Standing Against Attacks on Union Families in Mississippi

Recently, in one of the largest workplace raids in U.S. history, almost 600 immigrant workers were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the state of Mississippi. These were not criminals; they were hard-working men and women. Many of these workers are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and worked at multiple poultry plants in the region. It was heartbreaking to see that on their first day of school, many of these workers children were left at school without their parents being able to pick them up.

This latest attack on Union members and their families is another demonstration of the hateful agenda that currently dominates the political discourse in our country. These actions make it harder for workers to stand up and exercise their rights on the job and in their communities. We must view this action for what it is, an open attack on working people. The same politicians that support this attack on immigrant workers also support a broad agenda that hurts working families, including making it harder for workers to organize a union, passing right to work laws, opposing minimum wage increases, and fighting against expanded workplace protections.

In order to fight back against this hateful agenda, Union members from across the country must unite and stand up for the rights of all working people, regardless of their background or legal status. We must continue mobilizing in our workplaces to stop employers from using ICE as a way to discourage Union organizing. We must push on our elected leaders to take action and demand better labor and immigration laws that allow people to exercise their rights without fear of retaliation and deportation. As Teamsters, we must be at the forefront of this fight so that the entire Labor Movement in this great nation will once again be the power for all working men & women.

I would like to thank our General President, James P. Hoffa for his bold stance and leading the Teamsters against this attack on working families.

Teamsters Local 396 represents UPS and Sanitation workers in Southern California. The Local Union also serves Members in other miscellaneous industries such as logistics, recycling, and feed delivery services.