North Carolina Electrical Workers Gear Up for Jobsite ICE Defense
IBEW members gathered at a 4th amendment workplaces training. Photo: Jody Anderson
I'm an electrical worker in IBEW Local 553 in Durham, North Carolina. We're one of the fastest growing locals in the South, with members in both construction and utility line work.
Last month, I worked with a group of members to organize an immigrant defense training at our union hall, after persuading our officers to approve it. We worked with local immigrant organization Siembra NC to lead it. We had about twenty people there, half IBEW members and half from other organizations. Everybody agreed it was very useful.
Siembra NC combined two trainings into one. One was ICE verification: training people to show up when they hear reports of ICE, and send out a confirmation or an “all clear” to a local network. People are very scared and can think it’s ICE when it’s not. Unverified rumors can quickly spread and stoke terror in immigrant communities. Building an ICE verification network helps get information out when ICE is conducting a raid, and prevents alarmism when it's not.
The second part was “4th Amendment workplaces” training about how to make your workplace a little safer. Even small changes can make a big difference: making sure your doors and gates say “employees only” or “restricted area” can keep ICE from barging in. We have a goal to push our employer to implement these changes. We also got trained to ask for a warrant, and to record agents.
We also talked about other things we can do. Having established safety practices can add a layer of protection in the event of a worksite ICE raid. Since PPE is a requirement on jobsites, if agents show up, we can say, “Hey, we need to get you a hard hat and glasses—this is a restricted area".
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We're working next on a “train the trainer” session to put this training on for other union locals. We talked with Siembra NC about developing a construction-specific 4th amendment training.. Unlike most union members, we work for a subcontractor of a general contractor, who works for a customer. We want to think more about where to put pressure in that chain.
Finally, we passed a local resolution at our August meeting to “condemn any statements made on our behalf that condemn, attack, or call for violence against immigrant workers", in response to the NABTU officer statement that called for an ICE raid at a non-union worksite. The resolution says we'll train our membership on how to respond if ICE enters a jobsite and why it is important for us to organize immigrant workers, while building relationships with immigrant justice organizations suggested by members.
We haven't seen any real pushback in our locals so far: a majority of workers in our local support these efforts. We have a good number of immigrant workers in our local. We expect a few members will speak against it, but know they're in a minority. Having leadership that doesn't oppose this is important too.
We hope other locals will pass this resolution, and will reach out to us. We hope to build a bigger network of IBEW members working to build immigrant solidarity on the job.
Jody Anderson is a fourth year apprentice from IBEW local 553, and a member of the Caucus of Rank and File Electrical Workers, or CREW.
