Teamsters

The Teamsters worked with canneries in Watsonville through the teamster hierarchy:

  • The local union, Local 912
  • Joint Council 7, which oversaw teamsters in Northern California
  • The Western Conference of Teamsters, which oversaw teamsters regionally
  • The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which oversaw teamsters in the United States and Canada

Secretary-Treasurer Richard King ran Local 912 from 1967 to 1985.  He owned a bar down from the plant and often negotiated contracts over drinks with owners.  Alex Ybarrolaza from Joint Council 7 described King as "despised by most of his membership" and absent and unsupportive during the strike (Shapiro, pgs. 68-69).  Ybarrolaza would exercise Teamster influence behind the scenes for the duration of the strike.  Sergio Lopez was elected to replace King in 1985, and he ran Local 912 through the strike and until 2001.

In the oral histories below by Sergio Lopez and Alex Ybarrolaza they discuss Teamster activity during the strike.  Lopez describes the solidarity of the strikers and pressures on Local 912, particularly threats by the Teamsters to put the local union in trusteeship and end the strike. In his interview, Ybarrolaza describes how he came to Watsonville, and working behind the scenes at the Teamsters convention to get a resolution passed in support of the strike, even though it did not have the full support of the Teamsters. The resolution was a boycott of Wells Fargo Bank, which had loaned money to cannery owner Mort Console to keep him afloat during the strike.

The article below from the Register Pajaronian reports on the December 1985 union election to replace Richard King. Candidates from the different factions are interviewed, including Leon Ellis from the Teamsters, Joe Fahey from TDU, and Gloria Betancourt and Isabel (Chavelo) Moreno from the Strikers' Committee.  Betancourt and Moreno presented themselves as "the People's Slate."

Questions

  • In the article below, what changes are the People's Slate candidates proposing that they believe would make the union stronger?  In what ways would those changes strengthen the union?
  • The election of new leadership represents a tension between experienced leaders seeking reelection and non experienced members running for the first time.  What are the arguments the candidates are making to support their position?

Sergio López on the Strike and the Teamsters

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Alex Ybarrolaza on the Teamsters

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Text of article below (PDF) Download Text of article below (PDF)

Article on Teamsters election from Pajaronian with images and quotes from people running for office. See PDF above for text.Article on Teamsters election from Pajaronian with quotes from people running for office. See PDF above for text.

"Sergio Lopez interviewed by Peter Shapiro." 16 July 2009.  larc.oh.shapiro_43, Labor Archives Research Center.  This is a clip from a longer interview which can be found here: https://archive.org/details/csfst_006469

"Chuck Mack and Alex Ybarrolaza interviewed by Peter Shapiro." 23 Feb. 2009. larc.oh.shapiro_08, Labor Archives Research Center.  This is a clip from a longer interview which can be found here: https://archive.org/details/csfst_0

Schilling, Elizabeth. "Teamsters:  Election Certain to Reflect Demand for Change." Register Pajaronian, 21 Dec. 1985, pgs. 1-2.

Note:  The Register Pajaronian is available online through the Watsonville Public Library.