Councilmember Mosqueda (center) leads a delegation of workers demanding that Mauser/ICS bargain fairly.

"¡Aqui estamos y no nos vamos!" We're here and we're not going anywhere! chanted members of Teamsters 117 outside the main office of Mauser Packaging Solutions on Tuesday. The group of twenty workers had flooded out of the warehouse where they clean and repurpose industrial steel barrels for commercial use. They were carrying a bright yellow banner that read, Solidarity! 

Out in front, King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda was set to deliver a letter calling on the company to clean up its act. Just as they'd done three years ago, Mauser, known locally as Industrial Container Services (ICS), was trying once again to intimidate its mostly immigrant workforce. 

"I've been here before when contract negotiations were happening in 2022," Councilmember Mosqueda said as she addressed company management. "I'm here now in the heart of my district to stand in solidarity with the workers who are in this office. We collectively are asking for fair contract negotiations."

Mosqueda, who is a fierce supporter of workers and their unions, used to serve on the Seattle City Council and as the political director of the Washington State Labor Council. She reminded the company that the workers had dedicated their lives to making the business successful. "There are workers who have been here for more than 20 years," she said.

Mosqueda brings the workers' concerns to company management.

Mauser/ICS has a history of using anti-immigrant scare tactics to try to gain leverage in bargaining. Before contract talks in 2022, the company threatened to audit the immigration status of union members to pressure them into accepting a substandard agreement. Elected officials like Mosqueda, a City Councilmember at the time, together with community, labor, and faith-based groups, led a series of delegations demanding that the company drop the audit and bargain fairly. 

Strong community support cleared the way for a groundbreaking contract. Workers won significant wage increases and new language protecting immigrant rights. Now, three years later, the company wants to take those protections away.

WE WON'T LET IT HAPPEN

With the workers crowded behind her, Mosqueda urged management not to let it happen.   

"We need workers here in King County to feel safe when they go to their places of employment," she said. "I am hoping and asking and pleading with you to maintain the language in your contract that was negotiated in 2022 that says an immigrant worker's status will not be used against them."

CUTTING WORKERS' HOURS

Mauser/ICS has used other alarming tactics as well. In the year leading up to these negotiations, the company has slashed the workers' hours, sending them home sometimes after just 20 hours a week. Management says business has slowed, but workers insist production levels haven't tapered off at all and that a few employees are getting assigned overtime to make up for the lost hours.

"The other week, they gave us 26 hours. Last week, they only gave us 20," said Uvaldo Ramirez, who has been with the company for 17 years. "We can't survive on that."

Uvaldo Ramirez (center) voices workers' concern about getting their hours cut to unsustainable levels.

Ramirez and his co-workers organized with Teamsters 117 back in 2014. Before joining the union, the workers’ only water source was a rusty pipe. Their break room was a wreck of battered lockers, and they had no sanitary place to wash their hands. Joining Teamsters led to big improvements, including a new break room, new lockers, and a clean water dispensary.

STANDING UP TO CORPORATE GREED

But every contract cycle since then has been a struggle. This time around, Mauser/ICS has also rejected safety proposals by the union and wants to eliminate a $150 annual bonus for workers earning just over $22/hr. With revenues in the billions, the fact that a multi-national corporation like Mauser/ICS wants to squeeze every last cent from a group of twenty workers struggling to earn a living is outrageous.

"We will not back down from taking on this company," said Paul Dascher, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 117. "These workers do difficult, dangerous work where they're exposed to toxic chemicals. They deserve dignity and to be treated with respect. As in years past, we will enlist the support of our labor partners and the broader community. We won't quit until justice is served." 

PETITION TO SUPPORT MAUSER/ICS WORKERS

Stand with workers at Mauser/ICS who fighting for a fair contract! Add your name to the petition below: 

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