Chicago grocery Teamsters at Anthony Marano Company are celebrating the reinstatement of TDU member and workplace activist Juan Vargas 16 months after his illegal termination.

Vargas is a 20-year Teamster member and workplace leader. Before he was fired in February 2023, he served on the bargaining committee and helped lead the campaign to win a stronger contract. 

“They fired me because they wanted to intimidate the other workers,” said Vargas. “But with my reinstatement, we have won two against the company,” meaning his job and a better contract won through organizing.

Rank-and-File Contract Campaign

Anthony Marano Company is a major produce distributor in the Chicago area. Over 600 people, the majority of whom are Spanish-speaking immigrants, work at the warehouse and are represented by Teamsters Local 703. 

Marano Teamsters were fed up with low wages and grueling work conditions. They started organizing in 2022 to address the issues and win a stronger contract. 

In February 2023, almost 100 Marano Teamsters attended a workshop co-hosted by TDU and Chicago Community and Workers Rights (CCWR) on building a contract campaign.

Vargas hosted weekly meetings with over 40 workers in his basement to discuss bargaining demands and a plan for action. They created and distributed flyers with contract demands. They made matching Teamster baseball caps and wore them to work in a show of unity during negotiations.

Fighting Retaliation

In response, Marano unleashed a campaign of intimidation aimed at chilling rank-and-file activity. 

The company fired Vargas after he refused to participate in a captive audience meeting. It reduced hours and cut pay of others who had handed out flyers and participated in union efforts. 

Members campaigned for Vargas’ reinstatement and continued to organize for a stronger contract. With TDU’s help, he took his case to court through the grievance process and the NLRB. 

Vargas won at arbitration and returned to work in June with full back pay. 

What’s more, workers organized to educate the warehouse’s immigrant workforce about their rights to organize in the workplace. With CCWR’s help, more than 100 have filed for work permits through DALE, a federal program which protects immigrant workers who are involved in labor investigations.

Organizing for More

Marano Teamsters won improvements in their contract despite company retaliation. Workers got a raise of between 50 cents and $3 immediately, and $5 over the course of the five-year contract. Previous increases hadn’t kept up with the minimum wage. 

Workers also won language on safety and harassment for the first time.

“The contract fight has changed the whole panorama,” said Margarita Hernandez, a packer who started working at the company in 2006. 

Before, “we were routinely disrespected by managers with a haughty attitude,” she said, "and told to quit if we didn’t like the bad treatment. We knew that we deserved more, but we didn’t know where to start. TDU has offered us an education to fight with the fundamentals of the law on our side. We are no longer blind.”

Vargas and his coworkers plan to keep organizing for more. In the next round of negotiations, they want to improve healthcare and fight for a pension or a 401(k).

Marano Teamsters' story was recently covered in Labor Notes. Click here for the article.