In the aftermath of Sean O’Brien’s embarrassing homage to the most reactionary and xenophobic Republican party in generations at their party’s National Convention last month, the largest Teamsters joint council (JC) in the union, JC 42, had prematurely voted in mid-July to endorse the reelection of Democratic party xenophobe – Kevin de Leon for Los Angeles city council’s 14th district—only to withdraw it two weeks later. The city councilman gained national notoriety when he compared a colleague’s adopted black son to luxury handbags almost two years ago. De Leon’s remarks triggered protests in the second largest city in the U.S. and calls for his resignation.
Teamsters JC 42, represents a total of 23 locals in Southern California, Southern Nevada, Guam, Saipan and Hawaii. With political outsider and pro-labor candidate Ysabel Jurado receiving the endorsement of both the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (LACFL) and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) why would JC 42 led by international vice president-at-large and Local 986 head Chris Griswold make such a premature endorsement of de Leon?
Back in October 2022, de Leon and two other Latino Democrats from the city council were caught-up in a leaked audio conversation with the leader of the LACFL – Ron Herrera. The audio revealed them making racist remarks against African-Americans, indigenous people from the southwestern Mexican state of Oaxaca, whites and Armenians. The revelations stirred widespread backlash from the ethnically mixed Los Angeles community.
The L.A. Fed Leaked Audio Scandal
The conversation among the four bureaucrats took place at the headquarters of the LA Fed during a meeting to discuss their opportunistic “redistricting” or “gerrymandering” plan to carve-out the population into racial enclaves—a very common phenomenon of the two corporate parties in America: Democratic and Republican. Using the hybrid Spanglish dialect which is commonly used by Latino-Americans and Chicanos, City Council member Nury Martinez – referred to the black child of a rival city council member as a changito – the Spanish term for “little monkey.” Adding fuel to the fire she exclaimed the child “needed a beatdown,” and insisted, “let me take him around the corner.” Martinez also expressed that the city’s County District Attorney – George Gascon was “for the blacks.”
While discussing the redistricting of Koreatown, Martinez – the daughter of an immigrant farmworker herself mocked the district’s indigenous immigrants from Oaxaca, referring to them as “short little dark people” and “tan feos” – “they are ugly.” Martinez who as city council member raked in over $200,000 per year not only expressed her prejudice against indigenous Mexicans, but also exposed her credentials as part of the Democratic Latino elite and ties to the Clinton wing of the Democratic party. Martinez, also disparaged “the white members of the council” who she stated “will motherfuck you in a heartbeat.”
For Ron Herrera, his political aspirations were warped by both his failures in academia and his sudden resignation from the Teamsters just two months prior to the infamous audio being leaked. Within Teamster circles it is believed he was blackmailed into resigning from the union by his Teamsters Local 396 successor – Victor Mineros. Ironically, the ineloquent Mineros had been groomed by Herrera as one of his most trusted personal gofers, but during the 2021 general election had been working as a double agent to stab his mentor in the back. A very common practice among the union’s old-guard. The strife to force Herrera out of Teamsters Local 396 was done so as a favor to an authoritarian and vindictive O’Brien. Herrera had been an opposing candidate during the 2021 Teamsters general election as candidate for secretary-treasurer. During a debate against O’Brien’s running mate – Fred Zuckerman, Herrera mocked O’Brien by referring to him to as: “my little brother from Boston.” A serious offense to O’Brien who like fascists, suffers significantly from short-man syndrome.
At the meeting, Herrera openly expressed his ethnic nationalistic Chicano prejudices, by adding that they were forming “a little Latino caucus of our own.” He referred to Richard Katz as “Katz and his crew,” and that they “have and agenda.” Martinez added, “the judios—the Jews, “cut their deal with South LA” and “are going to screw everyone else.” Then she attacked the Armenian community when she referred to an Armenian city council member, “he also wants his guy elected…they want to assure, they want to be reassured that they have, not an Armenian district in the Valley, because that doesn’t exist, but they want as many Armenians in that district as possible to be able to play.”
Gil Cedillo, another city councilman in a softer tone noted in the meeting that all Armenian last names: “end in i-a-n.” Only after the recording was made public did de Leon express remorse over the comments made by his colleagues. He also apologized for agreeing with Martinez and her denigrating remarks about the presence of an adopted black son of a gay council member at a political event. He compared the child to luxury purses by stating: “just like when Nury [Martinez] brings her Goyard bag or the Louis Vuitton bag.”
But de Leon who was raised by a single mother that immigrated from Guatemala and worked as a housekeeper did not back away from his comments about black political representation. De Leon further attacked the city’s African-American community when he expressed: “it sounds like there’s thousands and then when you actually pull the curtain you see the little Wizard of Oz.”
The recording by these four ethnically racist Latino bureaucrats generated anger and calls from every sector and entity to resign. With mounting pressure from the Teamsters hierarchy that included Griswold’s written demand for the four to resign along with nationwide civic leaders, Herrera indeed was forced to announce his resignation from the fed. Martinez also stepped down from her position as president of the city council. But Cedillo, who had lost his bid for reelection refused to resign and stayed on the city’s council seat until the conclusion of his term. In the midst of community protests, de Leon, who’s term is not over until this year refused to consider calls for his resignation or forfeiting his $232,000 salary.
When Teamsters Local 630 which is located in Downtown Los Angeles, and only local directly affected by the policies of district 14 made the motion to endorse Jurado, because of de Leon’s failure to address the ongoing homeless crisis in the area among other issues, they were shunned and outvoted 8 to 5 by Griswold and the majority of the JC 42 locals. But why would Griswold and his lackeys take a drastic 180-degree turn to the right to endorse a known racist after having asked for his resignation in 2022? It is likely due to the inner strife and divisions that have been relevant in Southern California since O’Brien succeeded in orchestrating a coup to topple the former leadership of Randy Cammack in 2023.
The city’s downtown area has been caught in a homeless quagmire where they can be seen camping outside of the union hall and literally defecate on the sidewalks. Local 630 staff and visitors have not only complained about their vehicles being broken into, but have also described their unpleasant path into the union hall – where they have to literally hopscotch their way in order to avoid stepping on excrement. New data from the city in 2023 also shows that de Leon’s district 14 had the highest number of homeless deaths in the city at 269. That is 30% of all deaths in the city. And it is nearly three times the amount of council district 1, where 105 individuals who were homeless died.
But to the surprise of most, on July 23rd, JC 42 locals received an email from Griswold announcing the withdrawal of de Leon’s premature endorsement. The email also advised the locals to endorse political candidates of their choice. Could the outrage from liberal, progressive and Left outlets against O’Brien’s despicable embracement of anti-union chauvinists and xenophobic bigots like Donald Trump, J.D. Vance and Josh Hawley be the reason?
The Problem of Identity Politics and Chicanismo
In sum, the bankrupt, toxic and separatist identity politics of Herrera, Martinez, Cedillo and de Leon can be traced back to Cesar Chavez, his side kick Dolores Huerta and the politics of the undemocratic top-down structure of the United Farm Workers (UFW). To most Chicanos today, Chavez still remains the most important representative of their movement. In his defense, they dismiss that in the 1960s he opposed the unification of white and Mexican-American workers—and clashed with his Filipino colleagues. The clash resulted in the eventual departure of the most genuine militant unionist in the agricultural fields and actual leader of the 1965 Delano Grape Strike, Larry Itliong. Furthermore, Chavez and the UFW also possessed a deep personal and political hatred of undocumented immigrants who they explicitly referred to as “wetbacks.”
In response to undocumented immigrants, by the 1970s, Chavez and the UFW had set up a little operation they coined the “Wet Line.” Their operation sent a militia of thugs to attack, beat and rob migrant workers attempting to cross the southern border from Mexico. Ironically, Chavez’s main henchman was his troubled cousin – Manuel Chavez. By the end of the 1980s a new influx of nearly three million Central American immigrants escaping the death squads of Washington sponsored military juntas made their way into the U.S. The UFW however, failed to capitalize on the opportunity to recruit them into the fields and ranks—further continuing the still present division between privileged Chicanos, first generation born Latino-Americans and undocumented immigrants.
Conclusion
With Labor Notes, In These Times and Jacobin finally joining the chorus of other Left and progressive groups against O’Brien’s latest spectacle, the unscrupulous and discredited Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) has remained silent. Despite Trump and the Republicans opposing the American Rescue Plan that just bailed out O’Brien’s underfunded pension fund at the tune of $5.7 billion at the end of July, it is evident the self-serving and opportunistic O’Brien will sell the Teamsters rank-and-file out for a chance at the Secretary of Labor appointment and is hoping the members vote to endorse Donald Trump over Kamala Harris. The double-standard and political zig-zagging of Sean O’Brien’s Teamsters today in flirting with the most reactionary and xenophobic elements of America’s political establishment is not only absurd, but should be rejected by all means.
-Edgar Esquivel
