Workers at Ruprecht Company pray with Illinois faith leaders outside the Mundelein meatpacking plant on July 2nd
Background:
In the past month, immigrant union workers at a Chicago-area meatpacking plant have been subjected to fear and arrests, and will be subjected to, in the words of Congressman Luis Gutierrez, “needless and harmful collateral damage to…families and children.”
For decades, UNITE HERE Local 1 has represented workers at Ruprecht Company, based in Mundelein, IL. Local 1’s collective bargaining agreement expired in August 2013, resulting in an ongoing labor dispute since then.
In January 2015, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent a subpoena for I-9 forms and notice of inspection to Ruprecht. Several months later, based on the ICE inspection, Ruprecht disregarded its bargaining obligation to Local 1 in violation of the National Labor Relations Act, prolonging the labor dispute.
Ruprecht members in conversation with Congressman Luis Gutierrez on July 13th
Local 1 believes that ICE has no legitimate business at Ruprecht, due to the Revised Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) which states: “ICE agrees to refrain from engaging in civil worksite enforcement activities at a worksite that is the subject of an existing DOL investigation of a labor dispute.”
The dispute between Ruprecht and Local 1 over the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement and Ruprecht’s use of temporary workers since the audit, falls under this memorandum.
What happened?
In early June 2015, Local 1 requested copies of Ruprecht’s communications with ICE regarding the I-9 audit. The company responded by falsely stating it had no documents responsive to the request.
On June 26th, Local 1 members at Ruprecht engaged in an unplanned work stoppage to demand they be given information about the ICE audit. The same day, the union filed two unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB against Ruprecht for violating its duty to bargain.
In early July, ICE detained and arrested eight Ruprecht employees at their homes, including three members of UNITE HERE.
Ruprecht workers and families
At a July 16th bargaining session, Ruprecht withdrew a tentative agreement on medical benefits and made a proposal to stop providing benefits through Local 1’s Taft-Hartley fund. At the same bargaining session, the company announced that it would be terminating 109 employees, including UNITE HERE members, between July 24th and August 7th.
Actions & Outreach:
Since the June 26th work stoppage, Father Clete Kiley, UNITE HERE Director for Immigration and a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and Maria Elena Durazo, UNITE HERE General Vice President of Immigration, Civil Rights and Diversity, have been conducting regular outreach to national political, labor and faith allies. Illinois faith leaders held a prayer service and blessing for Ruprecht workers outside of the Mundelein plant on July 3rd.
In mid-July, Congressman Luis Gutierrez organized a listening session for workers and their families, followed by a prayer service at St. Peter’s Church in Chicago’s Loop. The following day, Congressman Gutierrez sent a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson which read in part, “In addition to throwing families into crisis, the investigation may also result in undermining union activity and labor protections and rights in the workplace.” The letter requested that DHS end the I-9 investigation at Ruprecht.
UNITE HERE President D. Taylor has also sent a letter to Secretary Johnson requesting ICE suspend the audit while the NLRB investigates unfair labor practice charges at Ruprecht, and meet with UNITE HERE and immigrant advocates.
Ruprecht workers and families
Next steps & demands:
UNITE HERE has requested an in-person meeting with Secretary Johnson and Secretary Perez to discuss requests to:
• Rescind the Ruprecht audit and advise the company that it is not required to take any action on the basis of the previous notice;
• Provide affirmative relief to the affected employees; and
• Clarify how the administration intends to prevent ICE from interfering in the enforcement of labor law.
![The Honorable Jeh Johnson and Tom Perez 080515[2]_Page_1](https://www.unitehere1.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Honorable-Jeh-Johnson-and-Tom-Perez-0805152_Page_1-231x300.jpg)
![The Honorable Jeh Johnson and Tom Perez 080515[2]_Page_2](http://www.unitehere1.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Honorable-Jeh-Johnson-and-Tom-Perez-0805152_Page_2-231x300.jpg)
We also encourage individuals and organizations to share any similar experiences and lessons learned that may be helpful in our efforts to protect the livelihoods of the union workers at Ruprecht Company.
Click here and here to view photos of recent Ruprecht-related events. Press materials can be found here and here.
Ruprecht in the news:
“Liberan trabajadores detenidos por ICE,” Telemundo (Video): http://www.telemundochicago.com/noticias/Liberan-trabajadores-detenidos-por-ICE-314736991.html
“¿Inspecciones de ICE en el trabajo? Resultado de una auditoría en la empresaRuprecht Company, varias personas han sido detenidas por ICE en Chicago,” Univision (Video): http://video.univision.mobi/videos/video/2015-07-13/detenidos-ice-chicago-resultado-empresa-auditoria?id=618393
“More Than A Dozen Children Plead For Immigration Officials To Release Their Fathers,” 7/12, CBS Local News: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/07/12/more-than-a-dozen-children-plead-for-immigration-officials-to-release-their-fathers/
“ICE arresta a varios trabajadores latinos,” Univision (Video): http://chicago.univision.com/videos/video/2015-07-10/ice-arresta-trabajadores-latinos-ruprecht-company
“Faced With I-9 Immigration Raid During Negotiations, Chicago Meatpacking Workers Walked Off the Job,” 7/9, Yana Kunichoff, In These Times: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18176/confronted_with_an_immigration_raid_during_negotiations_meatpacking_workers
“Update: Immigration audit prompts strike at Ruprecht,” 6/29, Erica Shaffer, Meat + Poultry: http://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/news_home/Business/2015/06/Audit_prompts_strike_at_Ruprec.aspx?ID=%7B1DC2B479-F2DB-43FF-B068-C92A079A4E19%7D&cck=1
“Empleados latinos protestan contra auditoría de inmigración,” 6/27, EFE/Univision: http://chicago.univision.com/noticias/chicago/article/2015-06-27/empleados-latinos-ruprecht-huelga-auditorias-ice
“100 workers strike at Mundelein meatpacking firm,” 6/26, Micah Maidenberg, Crain’s Chicago Business: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150626/NEWS05/150629805/100-workers-strike-at-mundelein-meatpacking-firm
(Press) Chicago-Area Sexual Harassment Survey Reveals Disturbing Numbers
via CBS Chicago:
The survey found that the industries with the highest levels of harassment are hospitality and food service.
“A national survey says 1 in 3 women are sexually harassed at work. Who here thinks that’s kind of low? We wanted to know about women’s experiences working in Chicago’s hotels and casinos. What we found was shocking.”
Amongst hotel workers, 58 percent of women had been harassed by a guest…
(Press) Unite Here blasts McPier over McCormick Square name
via Crain’s Chicago Business:
Union workers at McCormick Place aren’t too happy with the new name that the agency that runs the convention center campus is trying to give its neighborhood.
That was the message delivered today by Unite Here Local 1 President Karen Kent at an annual convention of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in a crusade to push the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority to reconsider the name McCormick Square for its sprawling Near South Side campus…
(Press) Union Calls For Firing Of ICE Official Over Mundelein Meatpacking Plant Audit
via Progress Illinois:
UNITE HERE says a Chicago official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be fired over an immigration audit at a unionized meat packing plant in Mundelein.
The recent audit at the Ruprecht Company by ICE has led to eight arrests and 36 firings or resignations, according to UNITE HERE, which represents workers at the plant.
On Wednesday, the union release a new video about the audit and its impact on workers at Ruprecht.
Read more: http://progressillinois.com/news/content/2015/11/19/union-calls-firing-ice-official-over-mundelein-meatpacking-plant-audit
Press: Hotel Monaco housekeeper protests (7/31)
“Sin miedo para pedir lo que es justo”, 8/3 Vivelohoy: http://www.vivelohoy.com/chicago/8457551/sin-miedo-para-pedir-lo-que-es-justo
“Hotel Monaco Workers Protest Working Conditions”, 7/31 Fox 32: http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/29678246/hotel-monaco-workers-protest-working-conditions
“Protesta del trabajadores del hotel” 7/31 Univision Chicago: http://chicago.univision.com/videos/video/2015-07-31/protestas-trabajadores-hotel
On UNITE HERE’s labor dispute with Ruprecht Company
Workers at Ruprecht Company pray with Illinois faith leaders outside the Mundelein meatpacking plant on July 2nd
Background:
In the past month, immigrant union workers at a Chicago-area meatpacking plant have been subjected to fear and arrests, and will be subjected to, in the words of Congressman Luis Gutierrez, “needless and harmful collateral damage to…families and children.”
For decades, UNITE HERE Local 1 has represented workers at Ruprecht Company, based in Mundelein, IL. Local 1’s collective bargaining agreement expired in August 2013, resulting in an ongoing labor dispute since then.
In January 2015, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent a subpoena for I-9 forms and notice of inspection to Ruprecht. Several months later, based on the ICE inspection, Ruprecht disregarded its bargaining obligation to Local 1 in violation of the National Labor Relations Act, prolonging the labor dispute.
Ruprecht members in conversation with Congressman Luis Gutierrez on July 13th
Local 1 believes that ICE has no legitimate business at Ruprecht, due to the Revised Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) which states: “ICE agrees to refrain from engaging in civil worksite enforcement activities at a worksite that is the subject of an existing DOL investigation of a labor dispute.”
The dispute between Ruprecht and Local 1 over the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement and Ruprecht’s use of temporary workers since the audit, falls under this memorandum.
What happened?
In early June 2015, Local 1 requested copies of Ruprecht’s communications with ICE regarding the I-9 audit. The company responded by falsely stating it had no documents responsive to the request.
On June 26th, Local 1 members at Ruprecht engaged in an unplanned work stoppage to demand they be given information about the ICE audit. The same day, the union filed two unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB against Ruprecht for violating its duty to bargain.
In early July, ICE detained and arrested eight Ruprecht employees at their homes, including three members of UNITE HERE.
Ruprecht workers and families
At a July 16th bargaining session, Ruprecht withdrew a tentative agreement on medical benefits and made a proposal to stop providing benefits through Local 1’s Taft-Hartley fund. At the same bargaining session, the company announced that it would be terminating 109 employees, including UNITE HERE members, between July 24th and August 7th.
Actions & Outreach:
Since the June 26th work stoppage, Father Clete Kiley, UNITE HERE Director for Immigration and a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and Maria Elena Durazo, UNITE HERE General Vice President of Immigration, Civil Rights and Diversity, have been conducting regular outreach to national political, labor and faith allies. Illinois faith leaders held a prayer service and blessing for Ruprecht workers outside of the Mundelein plant on July 3rd.
In mid-July, Congressman Luis Gutierrez organized a listening session for workers and their families, followed by a prayer service at St. Peter’s Church in Chicago’s Loop. The following day, Congressman Gutierrez sent a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson which read in part, “In addition to throwing families into crisis, the investigation may also result in undermining union activity and labor protections and rights in the workplace.” The letter requested that DHS end the I-9 investigation at Ruprecht.
UNITE HERE President D. Taylor has also sent a letter to Secretary Johnson requesting ICE suspend the audit while the NLRB investigates unfair labor practice charges at Ruprecht, and meet with UNITE HERE and immigrant advocates.
Ruprecht workers and families
Next steps & demands:
UNITE HERE has requested an in-person meeting with Secretary Johnson and Secretary Perez to discuss requests to:
• Rescind the Ruprecht audit and advise the company that it is not required to take any action on the basis of the previous notice;
• Provide affirmative relief to the affected employees; and
• Clarify how the administration intends to prevent ICE from interfering in the enforcement of labor law.
ORGANIZATIONS: Please sign on to UNITE HERE’s national letter to Secretaries Johnson and Perez, signed by labor, faith, and immigrant leaders from across the country.
Click here and here to view photos of recent Ruprecht-related events. Press materials can be found here and here.
Ruprecht in the news:
“Liberan trabajadores detenidos por ICE,” Telemundo (Video): http://www.telemundochicago.com/noticias/Liberan-trabajadores-detenidos-por-ICE-314736991.html
“¿Inspecciones de ICE en el trabajo? Resultado de una auditoría en la empresaRuprecht Company, varias personas han sido detenidas por ICE en Chicago,” Univision (Video): http://video.univision.mobi/videos/video/2015-07-13/detenidos-ice-chicago-resultado-empresa-auditoria?id=618393
“More Than A Dozen Children Plead For Immigration Officials To Release Their Fathers,” 7/12, CBS Local News: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/07/12/more-than-a-dozen-children-plead-for-immigration-officials-to-release-their-fathers/
“ICE arresta a varios trabajadores latinos,” Univision (Video): http://chicago.univision.com/videos/video/2015-07-10/ice-arresta-trabajadores-latinos-ruprecht-company
“Faced With I-9 Immigration Raid During Negotiations, Chicago Meatpacking Workers Walked Off the Job,” 7/9, Yana Kunichoff, In These Times: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18176/confronted_with_an_immigration_raid_during_negotiations_meatpacking_workers
“Update: Immigration audit prompts strike at Ruprecht,” 6/29, Erica Shaffer, Meat + Poultry: http://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/news_home/Business/2015/06/Audit_prompts_strike_at_Ruprec.aspx?ID=%7B1DC2B479-F2DB-43FF-B068-C92A079A4E19%7D&cck=1
“Empleados latinos protestan contra auditoría de inmigración,” 6/27, EFE/Univision: http://chicago.univision.com/noticias/chicago/article/2015-06-27/empleados-latinos-ruprecht-huelga-auditorias-ice
“100 workers strike at Mundelein meatpacking firm,” 6/26, Micah Maidenberg, Crain’s Chicago Business: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150626/NEWS05/150629805/100-workers-strike-at-mundelein-meatpacking-firm
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