Some Teamsters Are Doing Brave Work
By 
I hate Sean O’Brien more than any labor leader in my lifetime. Among other things, a Teamster reported to me that O’Brien filled the Teamsters Women’s Convention this week with so many right-wing speakers that about 2/3 of the convention walked out on him. And let’s be clear, not every Teamsters local is falling for his right-wing bullshit. Some are doing brave work to defend their immigrant colleagues.
If it were up to Mauser Packaging Solutions management, there would be nothing in their contract with the union to stop federal immigration authorities from walking into the company’s Chicago plant whenever they want, maintenance mechanic Arturo Landa tells me as we sit under a navy blue tent with “Teamsters Local 705” printed on the canopy.
That’s alarming to the roughly 140 people who work there, about 90 percent of whom are Latino, many of them most comfortable speaking Spanish. The workers are acutely aware that in the present political climate, “even with proper documents, just based on the color of their skin, they could still get targeted,” says Landa, who is 45 years old and has worked for Mauser for 12 years.
We are across from the gray, brick face of the Mauser plant, where the ovens have stopped and the large industrial drums the company reconditions sit in stalled trucks, 11 weeks into an open-ended strike. The stillness of the plant contrasts with the bustle of the picket line, where striking workers grill meat for street tacos, and others use large shovels to clear rubble left in the street by a storm the previous night.
The strike at the factory in Little Village, a predominantly Latino area, began on June 9 over what workers say were unfair labor practices when the company allegedly spied on workers while they talked with representatives of the union, and allegedly refused to bargain in good faith. Workers are in a contract battle, and they’re demanding improved pay, safer working conditions, guaranteed breaks, and affordable health care. The work is notoriously difficult; they use high-powered tools to clean and repaint the drums, often sanitizing them in an oven that can make temperatures in the building soar to 130 degrees, according to workers.
Amid these conditions, workers say they don’t want the added concerns about a potential immigration crackdown. They want, at minimum, for Mauser to agree to invoke private property rights to turn away federal immigration authorities unless those authorities present a signed judicial warrant. While this is no guarantee that workers won’t be targeted, it could provide another layer of protection, as the Trump administration goes after workers—both labor leaders and non-union—in its crackdown on immigrants. These deportations often have no due process whatsoever and even have sent away American citizens.
By going on strike, in part, for protections for immigrants, workers are showcasing a strategy to use workers’ most powerful weapon to protect union members. And if they win, they’ll be the first Teamsters local in the country to adopt such protective language.
Landa, who is on the bargaining committee and is also a steward, says such protections are critical for workers, who often have multiple family members depending on them. His in-laws live with him and his wife, and one of his adult children counts on him for support. “Behind every worker,” he says, “there’s a family that depends on them.”
O’Brien is up for reelection next year. Hopefully, the rank and file Teamsters reject his far right class traitor ways.