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364 AMENDING MIGRATORY LABOR LAWS Senator Wit1ims. Are these skilled workers you're talking about! Did these men have experience in harvesting grapes? . Mr. Cuavez. These men have worked in the Coachella Valley in the same operation that they were brought to in Delano. That’s pruning. And so ther’ve had some experience in the type of work. senator Munpitry. May I ask him a question at this point, Mr. Chairman? ; Mr. Chavez, I'm advised it’s a violation of the California State Law to recruit labor and to bring them into a job where there is a strike taking place without warning them ahead of time that there is a ftrilen weLi LAS, Now, is it the case that these people were recruited and brought in as replacements without being told that there was a strike, because if was the case, that's a violation of California law? avez. That’s correct. We know that California Labor Code Law fates that a worker should not be recruited to a strike zone unless he’s Been warned that a strike is in progress. N@®, what happened in all these cases, and the affidavits bear this out, is that they were not told that a strike was in progress.) When we had this information, we’ve been turning the information in to the labor commissioner's office. We did this in an earlier strike that we had there in Delano or in McFarland, 7 miles south of Delano. The State labor commissioner's office out at Delano did what I thought was a beautiful job of documenting a case where one employer lent all of his crew to that employer that was on strike. We went before the district attorney in Kern County -—— Senator Murruy. The labor commissioner did? Mr. Cuavez. The labor commissioner documented, investigated, and provided the documentation. I went with the agent of the labor commissioner's office. to the district attorney in Kern County, and he refused to accept that information and refused to issue a citation. _ Now, this was the case where one company provided al] of its crew to break a strike that was in progress without telling the workers that we were on strike. Now, in the case of the grape strike, it's been over and over, and we've gotten statements. we've called the labor commis- sioner’s office in Fresno many, many times to come to Delano, and we provide the affidavits, and then we say quite frankly, “What's the use of taking the affidavits and going through the motions and deing the work when we know that the district attorney is not going to take our case?” Senator Mcrpuy. Mr. Chairman, I suggest that through some me- dium we ask why the district attorney did not take this case, and if the facts are as Mr. Chavez stated, I think it certainly should be made public and brought to the attention of the Governor. Senator Wirrame. I certainly would agree with that. Congressman Hacen. At this point in your testimony, Cesar, I think you may have proved some things by your testimony you dont intend prove. Would you say these workers were of average skill or below average or above average? Mr. Cuavaz. The workers that were brought in from Cslexico are workers who have some skills to some degree more in one operation than they do in another one.