What’s a lockout? Brenntag Des Moines workers locked out by management

Workers at a Des Moines plant have been locked out of work by their employer.

But what is a lockout—and how can you support workers right now?

@iowastartinglineTeamsters Local 90 is holding a community rally in support of workers today (Thursday, Feb, 26) at 3 p.m. at the plant, located at 1979 N.E. 54th Ave. in Des Moines. They’re asking the public to come out and show support.

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Brenntag is a German-based chemical and ingredient company with more than 18,100 workers at more than 600 sites in 70 countries, according to the company.

It operates two locations in Iowa: Brenntag Great Lakes in Des Moines, and Brenntag Solutions and Services in North Liberty.

Nine hazmat drivers and warehouse workers in Des Moines are unionized under Teamsters Local 90 and have been negotiating their latest contract with the company.

They voted down Brenntag’s latest offer, which the company called “final,” because it offered only 2% wage increases, according to Tanner Fischer, the union’s business agent.

Workers deal with corrosive chemicals like sulfuric acid, which can burn through skin, and have gotten injured on the job before.

“It’s just a very dangerous job, and they need to at least be able to keep up with the cost of living,” Fischer told me.

After workers unanimously authorized a strike—but kept negotiating—Brenntag locked out its workers Feb. 16. Workers have been locked out and not working since.

A lockout is basically what it sounds like: Bosses lock workers out of their worksite without pay, though they can apply for unemployment, which Fischer said Brenntag workers are trying to do.

“They’re very rare,” Fischer said of lockouts. “I’ve never dealt with one before.”

Broadly, it’s “an effort by bosses to block workers from working in the midst of a labor dispute,” according to the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee, which called such an effort a “union-busting tactic.”

Brenntag told We Are 5 News that they had a “continuity plan in place to minimize lockout disruptions,” though they didn’t go into detail.

Teamsters Local 90 held a community rally in support of workers today at the plant, located at 1979 NE 54th Ave. in Des Moines. They’re asking the public to come out and keep showing support.

“These workers are willing to go back to work,” Fischer said. “It’s the employer keeping these people from going to work right now.”

Have you worked at Brenntag? Reply and tell me your experience.