Marathon Refinery workers of Teamsters Local 283 in Detroit are on an indefinite strike to fight for cost of living increases in wages, better working conditions, and an all-union shop. This is the first time the refinery has been on strike in 30 years and looks to take advantage of recently-repealed “Right to Work” legislation.
Brian H. Silverstein September 7, 2024
On September 4, following a 95 percent strike authorization vote, Teamsters Local 283 in Detroit, representing over 250 Marathon refinery workers, walked off the job. The Teamsters have been in negotiations with plant management since November 2023 and workers have been on the job without a contract since January 1, 2024. After the company halted negotiations, workers at the refinery went on strike for the first time in 30 years. Their main demands include cost of living raises that recoup the spending power lost to inflation since the COVID pandemic began, better healthcare, a requirement that all refinery employees be union members, and an end to the use of non-union subcontractors.
The Marathon strike is one of the largest in Michigan since “Right to Work” legislation was repealed earlier this year. The legislation, enacted in 2012, made it illegal for employment contracts to mandate joining the union. If the workers win the demand for a union shop, this would grow the strength of the local and set an important precedent for the broader labor movement in Michigan.
The strike comes after a year of sky-high gas prices – Marathon made nearly $10 billion in profits during 2023. The Detroit plant is a significant part of Marathon’s operations, processing 140,000 barrels per day. Instead of passing along the benefits of this surplus to workers, Marathon has been on a stock buy-back spending spree – $35 billion since 2021. Workers on the picket line talked about Marathon’s price gouging tactics at the pump and feel they’re getting squeezed at both ends of the process. Now, the company is seeking to further maximize its profit margin by cutting labor costs through layoffs and slashing benefits.
Even though half of the refinery’s 525 workers walked off the job, production and distribution continues with scab labor shipped in from around the country. Some in-bound trucks have refused to cross the picket line, but distribution continues under police enforcement. Across from the picket line, almost 20 Detroit police officers are on standby making sure tanker trucks aren’t blocked. While the workers are doing their best to stop or at least slow plant traffic, the cops have at times formed their own lines to create a corridor for trucks to pass through.
On the picket lines, workers expressed frustration about the scab workers and concerns for the safety of the plant and surrounding city. The Marathon refinery sits in Southwest Detroit, a working class and immigrant neighborhood. Striking workers are worried that the quickly-trained scab labor don’t have the years of experience to safely run the plant and say Marathon’s desire to break the strike is putting the city at risk.
The Marathon strike is the latest in a growing national labor movement. In 2022, the first Amazon warehouse was unionized, and Starbucks shops all across the country formed combative unions. Then in 2023, autoworkers in Detroit and across the country went on strike, which gave new energy to the UAW’s organizing drive in the South. At the same time, Kaiser Permanente workers went on the largest healthcare strike in U.S. history. Meanwhile, academic workers on college campuses have become increasingly organized and many campuses have gone on strike, including the University of California which recently struck for political demands connecting the labor movement to the Palestinian liberation movement.
Teamsters Local 283 is calling on their union siblings and members of the community to join them on the picket line at 12800 Toronto St, Detroit. The picket lines will be present 24/7 – so go out to the lines and support these fighting workers! We also encourage activists in the social movements to go out and walk the line. Each strike victory strengthens the overall labor movement and strengthens every movement of the exploited and oppressed.
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