The state government in California has done what most American political observers thought was unthinkable – they’ve passed a law forcing notoriously anti-union agri-business to bargain with their workers.

For nearly 30 years now, people working for large fruit and vegetable growers in California have had the right to join unions. But, while hundreds of bargaining units have been certified, very few collective agreements have actually been signed.

That’s because, in most cases, agri-business has simply refused to negotiate. In one case, workers for a large central California fruit grower won certification for their union 27 years ago – and they are still trying to get a first collective agreement.

The good news is that all this is about to change, thanks to a law passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature in September.

Under the new law, contract disputes in which the employer has been refusing to bargain will be automatically submitted to binding arbitration.

Spokespeople for the United Farm Workers hailed the new law as a long-overdue remedy for the unethical and unfair union-busting tactics used by agri-business.

"Giving people the right to join unions doesn’t mean much if employers can simply ignore that right," said UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta.

"This law goes a long way to fixing the problem. It was a long time coming, but they finally did the right thing."