Mauser Teamsters on strike for protection from ICE, dignity in workplace

Chicago, IL – 150 striking workers at the Mauser Industrial Packaging facility in Little Village were joined on September 8 by activists from the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA) to support the months-long strike campaign for a decent contract.

Stronger protections against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are top of the priority list for the striking workers of Teamster Local 705, 90% of whom are Latino immigrant workers. Other key demands include fair wages to keep pace with inflation, consistent hours and breaks on the job, and employer-provided uniforms to protect employees from bringing toxic chemicals home to their families.

Despite this being the first strike for most of the Local 705 workers, the fight has been consistent and militant, attracting support across Chicago. The entire facility’s workforce has struck un-broken for three months, in which time they have received visits from local elected officials including Mayor Brandon Johnson, as well as picket support from other unions including the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU).

The Mauser Teamsters were featured in the program of the recent Workers Over Billionaires protest organized by the CTU and the Chicago Federation of Labor at the beginning of the month, where 10,000 Chicagoans joined with broad labor forces to protest against Trump’s attacks on all working and oppressed people.

Richard Berg, a co-chair of Labor Against the Trump Agenda, addressed the striking workers on behalf of the CATA contingent who marched several blocks to join the picket this morning. He stressed the importance of standing with workers who are fighting back in this time of heightened repression from Trump and the federal government.

“Chicago is with you,” Berg said. “What you’re standing up for is so important.”

The support was received with enthusiastic applause from the workers, who have come under attack from right-wing forces including Fox News because of the fact that most of the workers are immigrants fighting for better conditions and protections from ICE.

“We feel first surprise, then gratitude,” said Arturo Landa, a steward for the local who has worked at Mauser for 12 years. Landa described the fear his coworkers feel witnessing ICE raids in their community and said it’s important for their fight to connect with other organizations and social movements fighting back against the ruling class.

The broader implications for the Teamsters 705 strike are also clear to Nicolas Coronado, the chief negotiator between Mauser and the local. Only ten of the 120 Mauser facilities are unionized, which, for Coronado, means that other workplaces are watching closely to see what gains can be won from an organized workplace on strike. If the Mauser Teamsters contract campaign in Chicago is successful, it could inspire other Mauser facilities to unionize and fight for their own contracts. “This fight is existential for the company,” he said.

Since Trump’s threats to increase the presence of ICE and federal troops in Chicago, the Mauser workers moved their picket into a rented lot across the street from the packaging facility. The wire fences surrounding the lot are fixed with dozens of signs warning federal agents that they do not have consent to enter the property unless they have a valid judicial warrant.

Chicago Jobs With Justice (CJWJ), a worker’s center that has worked closely with the anti-Trump coalition, has been organizing volunteers to conduct ICE watches at as many picket sites as possible since the Teamsters reached out to them for support.

Protecting the rights of vulnerable workers on strike is especially important at a time when labor forces are needed in the broader fight against Trump’s attacks on all working and oppressed people, according to CJWJ’s executive director, Jill Manrique.

“I don’t think there’s any way for us to win unless we’re unified and fighting this in solidarity,” Manrique said. “We’re never going to agree on everything. But, we can agree on the fact that our rights are being taken away, and workers are at the center of it.”

Workers interested in getting involved in the movement against Trump are encouraged to visit coalitionagainsttrump.org to learn more.

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #ImmigrantRights #CATA #LATA #Teamsters

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/mauser-teamsters-on-strike-for-protection-from-ice-dignity-in-workplace?pk_campaign=rss-feed