Appeals Court Ends Legal Challenge from Agricultural Giant

A three-judge panel with the Fifth District Court of Appeal (Fresno) has dismissed the lawsuit brought by The Wonderful Company seeking to overturn California’s new farmworker union-certification law.

 

The court ruled that the lower court lacked jurisdiction and that under long-established labor law precedent, an employer may not directly challenge union certification before administrative procedures (like those of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board — ALRB) are complete.

What Is the Law — And Why Wonderful Challenged It

In 2022, California enacted legislation (sometimes called the “card-check” law) allowing farmworkers to unionize by signing authorization cards off-site — rather than undergoing the traditional secret-ballot election held on the employer’s property.

Supporters of the law say it protects workers — many immigrants — from intimidation and retaliation at the workplace. Critics argue it removes safeguards (like secret ballots and independent verification) and exposes employees to pressure or misinformation.

In the case of The Wonderful Company, the union — United Farm Workers (UFW) — submitted a “Majority Support Petition” under the law for employees at the company’s grape-nursery facility in Wasco. The company filed objections with the ALRB, claiming that many workers were misled about the meaning of the cards they signed, alleging “fraud, duress, trickery, misrepresentation,” and claiming the process violated their constitutional due-process rights.

Why the Court Said “No” to the Lawsuit — Not the Merits of the Union Drive

In dismissing the lawsuit, the Court of Appeal did not weigh in on whether the card-check law is constitutional — it only addressed procedure. The judges determined that the company filed its court challenge too early, before the ALRB’s full administrative process had concluded.

According to the ruling opinion: decades of precedent prevent employers from directly challenging union certifications in court at such an early stage — unless truly extraordinary circumstances exist, which the court said The Wonderful Company failed to demonstrate.

As a result, the preliminary injunction that had paused ALRB proceedings was reversed, and the petition was dismissed.

Implications for Growers, Workers, and California Agriculture

• The decision keeps California’s farm-worker card-check law intact — at least for now. Growers statewide who were hoping for a legal block should take note: this ruling reaffirms that union certification under the law proceeds under administrative review, not immediate court intervention. 
• For farm employers, the ruling suggests that challenging unionization will remain a long, drawn-out process — potentially involving labor-board hearings, investigations, and eventually, if desired, judicial review after final ALRB decisions. 
• For workers and unions, the decision strengthens the legal standing of the new law as a viable path to representation without on-site ballots — a major win for organizing efforts among often-vulnerable, immigrant farm labor forces. 
• For broader agriculture stakeholders, this may signal an acceleration of union organizing efforts under the card-check framework — something many growers will need to plan for, whether it’s reevaluating labor policies, preparing for collective bargaining, or updating risk management strategies. 

Still Unresolved — What’s Next

While this latest decision clears the procedural hurdle, it does not settle the core constitutional and due-process issues raised by The Wonderful Company. The ALRB still must finish reviewing the objections filed, and administrative proceedings remain ongoing.

Depending on the ALRB’s final decision — and possible future appeals — the case could return to court. Meanwhile, other employers around the state might be watching closely to see whether they adopt similar challenges or adjust how they respond to union drives.