More than four decades ago California passed a landmark law protecting the state’s farmworkers from abuse and helping them to organize.

But the recent resignation of the head of a board that oversees the implementation of the law highlights the extent to which organized labor among farmworkers has collapsed since the days of the pioneering labor leader Cesar Chavez.

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In his recent resignation letter, the head of the board, William B. Gould IV, described the law as “irrelevant to farmworkers.” He estimated that less than one percent of the agricultural work force is now represented by a union.

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As chairman of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, Mr. Gould was charged with overseeing the certification process of union elections. Yet Mr. Gould said virtually no workers came to the board during his tenure.

“During the entire three years that I was chairman of the board there was only one petition for representation filed by a union in the state of California,” he said.

Mr. Gould says a major factor for the decline of organized farm labor is the fear that undocumented workers have of dealing with the government. Around half of the Californian agricultural work force is in the country illegally.

“There is not only no incentive to complain but there is no incentive to become involved with government in any way,” Mr. Gould said.

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Philip Martin, a specialist on organized farm labor, paints a less stark picture than Mr. Gould of the plight of farmworkers.