Winery Has Sour Grapes Over Union Contract

Next time you imbibe a nice glass of wine with dinner or after a hard day of work, you might want to think about the workers who help make that tasty beverage. Workers at the Charles Krug winery are in the midst of a fight for their rights to be represented by a union. They face losing their jobs, which is all the more tragic for those workers that have invested more than half their lives working at Charles Krug. The winery, which is the oldest in Napa Valley and has been operated by the Peter Mondavi family for three generations, has been resistant to the United Farm Workers’ representation of its workforce since the 1970s. The workers last union contract expired in December 2005 and the winery has now threatened to fire the workers on July 1. Charles Krug wants to hire a vineyard manager that brings his or her own non-union crews. Many vineyards have turned to this method of procuring workers, no doubt due in part to the fact that they don’t have to provide benefits to the crews. The UFW previously boycotted Gallo wines because of a similar issue and subsequently was able to negotiate a contract for Gallo farm workers. The union has said it may use the same tactic in its struggle with Charles Krug. The United Farm Workers has filed suit against the winery, but the workers still face a battle.

For more information:

The United Farm Workers Action Center
San Francisco Chronicle

UPDATE:
UFW union members have called for a boycott of Charles Krug-Mondavi products. To learn more, go here.