Feb. 11--A proposal by the state's farm labor watchdog to gain access to fields so it can educate workers about their rights is running into strong opposition from growers, even before it has been written into regulation.
The latest salvo came Wednesday when the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative land rights group, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the 40-year-old law that allows unions to gain access to fields to organize workers.
That access regulation also lies at the heart of a plan by the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board to send staff onto farms to educate workers.
Growers and property rights groups worry that the labor board is about to mix policing activities -- investigating labor practices and overseeing union elections -- with its new educational role.
