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Contra Costa County Sheriff's deputies armed with batons and tear gas declared an unlawful assembly as a hundred-odd union members and supporters blocked an entrance to C&H Sugar factory in Crockett on Tuesday.
A C&H representative wrote in an email Tuesday that in response to the protests, the company has issued a temporary restraining order against Local 6 and Local 10 "to stop the unlawful blockade of our refinery."
"Third-party contractors trying to do business with C&H Sugar have had their tractor trailers' brake lines cut and tires slashed," said the statement.
Earlier Tuesday, International Longshore and Warehouse Union members blocked several entrances to the C&H Sugar factory following reports that the company hired temporary workers to unload sugar from a cargo ship at the center of an ongoing strike by ILWU Local 6 and a sympathy strike by Local 10.
People from all over the Bay Area converged at C&H's main entrance on Loring Avenue in Crockett and the truck entrance on Dowrelio Drive under the Carquinez Bridge, blocking both sides of the gate with cars, motorcycles, groups walking the picket line, and even people playing dominoes.
Shortly after 4 p.m., Sgt. Daniel Marzilli, accompanied by more than a dozen Sheriff's Office vehicles, told crowds of people grouped at the intersection of Loring Avenue and West Street to disperse.
"I hereby declare this is an unlawful assembly," said Marzilli into a megaphone. "If you do not do so you may be arrested or subject to other police action," including "less lethal munition, chemical agents or police dogs."
C&H administrators remained in cars and SUVs behind the demonstrators until police were able to create a separation in the wall of protesters and escort them out.
Local 10 workers, who operate cranes on the docks at C&H and all over the Bay Area to unload goods from ships, stopped work at the factory on June 15 in support of Local 6 warehouse workers, who voted to go on strike over a contract that they allege guts retirement benefits, cuts sick days and compromises seniority rules and overtime pay.
The work stoppage included refusing to unload sugar from ships docked at the factory.
‘We all have a choice'
Adrian Wells, a driver stuck in line on the factory side of the entrance, called himself "a local scab." Wells, a non-union trucker from Modesto, has been hauling sugar products to and from the factory for Cherokee Freight Lines since the strike started.
"We all have a choice," he said of driving through strike lines. "We could stop what we're doing. But I want to make some money," said Wells, who is earning $1,700 a week on this job. "When things settle down, I'll be out of a job and the normal guys will pick up."
Sheriff's deputies and the California Highway Patrol arrived on the scene around 1 p.m. and attempted to clear the roadway.
The Local 10 shutdown comes amid a second week of negotiations between Local 6 and C&H, which on Monday saw some movement following a series of 10-plus hour meetings that reached a stalemate.
"We could stop what we're doing. But I want to make some money. When things settle down, I'll be out of a job and the normal guys will pick up."
Adrian Wells, non-union trucker crossing picket line during strike
"It was a relief to see them finally making a move," said Cesar Garibay, a negotiator for Local 6.
Garibay was unable to give details of the negotiations, but said that in previous meetings, C&H had made no indication they would be flexible on any terms of the contract. The next meeting is on Wednesday.
"We remain committed to a constructive dialogue and reaching a fair agreement with the ILWU local 6," said Hitesh Modgil, the C&H factory's general manager, in a letter sent to media titled "What's at stake for the Crockett refinery" sent out last week.
In the letter, Modgil detailed the struggles of the sugar industry - the closure of factories and loss of jobs around the country and increased regulations.
"These are the day-to-day realities that every business and employer in this industry must navigate," wrote Modgil.
Conciliatory messages
The letter also states that workers will be welcomed back to their jobs following the strike.
A previous letter sent by Modgil offered strikers a $1,000 bonus to return to the warehouse.
When Local 6 members walked off the job in June, Local 10 members refused to unload the Tai Herald, a cargo ship bearing sugar from the Philippines, which has been idling in the water with its haul since the start of the strike.
After Monday's negotiations, according to ILWU members and sugar workers, C&H brought in temporary hires to unload sugar from the Tai Herald - prompting Local 10 to double down on their support for the strike.
"Because we wouldn't cross Local 6 picket line, the company decided to go get some strike breakers to work the local 10 jobs also," said Trent Willis, vice president of ILWU Local 10, standing alongside strikers outside the C&H truck entrance under the Carquinez Bridge on Tuesday.
"The ILWU fights for good working conditions," said Willis. "That raises the standards for other workers outside the ILWU - a standard they can compare to when they're fighting for their own contracts."
"When the employers go against strike breakers and cross over us like this, they're lowering those standards," said Willis. "They're challenging everything working people have fought for in this country for the past hundred years."
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