Press Releases
Local 104 Asarco Teamsters on Strike
(TUCSON, Ariz.) – There are 138 members represented by Teamsters Local 104 who are on strike as of 11:00 p.m. MST in Tucson, Arizona, on October 13. The unions involved held a strike authorization vote last week, with the result of 77 percent in favor of striking Asarco. ULP’s have been filed and the extension that the workers have been under since December 2018 has been cancelled and notice has been served on the company.
“I came from the Mission Complex and now I am their business agent representing my brothers and sisters at Asarco. I know first-hand how horrible the working conditions are and how unsettling it is sitting on the negotiation committee when the company will not bargain. I will stand with my brothers and sisters to ensure a fair contract,” said Business Agent Kevin Hampton.
The 138 Teamsters members work in mining at the Mission Complex located in Sahuarita, Arizona. Locations that will be included in this strike are: Silver Bell, Mission Complex, Hayden Complex, Ray Mine and Armarillo, TX with a total of 2,000 workers. The unions involved are: USW (United Steelworkers), IBEW (Electricians), IAM (International Associations of Machinists), UAW (United Automobile Workers), IUOE (International Union of Operating Engineers), Boilermakers (International of Boilermakers) and Teamsters Local 104 (International Brotherhood of Teamsters).
“Asarco’s last best and final offer was anything but a fair and respectable offer. These workers have already endured 9 years without a pay raise and to receive a final offer that freezes pension plans, leaves two thirds of the workers without a raise and more than doubles their out of pocket employee paid healthcare is not an offer of equity, it is an insult! When they refuse to see the value in their worker’s labor, they have lost the true value in their mine,” said Karla Schumann, Principal Officer, Teamsters Local 104, as the strike started.