Governor vetoes card check for farmworkers

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a union-backed bill that would have required farmers to negotiate with a labor union if a majority of their employees signed membership agreements. It marks the fourth time the governor has rejected requiring farm owners to abide by what are known as card-check provisions. The bill he vetoed Wednesday, SB789 by State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, was similar to federal legislation for nonfarm employees that is the subject of an intense battle between business and labor forces in Congress. Unions now must win a secret-ballot election to represent private-sector employees. Both the federal and state measures would allow unions to gain the same status by signing up more than half an employer's workforce...SFChronicle