation by the farm
owners,” Saldana said.
NORPAC spokesman Brian Bell
argues that NORPAC doesn’t have
any reason to sit down with PCUN
or the coalition because worker
rights are handled legally by the
farm families themselves. Bell said
NORPAC has jurisdiction over labor
issues only in its processing plants,
and that affiliated farmers have full
jurisdiction over labor issues on
their farms.
“Our processing plants have had
good labor relations for over three
decades,” Bell said. “Growers, as
owners, cannot tell the managing
cooperative how to manage the pro
cessing facilities. Likewise, the
managers cannot tell farmers how to
hire, pay and handle their employ
ment of farm workers. ”
Bell stressed that although NOR
PAC does not have the right to regu
late how a farm is operated, growers
handle their farms in accordance
with the law. Bell also said that
PCUN, which has been boycotting
NORPAC-processed foods since
1992, has been doing all the wrong
things to instigate negotiations.
Bell said that in 1991 PCUN ap
proached one of the largest of NOR
PAC’s farming families, the Krae
mers, in an attempt to negotiate a
contract. This contract, Bell said,
would state that PCUN would pro
vide the farm workers for the Krae
mers and determine worker wages.
The Kraemer family refused, Bell
said, because PCUN’s contract pro
vided lower wages for the workers
than what the farming family al
ready paid. Bell said PCUN retaliat
ed against the refusal by starting the
The Walk for Farmworker Justice coalition will host a spaghetti dinner Sunday
from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Central Presbyterian Church, located at 555 E. 15th St.
The dinner will be accompanied by live music, a dessert sale and a silent auc
tion.
A sliding-scale charge of $5 to $20 is requested for each dinner.
The event is the first fundraising event to support the Walkfor Farmworker Jus
tice. The walk will take place June 18-24. The walk will begin in the agricultural
areas of Marion and Yamhill counties and will encompass the area around the
NORPAC fields.
boycott of NORPAC.
It’s this boycott that’s preventing
negotiations, Bell said.
PCUN has a different story.
Saldana said the boycott is a re
sult of two different strikes put on
by farm workers employed by the
Kraemer family. She said that in
both strikes, workers were attempt
ing to secure higher wages. The first
strike was successful without help
from PCUN. The second strike be
gan with the workers forming a
committee, along with PCUN, to ad
dress the issue of a pay raise for the
cucumber harvesters. Saldana said
the Kraemers refused to hear the
committee, and a strike ensued.
PCUN then proceeded to engage
the authority of NORPAC over the
farm in the hopes of getting the
Kraemers to negotiate. NORPAC re
fused, and the boycott began.
The walk, which is planned by
the coalition, will do nothing to
convince NORPAC to negotiate
with farmer workers’ rights groups,
Bell said, reasserting that NORPAC
has no control over farm labor is
sues.
“If any of the 240 growers, in
cluding the Kraemers, wanted to
negotiate with PCUN, they are to
tally free to do so,” Bell said. “Ii
PCUN were to lift the boycott and
stop with all the publicity stunts,
and go to the Legislature and ad
dress labor issues, the Legislature
will carefully consider what they
have to say.”
Saldana said PCUN has appealed
to the Legislature, with opposition
from NORPAC, and will continue
to do so. She also said the walk, the
boycott and other efforts will con
tinue until NORPAC agrees to nego
tiate worker rights.
Green
continued from page 1
Issues on the agenda include ballot meas
ure ideas, campaign reform, developing the
social service aspect of the party and address
ing electoral and non-electoral issues, Patter
son said.
“Some of the convention will be very inter
esting,” he said. “Some of what we do, how
ever, will be dry party business.”
In addition, there will be a variety of work
shops on putting additional action into ongo
ing activism, although Egan did not provide
specifics and reiterated that the convention’s
focus will be on the party’s direction.
Campus Green Party member Erik Amos
said that the convention will deal with gen
eral party business rather than trying to di
rectly reach potential members.
“If they want to come out and check it out,
sure,” Amos said. “It’s going to be open to the
public.”
While open to the public, there will be re
quirements on who can vote for determining
the direction of the party. Anyone who is a sup
porting member of the party can participate.
The party’s definition of a supporting mem
ber is any “dues paying” member, Patterson
said. Members will participate in finalizing a
party focus initiative and will vote to put that
plan into action.
Lane County Pacific Green Party is hosting
the event and has made arrangements for free
child care on-site and low-cost accommoda
tions in the Eugene area for those attending
the event.
Everyone is welcome to attend the conven
tion, and admission is free.
The Pacific Green Party will host its state
convention this weekend at the University.
The main focus is to lay out a two-year plan for
the party.
Where: Agate Hall, 19th Avenue and Agate
Street.
When: Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m.-noon
Admission is free and open to the public.
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