Farmworkers sue Krug for harassment

By DAVID RYAN, Register Staff Writer

A St. Helena winery is being sued by two female farmworkers who say they were driven from their jobs by the sexual advances of their supervisor and coworkers.

Margarita Galarza and Clementina Fregoso claim C. Mondavi & Sons, better known as Charles Krug Winery, did nothing to stop sexual advances from their crew boss and co-workers. They are seeking unspecified damages.

Tom Fossey, Chief Financial Officer with Charles Krug, said the company couldn't comment because it hadn't been served with the lawsuit.

According to court papers, Galarza claims from 2001 to 2005 a coworker who became a supervisor leered at her and made sexual comments, demanding sex and that she divorce her husband. She alleges she also suffered pranks.

"He also, in February 2005, watched Ms. Galarza enter a porta-potty, then began shaking and trying to enter it, laughing when Ms. Galarza came out."

Galarza alleges another co-worker frequently made sexual comments, called her house and followed her daughter home from school.

Fregoso claims in 2003 and 2004, supervisor Arturo Fernandez leered at her and offered to give her better wages in exchange for sex -- even threatening to fire her if she didn't go along with the plan.

The women claim Fernandez warned them that if they reported his advances they would not be believed, and that the company had given him unlimited power to fire workers.

The lawsuit is the first Napa case of its kind in recent years. But records of federal lawsuits show harassment is an ongoing problem for women in California fields:

* In June 2005, Southern California-based Rivera Vineyards paid a $1 million settlement to a group of Latino farmworkers, mostly Hispanic women, who claimed they were sexually harassed.

* In January 2005, a federal jury in Fresno awarded Olivia Tamayo a $994,000 victory against Coalinga-based Harris Farms in a sexual harassment case where she claimed to have been raped by her supervisor.

* In February 1999, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reached a $1.8 million settlement with lettuce-grower Tanimura & Antle over allegations crew supervisors sexually harassed female employees.

United Farm Workers representatives say women face significant challenges gaining acceptance in the male-dominated fields.

"The EEOC had been pretty active in taking on some of these companies, but I'm sure their resources are limited," said Mark Grossman, union spokesman. "We see this problem. We see it pretty frequently ... Women have been in the farm labor workforce for generations, it's not new. But discrimination is an issue."

UFW has a contract with Charles Krug, which Grossman said allows women who believe they are being harassed to file a grievance with the union or engage in arbitration proceedings with their employer. Grossman said for privacy reasons he could not say whether Fregoso and Galarza had tried to file a grievance.

River Ranch farm labor camp director Angel Calderon, who is not involved in the case, said Hispanic women often times face pressure outside of their job not to report harassment.

"If they say something they may get in trouble with their husbands," he said. "It's a cultural issue."

The women's attorneys and Charles Krug are scheduled to discuss the case at a court hearing in July.

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