Reply to One California worker killed by ICE agents hundreds arrested at cannabis farm raid

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[quote=Anonymous]If what is alleged is true that minors and over 300 workers were undocumented then there is really an issue that Democrats need to look at. Democrats used to be FOR workers rights.

A cannabis cultivator has so many extra regulations such as employees being at least 21. Jobs there are NOT even technically agricultural jobs because it is a different category.

[i]California Business and Professions Code section 26065 (“Section 26065”) provides simply that employees “engaged in the cultivation of cannabis under this division shall be subject to Wage Order No. 4-2001 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.” But, on its face, Wage Order No. 4-2001 (Wage Order 4) only applies to “persons employed in professional, technical, clerical, mechanical, and similar occupations whether paid on a time, piece rate, commission, or other basis.”

Meanwhile, Wage Order No. 14-2001 (Wage Order 14) covers “Agricultural Occupations,” Wage Order No. 8-2001 (Wage Order 8) covers “Industries Handling Products After Harvest,” and Wage Order No. 13-2001 (Wage Order 13) covers “Industries Preparing Agricultural Products for Market, on the Farm.” But because of California’s cannabis laws, none of these three “agriculture” wage orders apply to the cultivation of cannabis.[/i]

[b]So why does this matter:
1) Cannabis Cultivators Need to Pay More Overtime Wages
2)Fewer People are “Overtime Exempt” on a Cannabis Farm
3) There are more regulations for better conditions for workers.[/b] Wage Order 4 requires climate control for workers unlike agricultural work, separate from bathrooms,  a changing room with “suitable lockers, closets or equivalent for the safekeeping of employees’ outer clothing during working hours,” (ii) “an adequate number of suitable seats” within “reasonable proximity to the work area,” and (iii) “suitable resting facilities.”
4) [b]Union / Labor Peace Agreement Requirements[/b]
California law requires cannabis employers with 10 or more employees to maintain a labor peace agreement (LPA) with a bona fide labor union as of July 1, 2024 (previously the threshold was 20 employees).
Glass House had previously signed LPAs with Professional Technical Union Local 33 (Pro-Tech), which was later determined by state regulators and the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board to be a "sham union" lacking legitimate collective bargaining authority.
The Teamsters union filed formal complaints, arguing these arrangements allowed Glass House to sidestep genuine labor representation.
In response, Glass House stated it is transitioning to compliance. Public records show that in February and March 2025, Glass House Camarillo Cultivation entered updated LPAs with the Seafarers Entertainment and Allied Trades Union (SEATU), a recognized labor affiliate of the Seafarers International Union, to cover Ventura County operations.

I don't think undocumented agricultural laborers should be targeted or there should be raids. However, there is a reason Cesar Chavez was concerned about undocumented workers undercutting union workers who were fighting for their rights. This is a company with SEVERAL wage theft/working conditions lawsuits that have been filed. There are rumors that it was around payday so do the over 300 people who were taken away have to be paid? How many of them filed lawsuits or were involved in class action lawsuit about wage theft?

The pay listed for many of the jobs are not bad some are $20-$22 dollars an hour, some are $22-26 dollars an hour. I find it hard to believe that they couldn't find legal workers. $20 an hour is $42,000 a year without overtime. That isn't a lot since housing is so expensive but a couple could be earning $84,000 with no high school education. This work has to be conducted in "climate controlled" environment in greenhouses which is different than agricultural work which I think is much harder to find workers who will work in the fields under the sun. It is just so much easier to exploit over 300 undocumented workers (and children) in an industry that is producing something that isn't a basic need like food, clothing, etc. [/quote]

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