FRESNO, CA -- SB 180, a bill recently passed by the California Senate and Assembly, has been sent to the governor's desk and is awaiting either his signature or his veto. The bill would strip farmworkers of their right to secret-ballot elections when deciding whether to unionize, according to Barry Bedwell, president of the California Grape & Tree Fruit League, here. The league, along with several other farm groups, is urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto the bill, Mr. Bedwell said. "Our main concern right now," at the state level, "is to make sure that we protect the rights of

"As part of our greenhouse expansion, we've decided to bring the best bell peppers to the market year round," Luis de Saracho, chief executive officer of Mexican firm Divemex, said in a statement. "We have grown our acreage in our facilities in Mexico, and the main idea is to have new plants in two stages of the year: one from October to May and a second from June to December. This is the only way to have fresh crops all year with the best shelf life." Divemex has built 86 new acres of state-of-the-art greenhouses with all the latest high-tech specifications, and now its volume has increased

BOCA RATON, FL -- While "Industry Crossroads" was the theme of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association's 64th annual convention, held here Sept. 16-18, the event also served to underline the importance of industry unity in the face of challenging times. At the Cracker Breakfast Sept. 18, keynote speaker Larry Winget, author and host of the reality television show "Big Spender," brought attendees together with his unique style of humor in pulling from his best-selling book Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get A Life. Mr. Winget told the audience that "no one cares how good you used to be, you need to

WASHINGTON -- A group known for tirelessly advocating immigration reform, the New York Apple Association received the 2007 Produce Advocate of the Year Award at the United Fresh Produce Association's Washington Public Policy Conference. "The New York Apple Association has championed many of our top issues," said United Fresh President Tom Stenzel. "Jim Allen in particular has been relentless in his passion about immigration reform, and we can always depend on his help to talk to members of Congress about nutrition policy." Sponsored by Syngenta Seeds/ROGERS brand, the award was accepted by Mr

With the shareholders of Seattle-based grocery wholesaler Associated Grocers Inc. approving the sale of the company to Unified Western Grocers in Los Angeles, Unified has now moved into being one of the top-five retailer wholesalers in the country. And the close to 3,000 retailers it serves, in aggregate, create buying power that could be among the top 10 retail operations in the country. Unified Grocers, as it is now called while it goes through the process of effecting a legal name change, serves more than 2,500 stores, primarily in California and Oregon. Associated Grocers served close to

A random sampling of a "Dole" brand "Hearts Delight" lettuce salad bag tested positive for E. coli O157:H7 in mid-September, causing the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to issue a health warning and for Dole to recall about 850 cases of the product. The agency said in its advisory Sept. 16, and Dole spokesperson Bill Goldfield confirmed three days later, that there were no reported illnesses from the suspect bags of lettuce. Mr. Goldfield added that further testing found no contamination source at the grower or processor levels, and no other bags in that lot have returned a positive test for E