Layoffs Imminent For Hundreds At Watsonville Berry Company

WATSONVILLE, CA — Watsonville-based Premiere Raspberries will close and lay off hundreds of workers on March 31, The Pajaronian reported.

The closure comes after the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board ordered the berry company in 2018 to accept the terms of a contract including benefits, paid holidays and a 15 percent raise, the paper reported. While United Farm Workers, which has represented workers since 2017, put forward a proposal, Premiere Raspberries did not present any proposal, a mediator in the case found.

Premiere Raspberries challenged the state board's decision and a series of strikes ensued, but the California Supreme Court declined in January to hear the case, The Pajaronian reported.

Read more at The Pajaronian.