In step with history, the Democrats of Napa Valley are allying themselves with the United Farm Workers in an ongoing and heated labor dispute between the union and the Charles Krug winery.

More than 20 members of the political group gathered at the local democratic headquarters in downtown Napa Tuesday, to listen to the plight and pledge their support of 27 vineyard workers who were fired from the St. Helena winery in July.

"We've always been the party of people who work for living," said Matt Pope, president of the Democrats of Napa Valley. "And here's a case where an entire workforce was let go under pretty questionable circumstances with harsh impacts on people's lives. We feel it's a big part of our heritage and responsibility to stand with the UFW."

Negotiations between the union and the winery came to an impasse in November after Krug officials pushed for physical capacity tests in the new union contract.

While the winery contended that physical capacity tests would promote safety on the job, the union claimed such tests opened the door for age discrimination.

After months of stalled negotiations, on July 7 Krug officials dismissed 27 workers whose wages ranged from $9.60 to $13 an hour. The union workers were replaced by laborers brought by vineyard manager Jack Neal and Son who start at $10 an hour.

Krug's chief financial officer Thomas Fossey previously told the Register the winery's decision to switch over to a land manager was "not based on the economics but on logistics of running high quality vineyards."

Shortly after Krug fired its union workers, the UFW filed several charges alleging unfair labor practices with the state's Agricultural Labor Relations Board. The board then filed a complaint with an administrative law judge alleging bad-faith bargaining by Krug and continues to investigate the union's other charges.

Pope called the Krug dispute "a pronounced local example" of the bigger social issues of dwindling job security and outsourcing of labor that the Democrats plan to focus on during the upcoming fall election.

"Whether you're a farmworker or an engineer in Silicon Valley or an accountant, a lot of Americans are concerned about how secure is their job? And how easy is it for companies to say we want to go somewhere else for a cheaper workforce while dropping people who have been loyal to them for years?" Pope said.

Meanwhile, Roberto Garcia, the UFW contract administrator in daily contact with the former Krug workers, said he didn't meet with the Democrats to forge a political alliance so much as to spread the word about the UFW's boycott of Charles Krug wines.

Given the local Democratic group's growing concern about the outsourcing of Napa area vineyard labor to subcontractors from the Central Valley, Garcia said it makes sense local Democrats would back the UFW in the Krug dispute.

However, Garcia said the Krug workers are still appealing to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Earlier this month, a handful of Schwarzenegger's campaign organizers met to discuss emerging election issues at the Howell Mountain estate of Marc Mondavi, who co-owns Charles Krug with his brother Peter Mondavi Jr.

"As the lead government official in the state he has a responsibility to help out working folks who find themselves in these situations," Garcia said. "It appears he has some sort of influence with Peter Mondavi's family to help solve the problem."