Business Notes Labor

For California vintners, late summer is usually a time for crushing grapes after the harvest. But at several of the state's wineries, some of this year's crop may rot rather than become a hearty vintage. A strike by the Distillery, Wine & Allied Workers' International Union that began on Aug. 18 and soon curtailed production at six locations spread to three new sites last week, as workers began picketing the Charles Krug plant in Napa Valley, the Gibson winery in the Central Valley and Almaden in San Jose. Union leaders are threatening to strike at E. & J. Gallo, the industry giant that produces 40% of all California wine.

At issue is the employers' effort to reduce workers' wages, which average between $10 and $12, by $1 an hour and to cut health-care and pension contributions. Growers say they must lower costs to compete with foreign wineries. Labor leaders, arguing that the employers are trying to bust the union, contend that the producers' sales are flourishing. Indeed, shipments of California wine, which totaled some $5.5 billion in 1985, were up an estimated 11% for the first six months of 1986 over the same period last year. The main reason: growing wine-cooler sales.