Minnesota

Community Group Provides Education On How To Respond To ICE Raids

January 21, 2025 Alan Mitchell, Fight Back! News. Organize! Education, ICE, Immigrant Rights, Immigration, Minnesota

Grand Rapids, Michigan – On Saturday, January 18, community members took refuge from the freezing weather outside to attend a discussion and group training on how to take action against the threat of heightened ICE activity. The event took place in the crowded social hall in Fountain Street Church, with nearly 100 participants. The organization putting on the event, Grand Rapids Rapid Response to ICE, provided the audience with plenty of context as to the urgency of the action. Kent County is home to a total of three ICE offices and it has been active in the area since the George W. Bush administration.

Amid Layoffs, Cargill’s Owners Given $2B In Stock Buybacks/Dividends

January 19, 2025 Brooks Johnson, Portside. Educate! Cargill, Class Struggle, Minnesota, Worker Rights and Jobs

As Cargill started laying off thousands of employees last month, the company’s owners made $2 billion from stock buybacks and one-time dividends, according to Fitch Ratings. The Minnetonka-based agribusiness announced in December it would lay off 5% of its global workforce, or about 8,000 people, as part of a broader restructuring to counter declining profits. About 475 headquarters jobs were eliminated in Minnesota. At the same time, the private company’s owners — almost entirely members of the billionaire Cargill-MacMillan family — received $500 million from a “special” dividend and a rare $1.5 billion share repurchase completed in December, according to a Fitch Ratings report issued this week.

Essential Health Workers Hold Solidarity Picket On Day 38 Of Strike

January 18, 2025 Fight Back! News. Resist! Health Care, Minnesota, Solidarity, Strikes, Worker Rights and Jobs

Duluth, MN – At 4 p.m. on a blustery January 15 in Duluth, workers from Essentia Health-Deer River pulled up in a bus in front of the Essentia Health-Duluth hospital and began a solidarity picket in front of the main entrance to the hospital. The Deer River Essentia workers are represented by the Service Employees International Union, Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa (SEIU HCMNIA). January 15 marked their 38th day of an open-ended strike at their hospital and nursing home. The healthcare workers are striking over pay, saying that cost of living has gone up and they need real raises to keep paying the bills.

Permit for Pipeline Reconstruction Near Sacred Site Rescinded

January 10, 2025 Akičita Šuŋka-Wakaŋ Ska, Unicorn Riot. Resist! Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Rights, Minnesota, Pipelines, Sacred sites, St. Paul, Victory

St. Paul, MN — Minnesota regulators have rescinded a controversial permit allowing Magellan Pipeline Co. to reconstruct a petroleum pipeline near Pipestone National Monument, following sustained opposition from tribal nations, community groups, and environmental advocates. The decision, made during a recent Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) public hearing, reflects mounting pressure to safeguard the sacred site and its surrounding environment. The PUC unanimously voted to revoke the route permit granted in Oct. 2024 and favored the RA-01 pipeline route (alternative proposed by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe — 13.1 miles long), citing inadequate tribal consultation and incomplete cultural and archaeological surveys.

Protest Of State Board Of Investment Demands Divestment From Israel

December 7, 2024 Meredith Aby, Fight Back! News. Resist! BDS Movement, Divestment, Israel, Minnesota, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, St. Paul

St. Paul, MN – On December 5, 45 people protested outside of the Minnesota Senate Building in 15-degree weather to demand that members of the board vote to divest the state of Minnesota from investments in Israel. The protest, held ahead of the board’s December 10 meeting, was organized by the Free Palestine Coalition. Andrew Josefchak, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee, spoke to the crowd, “Minnesota’s State Board of Investment invests $5.4 billion of our money in genocide and apartheid. That’s $5.4 billion of a pension fund that union workers across Minnesota bargained for, fought hard for, waged strikes for.

1934 And Now: History Lives!

November 28, 2024 Peter Rachleff, Portside. Educate! Education, History, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Strikes, Unions

Over the first three decades of the 20th century, Minneapolis was the most notorious “open shop” city in the country. An employers’ organization (the “Citizens’ Alliance”) leveraged the power of banks, manufacturers, and local government to resist workers’ attempts to unionize. In February 1934 the city’s truck drivers and coal yard workers organized and struck their industry, winning union recognition in a week. Their success inspired other truckers and warehouse workers to organize and strike twice, in the spring and summer of 1934, facing down the power of police and private “deputies.”

Protesters Vow To Shut Down The Xcel Monticello Nuclear Reactor

November 26, 2024 Fight Back! News!. Resist! Minneapolis, Minnesota, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power

Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday November 21, 50 members of the newly formed Coalition for a Nuclear-free Mississippi River and their supporters rallied in front of Xcel Energy headquarters on Nicollet Mall in the heart of downtown. They demanded the energy company keep to its 2030 shutdown date for the Monticello Nuclear Reactor, because of the serious threats posed to public health, the Mississippi River, and drinking water for millions. As rush hour traffic passed by, motorists and pedestrians saw protesters holding signs reading, “Don’t nuke our river.” Chants like “Xcel let’s be clear, Monticello Reactor’s not wanted here” were loudly amplified by the surrounding buildings.

Public Employees Pass Strong Resolution To Divest From Apartheid Israel

October 29, 2024 Drake Myers, Fight Back News!. Resist! Anti-war Movement, BDS Movement, Israel, Minnesota, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, St. Paul, Unions

St. Paul, MN – MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, is an independent union representing approximately 15,000 employees of the State of Minnesota. At their October 26 delegate assembly, MAPE approved a resolution titled “Supporting a Ceasefire and Divestment in Israel-Palestine.” It included strong steps towards divesting both MAPE and Minnesota’s State Board of Investments (SBI) from apartheid Israel. The MAPE Ceasefire Caucus organizing team had conversations with nearly every delegate over the last six weeks in preparation for the vote, which ended up with 82 for, 49 against, with 17 abstaining.

University Of Minnesota SDS Statement Of Halimy Hall Occupation

October 27, 2024 Fight Back! News. Resist! Campus Movement, Israel, Lebanon, Lebanon Solidarity, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Occupation, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Yemen, Yemen Solidarity

Shortly after President Cunningham started working at our university, she and the Board of Regents held an emergency meeting, a week before students returned to campus, where they passed a policy of neutrality for the UMN endowment. Regent Jamie Meyron introduced the institutional neutrality policy declaring the University’s endowment funds “politically neutral”, effectively making it impossible for students to campaign for the University to divest from certain companies. In this same meeting, they resurrected restrictive protest policies, including banning unpermitted protests of more than 100 people and the use of more than one sound amplification device, and put size limits on signs and banners.

This Land Is Co-Op Land

September 28, 2024 Amie Stager, In These Times. Create! Cooperatives, Farmer Labor Party, History, Minnesota, Worker Rights and Jobs

I’m standing on the dock, watching sunlight reflect off the waves, when the sound of a bell calls my attention to the Finnish dance hall towering over the lakeshore. The mojakka—a Finnish beef soup — is ready. I head to the dining room with the dozens of other people who have gathered here at Mesaba Co-op Park for the annual midsummer festival, a weekend of live music, talent shows, maypole dancing and meals. The park consists of more than 240 acres of land, including a spring-fed lake. Such places are usually owned and administered by a government or kept as private retreats by companies or rich people. Mesaba, in contrast, is neither privately nor government-owned, but collectively owned by members of a cooperative who foster relationships with each other and the land outside of corporate or government structures.

Minnesotans Protest General Dynamics’ Role In Israel’s War Crimes

September 16, 2024 Elizabeth McLister, Fight Back! News. Resist! Israel, Minnesota, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Weapons Maker

Bloomington, MN – On September 14, 80 activists marched on the Bloomington General Dynamics facility to highlight the company's role in facilitating Israel's relentless attacks against occupied Palestine. This event, organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, began with a rally at the intersection of Penn Avenue and 88th Street at the corner of the Penn Lake Library. Following 45 minutes of lively speeches and chants, demonstrators marched to the front of General Dynamics’ “Mission Systems” facility. Michael Runyon, founder of Students for Palestine Normandale, explained why community members were calling attention to General Dynamics.

The 90th Anniversary Of The 1934 Truckers’ Strike

August 12, 2024 Isabela Escalona, Unicorn Riot. Educate! History, Labor Movement, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Strikes, Worker Rights and Jobs

Minneapolis, MN — On July 27, workers, descendants of the strikers, and the local labor community came together at Wabun Park in Minneapolis to honor the 90th anniversary of the 1934 Truckers’ Strike that brought Minneapolis to a standstill and served as a spark for radical and militant labor struggle across the country. The strike lasted about three months, as Teamsters Local 574 truckers demanded a fair wage and official recognition of the union. The trucking companies had the support of the Citizens Alliance, an anti-trade union organization that sought to break the strike. The strike’s impact reverberated throughout the city, bringing much of the Minneapolis economy to a halt.

After Two Weeks On Strike, Minneapolis Park Workers Stand Strong

July 21, 2024 Fight Back! News. Resist! LIUNA, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Strikes, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

Minneapolis, MN – On July 4, round 100 members of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 363 walked off their jobs and began what was intended to be a limited-duration strike set to end on Wednesday, July 10. Right from the start the attitude was one of feisty resolve from these workers. This is the first time in the Minneapolis Park Board’s 141 year history that the workers went on strike, and the strike was authorized by a 94% majority. During the first weeklong strike, they held planned pickets and actions all around Minneapolis, primarily at the parks. They also saw many solidarity actions popping off that week in support of the striking workers.

New Green Bank Is Powering A Net-Zero Development With Affordable Housing

July 21, 2024 Cinnamon Janzer, Next City. Create! Affordable Housing, Energy, Housing, Minnesota, net zero, St. Paul, Urban Design

For nearly a century, Hillcrest Golf Club was home for golf aficionados in St. Paul, Minnesota. Opened in 1921 on land that was originally home to the Dakota people, the 110-acre course was designed by the brother of pro golfer Harry Vardon, grandfather of the modern golf swing. Over the course of its storied existence, the property was bought by Jewish businessmen as a haven for Jewish golfers facing antisemitism and survived challenges from caddy strikes to a fire that engulfed its clubhouse. In 2017, its owners sold the property. Two years later, as owners struggled to find a buyer due to soil contamination issues that would complicate redevelopment, it was purchased by St. Paul’s Port Authority.

St. Paul Is Erasing $100 Million In Medical Debt

July 3, 2024 Melvin Carter, Next City. Create! Debt, Healthcare, Medical Debt, Minnesota, St. Paul

We all deserve the right to access life-saving medical care without being trapped by staggering costs that leave us unable to pay for our housing, food and other basic needs. Over the next year, 43,000 residents of Saint Paul, Minnesota will receive a letter in the mail telling them that their medical debt – the crippling hospital bills that have been hanging over their head for years – have been paid off. Using federal pandemic relief funds, left over from the city’s response to COVID-19, to erase medical debt for our low-income neighbors is not a move without controversy: Critics, including some residents and elected officials, have argued that dealing with residents’ medical debt isn’t the role of government.

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