The Washington State-based company whose farm was at the center of an attempted boycott of Driscoll's berries last year is back on the defensive again, after a series of fresh allegations from the union Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ).

In a release, Oregon-based advocacy group Fair World Project said berry supplier Sakuma Brothers Farms had refused to negotiate a contract with the FUJ.

"Sakuma claims to care about and respect the farmworkers that harvest berries year after year. If this is the case, Danny Weeden, CEO of Sakuma Brothers, should negotiate a fair contract with farmworkers who have repeatedly asked for one," said Fair World Project campaign director Kerstin Lindgren.

"Decency and respect require that much, even if the law does not.

"Sakuma management has proven to us that they cannot be trusted without a signed legal document like a contract. And Driscoll's knows that Sakuma has not lived up to its principles regarding farmworker justice," claimed FUJ president Ramon Torres.

The group said it had joined more than 30 organizations in signing a letter asking Driscoll’s, the largest distributor of berries in the world, to make good on its commitment to enforce the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Additionally, it also sent a petition signed by nearly 10,000 consumers directly to Sakuma Brothers asking CEO Danny Weeden to sit down with farmworkers.

But in a written statement given to www.freshfruitportal.com, Weeden was adamant the claims made by the FUJ and the Fair World Project were false.

Sakuma Brothers Farms CEO Danny Weeden

"The most serious error of this release is the thought that we don’t talk with our workers about their right to associate, it’s completely false," Weeden said.

"We are in constant conversations throughout the season with our harvest workers."

He said every worker was informed about their right to freedom of association at orientation, with the following statement given to all:

"Sakuma Brothers Farms respects the freedom of association of its employees, and will not interfere with or retaliate against any employee for engaging in protected organizing, collective bargaining or any other protected concerted activity."

He said this was emphasized to workers because it was their individual right to choose to engage or not engage in concerted activity as outlined in state law RCW 49.32.020.

"For example, at the end of last season, we held a listening session with our harvest workers where they openly shared some comments, concerns and ideas," Weeden said.

"The sessions were monitored and mediated by a retired member of World Concern and several leaders from the local faith communities who work in support of farmworkers.

"Workers were asked about their experiences on the farm during the season. They gave us great feedback and were appreciative of the open dialogue."

What do you think of the role of unions in the produce industry?

— Fresh Fruit Portal (@FruitPortal) June 1, 2016

Weeden described these sessions as open, honest and very informative.

"We truly have good people working on our farms and it really showed the great character of our harvest workers in how they openly shared their thoughts with us. In fact, we are implementing several things from these meetings for this year’s harvest."

One of the important points raised in the session was a need from management to better understand the many different cultures working on the farm as each one has unique differences and concerns.

"As a result of this feedback, we expanded our supervisory training program this year by bringing in a trainer that specializes in the cultural diversity in Mexico," he said.

"The trainer has a PhD in this area of emphasis and will conduct the training with our managers and supervisors as well as our leadership team on the farm, including myself."

"With the success of the listening session last fall, we have decided to form a voluntary listening committee on the farm to gain additional feedback through the harvest season."

Weeden said the listening committee would be able to report directly to him with any concerns or suggestions, and committee members would receive commensurate pay to their average hourly rate for the week for their participation.

"The hope is to be able to meet several times throughout the harvest that starts in June for strawberries and runs through October for blueberries and blackberries," he said.

"Again, it is totally voluntary for those harvest workers who want to participate.  The only agenda is to listen to their ideas and comments.

It is also an opportunity to communicate on a more personal level.  At the end of the day we are team and I view it a lot like a family."

He also highlighted how at the end of the listening session, each participant was asked in an anonymous vote if they would choose to come back to work at Sakuma if they were to chose to work as a harvest worker in the new year.

"Every single vote that was cast was affirmative. This is a testament that we are doing right by our workers," Weeden said, adding the company now had a record number of harvest employees for the start of the strawberry season.

Related stories: Boycott threatens Driscoll's supplier

Q&A: Driscoll's applies fresh approach to ag labor relations

Headline Photo: www.shutterstock.com

www.freshfruitportal.com