Mauser locks out Seattle Teamsters

Multinational corporation Mauser Packaging Solutions/ICS is attempting to force workers into accepting a substandard contract proposal

SEATTLE, WA (April 17, 2025) – Industrial Container Services, LLC (ICS), which does business as Mauser Packaging Solutions, has locked out a group of 20 Teamsters who refurbish industrial barrels at the company’s facility in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle. The company broke off contract negotiations with Teamsters Local 117 on Friday after issuing an ultimatum that would force workers into accepting low pay and inconsistent hours.

On Monday, the company told workers to gather their personal belongings and leave the facility until further notice. The Union later confirmed that workers were locked out of their jobs. The company has threatened to continue the lockout until workers ratify its last contract proposal.

Workers have been picketing outside the facility since Tuesday and are planning to hold an End the Lockout on April 22. Picket lines are running from 5 a.m. t0 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the ICS facility at 7152 1st Ave S, Seattle.

“Locking out workers during collective bargaining is a deliberately vicious move,” said Paul Dascher, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 117. “It shows Mauser Packaging Solutions doesn’t care about the welfare of its workers or the health of our community. They only care about lining their pockets with profits made off of the backs of workers who are exercising their right to stand together for better conditions.”

Leading up to negotiations, the company reduced workers’ hours to an unsustainable level, making it impossible for them to support their families. Management says business has slowed, but workers insist production levels have not decreased and that a few employees are getting assigned overtime to make up for the lost hours. “The other week, they gave us 26 hours. Last week, they only gave us 20,” said Uvaldo Ramirez, who has been with the company for 17 years. “I can’t survive on that.”

On April 9, King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda led a delegation of workers to the Mauser/ICS offices in South Park, calling on the company to bargain a fair contract in good faith in a way that respects the voice of its workers. On April 10, IG Metall, a German trade union that represents Mauser workers in Germany, sent a letter urging the company to take responsibility for the health and safety of its workers and bargain fairly.

“Mauser is a billion dollar multinational that can afford to provide safe, family-supporting jobs. Instead, they’ve chosen to punish workers who are standing up for their rights,” Dascher said. “Mauser needs to end this ruthless lockout and bargain a fair contract with family wages and stable hours.”

TAKE A STAND: join workers for a rally calling on Mauser/ICS to end the lock out on Tuesday, April 22 at 9:30 a.m. in front of the ICS facility at 7152 1st Ave S, Seattle.