http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 739D63.DTL]

Grape pickers' vote on UFW membership too close to call
- By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer
Friday, September 2, 2005


(09-02) 01:09 PDT Fresno, Calif. (AP) --

A vote by thousands of field workers, laboring for one of the state's biggest table grape growers, on whether to unionize was too close to call Thursday, with the outcome to be decided by less than 200 provisional ballots.

The United Farm Workers had hoped the election at Giumarra Vineyards would jump-start their flagging membership. Organizers called it their largest field organizing drive since the late 1970s, when iconic labor leader Cesar Chavez was at the union's helm.

The success of that drive was still in question late Thursday, after the Agricultural Labor Relations Board announced the results of the vote: 1,121 ballots were cast in favor of joining UFW and 1,246 were cast against the union, with 171 provisional ballots yet to be counted.

The ALRB said it would review the "challenged" ballots, which were questioned for various reasons, and hoped to return with a final count within two weeks.

"This is just the beginning. The fight continues. We will meet with the workers in the fields tomorrow to congratulate them on a tremendous effort," UFW president Arturo Rodriguez said after the results were announced Thursday.

Rodriguez noted that there were some reports of threat and intimidation of workers leading up to the election, and that organizers would continue to investigate the claims.

More than 30 years ago, Chavez organized a nationwide grape boycott that led grape growers â€â€