Legislature sends farmworker measure to Gov. Brown

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A bill that would make it easier for farmworkers to unionize is on its way to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

Brown’s office refused to say whether or not he would sign the bill. During the campaign, Brown boasted of his strong relationship with the farmworkers’ union and his historical connections to Caesar Chavez, the late leader of the United Farm Workers. Brown also signed the state’s first agriculture labor relations law during his first stint as governor.

The measure, SB 104 by Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), cleared the Assembly on a partisan, 51-25 vote.

Similar legislation was vetoed repeatedly by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

-- Anthony York in Sacramento