June 25, 2015

Brown Appoints Top ALRB Attorney as Counsel

Sylvia Torres-Guillen, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board’s (ALRB) general counsel, has left the agency to serve as special counsel to Governor Jerry Brown.  Torres-Guillen’s tenure was marked by major policy and personnel changes as well as controversial actions in a number of cases, most notably the UFW’s attempt to force Gerawan Farms and its employees to accept an ALRB-imposed contract after a 20 year absence by the union and a parallel vote by Gerawan employees on decertification of the union.  The employees’ votes from the November 2013 election remain uncounted and impounded by the ARLB.  According to the Fresno Bee, it is unknown whether Torres-Guillen’s departure will have any effect on the outcome of the ongoing dispute.