Published June 12, 2017 in The Seattle Times
Farmworker Union Reaches Tentative Contract Deal with Sakuma Berry Farms
Skagit County’s Sakuma Brothers Farms has reached a tentative contract agreement with a new union representing some 500 farmworkers. Workers will vote this week on whether to ratify the deal.
By Jim Brunner
Seattle Times political reporter
Just in time for the strawberry harvest, leaders of a union representing hundreds of farmworkers have reached a tentative contract agreement with Sakuma Brothers Farms in Skagit County.
Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ), which represents about 500 workers, announced the deal Sunday afternoon, saying it had been approved by negotiators Saturday evening.
It’s the first such contract since the workers voted to unionize in September.
Union president Ramon Torres, who helped negotiate the agreement, said through an interpreter he did not want to reveal specific terms before informing union members. But he called it a good deal for berry pickers.
“These are some of the best wages that farmworkers have in the state of Washington,” Torres said.
He said the proposed two-year contract also would protect workers from unjust firings and lays groundwork for establishment of a medical plan in the near future.
An emailed statement from a Sakuma spokesman said the proposed contract — the product of months of negotiations — “creates a mutually beneficial partnership that will be successful for years to come.”
If ratified, the contract could mark a new chapter in the relationship between the workers and Sakuma, which has faced years of boycotts, lawsuits and walkouts over wages and working conditions.
In 2014, the company agreed to pay $850,000 in a wage-and-hour settlement with workers who claimed they’d been underpaid and denied breaks.
The farmworkers represented by FUJ include indigenous Mixteco and Trique Mexicans who migrate each year from California.
Workers will vote on the contract proposal this week, with strawberry-picking season set to begin.
“The union and the company are both looking forward to this new partnership, working together for a successful season,” Torres said.