Sacramento City Council to Intervene in Blue Diamond Union Stand-Off

Sacramento City Council to take hard look at Blue Diamond Tuesday, will offer plan to end stand-off over union vote

The Sacramento City Council will vote Tuesday evening on a proposal to intervene and end the long-running stand-off between Blue Diamond Growers (BDG) and its workers who want to join the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).

A rally and news briefing will be held at 5:30 p.m. TUESDAY outside City Hall (915 I St.), prior to the City Council meeting at 6 p.m. (Blue Diamond is expected to be the first item on the agenda).

The proposal calls on Mayor Heather Fargo to create an ad hoc committee of no more than four members of the City Council to meet informally with representatives of Blue Diamond management, workers and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to mediate the longstanding conflict over how the workers will decide whether or not they want a union.

The workers now say they would be willing to have a secret ballot election, as long as the company agrees to some additional ground rules to ensure it will be a "free and fair" election.

Blue Diamond has so far refused to consider any changes to the flawed NLRB process. A panel of eight community leaders including Councilmember Steve Cohn and State Sen. Darrell Steinberg wrote to BDG in December urging the company to adopt fair ground rules for a union vote. Blue Diamond CEO Doug Youngdahl let two months lapse before sending Sen. Steinberg a dismissive reply.

The Council will also get an update on Blue Diamond's compliance with the economic development agreement it signed with the city in 1995.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com