IBEW 11 Stands with Labor to Defend Workers’ Rights Through the Power of Non-Violent Action

Pictured above (Left to right): Hector Navarro (E-Board Member), Jorge Hernandez, Zachary Solomon, Citlali Castillo, Yvonne Wheeler, Errol Cutley, Ruben Mendoza, Yezdan Marquez, Joe Mendiola.

A dozen IBEW 11 Brothers and Sisters stood shoulder to shoulder with an army of more than 1,000 union members, community organizers, political leaders, social justice and civic rights advocates, and ordinary citizens who showed up in force united by a common bond: resist government oppression through non-violent protest.

Across Los Angeles County masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are aggressively and randomly stopping and detaining anyone who looks “undocumented,” regardless of their criminal status. Using nothing more than racial profiling, rather than warrants and data, ICE is terrorizing and deporting many of our Brothers and Sisters. 

New activists and social justice veterans packed the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor’s three-hour Direct Action Training session at the L.A. Convention center last week to learn how to counteract the unconstitutional ICE raids, sharpen their resistance skills and unite in a collaborative space to build courage, clarity, and community. 

“We learned how to react without violence,” said IBEW 11 organizer Citlali Castillo. “The training showed us a different way to respond if we’re approached by ICE on the jobsite or out in the community. It was very empowering, especially the role playing. It desensitized us. We did one exercise where we were at a rally and getting heckled. They showed us how to ignore the heckler or respond in a calm, and non-violent way.” 

Los Angeles County has become ground zero for the federal government’s unprecedented and discriminatory targeting, arrest, and detainment of undocumented immigrants under the guise of “protecting Americans from criminals” – although ICE’s own statistics as of June 29 revealed that 72 percent of those swept up in their raids had no criminal record. 

This interactive Direct Action Training session equipped participants with the principles and practical tools for non-violent direct action. Rooted in a rich history of social change in the tradition of Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and more, the training covered strategies, group dynamics, creative protest methods, and how to stay grounded and safe during action. 

IBEW 11 Executive Board member Hector Navarro, who attended the training, knows firsthand the terror of indiscriminate ICE raids at the job site. Several weeks ago, masked agents raided a nearby construction site and hauled away seven terrified workers. It was total chaos, with unmarked cars pulling up, and workers running in all different directions, shouting “La Migra!” Navarro said. “Our foreman locked down our jobsite to keep us safe, saying no one could come in or out without going through them. They left us alone.” 

But he admits we are living in scary times where a certain segment of the population feels as if they have a target on their backs. 

“I am born and bred here in the U.S. and 34 years in the union, but it feels like we’re back in the 1950s,” Navarro said. “I worry because of the way I look. I worry not only about my personal family but also my union family.” 

To cope, Navarro says he limits the amount of news he consumes, and he now plans to take the new knowledge he’s gained and pay it forward. 

“I learned what to do if I’m approached – what to say and not to say,” he said. “As leaders in the union, we have to work with our members and show them what to do if they are approached.”