NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Contact: Jessica Arciniega, Regional Director, (805) 973-5062, (831) 241-8493 Jessica.arciniega@alrb.ca.gov

Agricultural Labor Relations Board Secures Lost Wages and Reinstatement for Strawberry Workers Fired for Complaining About Working Conditions

OXNARD, Calif. – Seventh Tree Farms, Inc. (“Seventh Tree”) located in Oxnard, California agreed to rehire and pay $6687.00 in lost wages to four strawberry workers to resolve unfair labor practice charges filed with the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (“ALRB”). The charges, filed on April 5, 2022, allege that Seventh Tree fired the workers and threatened to call the sheriff because the workers joined together and complained that Seventh Tree did not pay them for work they completed, and did not provide drinking water, bathrooms and water for handwashing.

In a settlement agreement with the ALRB finalized on July 12, 2022, Seventh Tree also agreed to uphold the rights of farm workers to join together to speak up and seek improvements to their working conditions. Additionally, ALRB agents will visit Seventh Tree’s fields during the planting and harvest seasons and read a Notice to all workers about their rights under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act. This Notice will be posted at Seventh Tree’s ranches for sixty days and mailed to former employees. ALRB agents will also conduct a one-hour training of all of Seventh Tree’s supervisors.

The ALRB enforces California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which states that “it is the policy of the State of California to encourage and protect the right of agricultural employees to full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment, and to be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of labor, or their agents, in the designation of such representatives or in self-organization or in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.” The ALRB is headquartered in Sacramento and maintains field offices in Salinas, Oxnard, Visalia, Indio and Santa Rosa. Those wishing to access ALRB services may call the Oxnard office number, (805) 973-5062, or a statewide toll-free phone number, (800) 449-3699. More information is available at www.alrb.ca.gov.