Minneapolis, MN – Residents of the East Phillips neighborhood and organizers with the Climate Justice Committee rallied outside of Smith Foundry on Tuesday, June 4, after an announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it had reached a settlement with Smith, with the most significant provision requiring that the heavy-polluting foundry shut down its furnace within 12 months.

The rally showcased the results of a steadfast commitment to environmental justice. At the rally, every speaker emphasized that, while the ruling from the EPA is a huge step in the right direction, the Shut Down Smith Coalition, East Phillips residents and their allies are not finished.

Residents who spoke drove home the point that their collective effort is leading to results – that they are building an environmental justice fighting-machine that takes on the system in the streets, in the courts and in political offices. The Smith rally was a time to celebrate a major success, and to motivate organizers and neighbors for the next phase of the fight: demanding a total closure.

After the rally, the Climate Justice Committee circulated the following statement, summarizing these developments, the present state of the struggle, and where it goes from here:

“After a long campaign by community organizers in the East Phillips neighborhood, the EPA finally announced on Tuesday, June 4th, that they had reached a partial settlement with Smith Foundry, requiring that the facility permanently shut down its furnace within 12 months, immediately shut down two of their pouring lines, and pay an $80,000 penalty. Still, the settlement allows Smith to continue to operate as a metal finishing shop.

“This represents a major advancement in the East Phillips and Little Earth communities’ struggle for environmental justice, which is in direct continuity with the significant and hard-won victories at the Roof Depot and Bituminous Roadways. Every inch of ground gained thus far is the result of a tireless, multi-pronged struggle by a broad coalition of activists and community members who were willing to fight for the air we breathe by any means necessary.

“However, this fight is NOT over. Twelve more months is far too long for the neighborhood to continue to endure Smith Foundry’s reckless pollution. And, there are unknown ramifications of operations as a metal finishing plant.

“If Zynik Capital, the EPA, or the MPCA—whose commissioner, Katrina Kessler, was recently granted new powers by the MN State Legislature to shut down polluters like Smith—really treated public health as their top priority, Smith could be shut down today.

“Furthermore, we will continue to loudly demand that all Smith Foundry workers affected by the shutdown be afforded everything they rightly deserve, including generous severance packages, compensation for negative health impacts caused by working at Smith, and a just transition to new employment in a healthy and safe workplace.

“Finally, we demand that the MPCA—and Zynik Capital—issue apologies to the residents of East Phillips and Little Earth. This agency has steadfastly refused to use its enforcement powers, and instead has delivered decades of negligence, lies, and utter disregard for neighbors’ complaints about the epidemic of industrial pollution in their community. MPCA and Zynik must also provide reparations to the neighborhood in whatever form the residents see fit.

“As we enter a new phase in our efforts for environmental justice, we are determined to continue heightening the level of struggle and raising the bar for what communities can achieve when they are prepared to fight. Until East Phillips, Little Earth, and all communities across Minnesota have the power in their hands to build a future free from environmental injustice, the Climate Justice Committee will stay in the streets.

“When we fight, we win!”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Environment #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvironmentalRacism #SmithFoundry #CJC #EPNI #OppressedNationalities #IndigenousPeoples

The foundry is a major source of pollution in the neighborhood and is operating under long expired permits. Smith Foundry is a major source of lead pollution in Hennepin County, accounting for 70% of all lead pollution. Toya Lopez, from Health Care Professionals for a Healthy Climate pointed out, “There is no safe level of lead pollution.”

Rally organizers called on the governor and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to fulfill their duty to protect the people of Minnesota and shut down Smith Foundry.

“A foundry would never be allowed in an affluent white neighborhood,” said Climate Justice Committee (CJC) member CJ McCormick. “It’s blatant environmental racism that it’s been allowed to stay around this long.”

East Phillips is home to the Little Earth Native community, along with many other oppressed nationality and low-income families. The neighborhood also has some of the highest rates of asthma in the entire state.

Indigenous Protectors Movement founder Rachel Dionne-Thunder said “We are fighting for the next generation. We are fighting for our children. We all need clean water, clean air and a clean way of living. We call on Governor Walz to shut down Smith now.”E

A coalition of organizers, including CJC, has amplified the call since last year to shut the foundry down after public revelations about its harmful emissions. Some state representatives are currently working toward legislation that would pave the way for a buyout of the foundry, effectively forcing a shut down.

“The governor has the power to make that happen. He’s just avoiding stirring what he sees as controversy during an election year,” McCormick said.

#StPaulMN #TwinCitiesMN #MN #Environment #SmithFoundry #CJC #EnvironmentalJustice

Minneapolis, MN – The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) recently brought a taste of guerrilla theater to a local bureaucrat’s front lawn, March 3, to drive home a simple point: her wealthy, white neighborhood would never allow a major polluter like Smith Foundry to move in and disrupt their way of life.

And, as shown by the neighbors’ peeved reactions to our noisy presence and miniature factory replica on a quiet Sunday morning in pseudo-suburbia, their obsession with maintaining the status quo single-handedly proved the point.

As commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Katrina Kessler has gone out of her way to dodge accountability for her agency’s failure to do its job protecting the residents who live just ten minutes across town from her. Unlike in her idyllic corner of Southwest Minneapolis, residents of the East Phillips neighborhood have been forced to breathe air polluted by Smith Foundry and other nearby industrial operations for decades.

The century-old foundry has a track record of being an especially terrible neighbor, in particular as the leading source of lead pollution in Hennepin County. It’s a textbook case of environmental racism, as Smith Foundry sits in the center of a neighborhood with many low-income families and people of oppressed nationalities struggling against abnormally high rates of asthma and heart issues.

So, the CJC decided it was time to bring a homemade replica of the foundry sidewalk – complete with a working smokestack – to Kessler’s front to demonstrate exactly how the commissioner, her family and their white, wealthy neighbors would react to a factory popping up in their neighborhood fortress.

A pre-built model was quickly assembled on the sidewalk, dry ice and hot water were poured into the stack, and chants of “Kessler, Kessler, shame on you, East Phillips has rights too!” began surging through the megaphone. As the loud chants carried through the air and pretend “emissions” billowed from the factory, people began emerging from their homes.

What first seemed like curiosity quickly turned to mild confrontation. “We live here,” one man seethed. Another person was upset about the “contaminants” being put into the air via the smokestack (for the record, dry ice is 100% safer than what comes out of a real foundry smokestack). All in all, folks seemed most upset about the “noise pollution” from the chants disrupting their morning.

The irony of this reaction is almost poetic, as residents of East Phillips are forced to breathe air polluted by fine particulates and other toxins all day, every day.

For the past few months, residents and allied organizers in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis have ramped up demands to shut down Smith Foundry, which simply doesn’t belong in a residential neighborhood. Last year, the factory was found by a surprise EPA inspection to be in violation of multiple pollution regulations, including the Clean Air Act. It is also a major source of lead pollution, a fact that Commissioner Kessler has outrageously denied in the media.

East Phillips is home to the Little Earth native community, along with many neighbors from oppressed nationalities and low-income families. With elders and young children alike breathing the polluted air around the clock, the neighborhood also has the highest rates of asthma in the entire state.

In a city with a sordid history of redlining, the struggle for justice against environmental racism is very much alive and continues today as an extension of the fallout from redlining. Until there is justice for East Phillips, and Smith Foundry leaves the neighborhood for good, the miniature foundry and its megaphone counterpart will keep making appearances at the homes of the upper-class bureaucrats who are standing in the way.

#MinneapolisMN #Environment #CJC #SmithFoundry #EnvironmentalJustice

The petition challenges the MPCA's recent assertion that Smith Foundry's emissions fall within permissible limits. Evan Mulholland, from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy said, “Not only is this permit wildly out of date, but the bounds of the permit are inadequate if it sets no maximum for lead emissions.”

Mulholland continued, “The MPCA only tested the baghouses, which is only one avenue for pollution to leave the foundry, and what we learned is that it is emitting lead; that’s after it’s all filtered, it’s still emitting lead. On top of the lead, there may be lots of other toxic substances in the fine particulate matter, which haven’t been tested for.”

The community's distrust in the MPCA runs deep. Jolene Jones, a resident of the nearby Little Earth native-preference housing complex, said, “They don't listen to this community. When we said last summer we couldn't breathe, that there were black clouds over Little Earth – nobody listened to us. No one has listened to us for the last 20 years.”

Tania Rivera said, “The Pollution Control Agency has clearly not been holding our best interests at heart – it’s not just me, it’s 80 kids that I take care of, it’s 160 families.” She asked rhetorically, “Why is it always East Phillips?” These stories reveal a broader narrative of systemic disregard for oppressed communities, where industrial operations leave a toxic legacy unchecked by regulatory bodies.

Tracy Molm of the Climate Justice Committee added, “This action transcends the call for the shutdown of a single foundry. It embodies a fight for environmental justice, challenging the systemic inequities that allow such conditions to persist. This press conference is not just a procedural step. It's a rallying cry for change, a demand for accountability, and a testament to the power of community advocacy in the face of environmental neglect.”

#MinneapolisMN #Environment #EnvironmentalJustice #SmithFoundry #MNCJC

Minneapolis, MN – On the evening of February 7, residents of East Phillips confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) at a community meeting and then held a press conference regarding the Smith Foundry.

East Phillips is a primarily oppressed nationality neighborhood and home to the Little Earth indigenous community. East Phillips has the highest rates of asthma in all of Minnesota, with many residents suffering from COPD among other respiratory health issues.

The double-dealing of the MPCA was on clear display by trying to break the community meeting up into smaller, fragmented groups at “answer” tables. The East Phillips community and their supporters refused to cooperate, ignoring the “answer” tables and demanding that the MPCA address the community as a whole.

This was a follow-up meeting after the federal Environmental Protection Agency found, in a surprise inspection, that Smith Foundry was polluting the neighborhood and it required an outside agency to come to test the facility again.

The Smith Foundry has been releasing lead and other pollutants into the air on a permit they received in 1992. This permit does not monitor for lead. On Tuesday this week, the MPCA went out of their way to announce via Twitter that they found “The Smith Foundry is meeting their permit requirements. The facility emits low levels of lead.” The MPCA proudly shared this information, despite the fact there is no safe level of lead.

At the meeting on Wednesday night, residents pointed out that Smith has been poisoning the neighborhood for 120 years, while MPCA denies this and claims the foundry is in compliance with its permits. Brian Dickens, an Environmental Protection Agency employee named on Wednesday night, said that last year the Smith Foundry was in complete violation of their permits, but he states that “things have improved a lot.” 20-year Phillips resident Steff Yorek responded, “How can we trust you to maintain that they’re in compliance with the permit after you’ve allowed them to poison our air for decades?”

The MPCA is aware that this residential neighborhood is flooded with polluters and did not express any interest in changing that. As stated by MPCA representative Frank Kohlasch, “Bituminous Roadways is next door to Smith Foundry. Considering all sources of pollution around Smith Foundry is critical to the process for meeting permit requirements, we have to consider all the polluters. What are all of the other sources of air pollution that can be quantified?” Kohlasch did not respond when a neighbor pointed out that this is a residential neighborhood, not an industrial wasteland. The attendees of the neighborhood made their point clear: Smith Foundry does not belong in a residential neighborhood.

At the press conference called by the Climate Justice Committee, the MPCA was exposed for protecting the polluters like Smith Foundry, and not the community of East Phillips. A question-and-answer chant showed the community’s understanding of the role of the MPCA. The question to the community was, “Who keeps us safe?” The answer by the community was, “We keep us safe!” and “What do we want? Shut it down!”

#MinneapolisMN #Environment #EnvironmentalJustice #OppressedNationalities #IndigenousPeoples #EPA #SmithFoundry #CJC #EastPhillips #EnvironmentalRacism

Smith Foundry has been recognized as a health hazard by nearby residents for decades, according to both empirical metrics – Smith is responsible for over 70% of all lead pollution in Hennepin County, and respiratory and cardiovascular disease rates are through the roof – along with personal experiences. Many neighbors attested to years of fruitless attempts to tell government agencies about strong chemical smells, black smoke, and dust-like residue all coming from the foundry but being completely ignored.

Last month, it was revealed in documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request that the Environmental Protection Agency had found evidence of egregious Clean Air Act violations at Smith Foundry during a surprise visit but did not alert the public of these findings. Despite the major renewal of community outcry for Smith to be shut down immediately after this revelation, the EPA and their state-level counterpart, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, have failed to offer any solutions.

East Phillips is one of Minneapolis’ most diverse and working-class neighborhoods, and is home to Little Earth, the only Native-preference subsidized housing community in the country. Climate Justice Committee member Mordecai Mika highlighted this in a speech Saturday, condemning the colonialism and racism that is the status quo in Minneapolis: “What else is there to say when the militarized police hunt people for minor offenses while East Phillips continues to be poisoned?”

Speakers from Little Earth, such as Jolene Jones and Nicole Mason, also spoke out against the horrific environmental racism carried out against their community by the state of Minnesota, describing it as just one facet of ongoing colonial violence.

Another issue emphasized by speakers at the rally was the need to dispel the pervasive myth that the interests of the environmental justice movement are at odds with those of workers. Mel DiMartini, a speaker from Minnesota Workers United, highlighted the real antagonism: this working-class neighborhood’s health versus the profits of Smith’s owners, a Canadian venture capital firm called Zynik Capital. “We the workers are the foundation of this community. The rich owners of Smith Foundry would have us believe that our livelihoods are dependent on sacrificing the health and wellbeing of our families and our community – we reject that lie!” DiMartini and other speakers demanded that Smith’s owners use their enormous wealth to ensure a just transition for workers after the factory is shut down, as well as compensation for medical costs related to the foundry’s appalling conditions.

The Climate Justice Committee will be hosting a community meeting with the MPCA on January 11, 2024 in the East Phillips neighborhood, urging the agency to take accountability for their decades of inaction by pledging to finally shut down Smith Foundry.

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice

Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, November 10, community members gathered outside Smith Foundry in the Minneapolis East Phillips neighborhood to demand accountability following the EPA’s discovery of many violations of the Clean Air Act and other pollution control standards.

Smith Foundry has been the leading source of lead poisoning in Hennepin County for years, and a major source of air particle pollution. These pollution sources contribute to elevated levels of asthma, heart disease, and other devastating health outcomes for residents of East Phillips and surrounding areas, many of whom spoke out about it during the rally.

Local dancers Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue opened with a prayer and dance before speakers took to the mic.

Climate Justice Committee member CJ McCormick, who emceed, pointed out that MPCA claimed ignorance of the violations after allowing Smith Foundry to self-report.

Crow Belcourt, a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and lifelong East Phillips resident, sang the AIM National Anthem. He said his elders taught him to always think about the welfare of the next seven generations. “I’m here to represent the community. I’m here to represent these mothers holding these babies. We’re here for the future generations,” he said.

CJC member Kawakata El-Ti had a sharp message for the century-old Smith Foundry: cease and desist! “It’s 2023, and in over 100 years you still can’t figure out how to keep the air clean?” he said.

A community member whose family immigrated from Mexico, said that immigrant families trying to build a better life are usually confronted with two options: housing that’s either too expensive, or in an area that’s too polluted, like in East Phillips.

Black, brown and indigenous communities form the backbone of East Phillips. Environmental racism and historic red lining practices are what have enabled the foundry to operate in a residential area, despite the obvious dangers it poses to people who live in the neighborhood.

“If it isn’t bad enough being here in the arsenic triangle, now we have to worry about lead,” said Tanya Perez of Circulo de Los Amigos daycare.

DSA member Michael Wilson said the silence is deafening from those who try to use things like philanthropic funding as a bandage for the deeper health crisis. “It reinforces how Black and brown bodies are not a priority,” he said, adding that it would be different if this were happening in a neighborhood like Lake Harriet.

Evan Mullholland of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy highlighted a particularly alarming discovery from the EPA inspection: the furnace chimney stacks above where the foundry burns metal have zero pollution controls or seals, meaning the fumes are sent straight into the air. “I’m not against the foundry or the workers – I’m against pollution!” Mullholland said.

Roxanne O’Brien, of Community Members for Environmental Justice, was a key person in the successful fight to shut down Northern Metals. “The Smith Foundry fight is like Northern Metals all over again,” she observed. She suggested each person request meetings with each level of their elected representation, as well as show up at MPCA meetings. She also mentioned an upcoming challenge to the law that allowed Smith Foundry to be grandfathered in.

The EPA inspection revealed that not only was the foundry in violation of numerous pollution standards, but that the MPCA was not doing its job in regulating the foundry as a local agency. As several speakers pointed out, foundry workers are also put in the crossfire of dangerous working conditions.

Peter Molinar, a former Smith Foundry worker and shop steward, has long-term health issues as a result of his time working at the foundry, and cited a long list of colleagues who died prematurely over the years due to the job.

In his speech, Joe Vital of East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) was adamant about the need to include people employed by Smith Foundry in the discussions. “We have to talk about the workers who are directly impacted on the inside,” he said, calling for a just transition for everyone.

Karen Clark of EPNI, also spoke. A longtime East Phillips resident, she once served in the Minnesota legislature, where she helped pass cumulative impact laws. She said between city, state and federal laws, we can hold the neglectful regulatory agencies accountable.

Joan Vanhala, who lives just three blocks away and has lived in southside for 40 years, said it’s time to declare this a public health emergency. “Let’s make sure we center our people’s health in this,” she said.

State Representatives Aisha Gomez, Mohamud Noor and Hodan Hassan all showed up and delivered promises to hold MPCA accountable by bringing them into the community to directly face everyone’s questions, concerns and demands. Gomez said the failure of the regulatory system is made even more painful by knowing the history of the neighborhood consistently telling these agencies what’s wrong.

Joe Vital echoed other speakers, emphasizing that neither the EPA nor the MPCA have prevented pollution in East Phillips, only the people can. Closing the rally on a passionate note, Vital posed a question to the crowd, “Who keeps us safe?” The gathered people responded with, “We keep us safe!”

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvironmentalRacism #CJC #EPNI #

Tacoma, WA – On Sunday, September 17, over 60 people filled Oakland Madrona Park to rally against the mega warehouse complex that’s approved to be built in South Tacoma. The rally had several speakers from the local organizations opposed to the warehouse, and community members, including families who were at the park, gathered around the speakers to have snacks, make art and express their opposition to the warehouse.

This rally is in response to a decision that was made earlier this year. In April, the city of Tacoma approved land use permits filed by real estate company Bridge Industrial to build a mega warehouse at 5024 South Madison Street in Tacoma. Such permits allow for construction on the historically polluted, but currently undeveloped site. This includes paving over 5.4 million square feet of green space and installing over 2 million square feet of warehouses. This space is zoned heavy industrial due to historic usage, but is now surrounded by residential houses, schools and small businesses. The site also sits atop an aquifer, and contains many species of trees, plants and animals.

Organizations at the rally included Climate Alliance of the South Sound (CASS), 350Tacoma, The Conversation253, Industrial Workers of the World, La Resistencia, and Earth Ministry.

“It is no coincidence that they proposed this warehouse for South Tacoma and not for North End,” CASS member Gemini Gnull pointed out, referring to the wealthier and whiter areas in north Tacoma. “South Tacoma is a historically redlined neighborhood – this is racism plain and simple.”

The city of Tacoma approved land use permits without doing a health impact assessment, and the development goes against many of the rules that the city must follow, such as those laid out in the HEAL Act and Tacoma’s Climate Action Plan. An appeal has been filed to require the health impact assessment, and they are currently awaiting a decision. There is no limit on how long this could take, but they expect a decision by the end of the month.

This approval for land use has many community members concerned about negative health outcomes for their families and the environment.

“The warehouse is going to affect my son’s health, whose lungs are not fully developed,” Black Panther Party member Ovunayo X explained. “There’s definitely that health worry there, and they are not doing the health assessment, which is a horrible thing to not do.”

Many other attendees expressed their desire to preserve the proposed site as a green space.

“I think that our green spaces are very valuable and should be protected,” said community member Rose Stacy, “the earth was here before we were. Once you destroy these areas, it’s not something that can just be recreated, so it’s important to protect them as they are already naturally. Putting a warehouse there is the opposite of what we should be doing.”

After the rally, over 15 people took to the surrounding neighborhood’s streets to knock on doors, hand out literature, and raise awareness about the warehouse. For many Tacoma residents who will be impacted by this project, this is the first time they’re hearing about it.

“The city knows if they tell us about this project, we’re going to oppose it,” Gnull said, explaining why the group was going door to door. “The city and Bridge Industrial aren’t listening to us right now, but we are going to make them listen.”

#TacomaWA #EnvironmentalJustice #CASS

The Wells Fargo offices are a sprawling complex of interconnected buildings, all loudly sporting its red and gold logo. Directly across the street looms the towering silhouette of another major financial institution, U.S. Bank, whose name adorns the Twin Cities’ garish 70,000-person NFL stadium. Only a few blocks away, offices for Bank of America and J.P. Morgan stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Jail. In microcosm, this location represents exactly what the rally’s speakers sought to bring to light.

On behalf of Tsuru for Solidarity, a Japanese American community organization, Kent Mori spoke on the recent catastrophic wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, emphasizing the role played by these major financiers in creating the artificial environmental conditions that led to the fires.

“The fire in Lahaina need not have occurred if not for the water theft to fuel plantations by the Dole and other corporations. The corporate drive for profit produced a desert environment in the tropical wetland of Maui,” Mori said. “These corporate crimes continue after the devastating fire on Lahaina; land developers are already sniffing about trying to steal land from the community in dire straits. These crimes weigh most heavily on indigenous peoples; note that this is stolen Dakota land, and Wells Fargo is able to pursue its profit-making, climate-killing schemes because of that theft.”

Next spoke Kawakata El Ti, an organizer with the Climate Justice Committee who has been involved with recent struggles in Minneapolis against evictions of majority-Native tent encampments, and who gave a moving tribute to Dan Dan, a Native community member who selflessly devoted his life to taking care of the unhoused and the land on which we all live. Dan Dan died of heat stroke last week while MPD officers stood by and, according to some bystanders, obstructed paramedics from saving his life. Dan Dan had spent six straight days volunteering to clean up trash at an encampment, all in a sweltering heat wave. The day after Dan Dan died, the Minnesota State Patrol conducted a militarized eviction operation on the encampment, once again displacing over 130 people – almost all of whom were indigenous.

From the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, Joe Vital spoke on the Climate Justice Committee’s role as a coalition partner in the fight for community control of the Roof Depot building. Vital underlined how crucial it was in their campaign that the coalition built up grassroots support within the community and turned it into mass action in the streets.

Meredith Aby-Keirstead stepped up next, on behalf of the Anti-War Committee, to illustrate the connection between major financial institutions like Wells Fargo and the environmental destruction wrought by U.S. imperialism and the military-industrial complex. In her speech, she drew attention to the monstrous sums of money being spent on the ongoing U.S. proxy war in Ukraine, environmentally destructive in its own right, that could instead so easily be used to finance the green infrastructure that humankind so desperately needs.

Climate Justice Committee member Charlie Berg concluded the rally, saying, “If you walk away from today having learned only one thing, let it be this: we are not doomed! These corporate oligarchs want so badly for us to be quiet, or for us to limit our expectations, or that we recoil into our personal lives and give up the fight altogether, because what they so deeply fear is the alternative – that we organize!” He continued, punctuating his final remarks with a well-known protest slogan: “What they fear – and what we ought to constantly remind ourselves of – is this: when we fight, we win!”

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice

Madison, WI – On August 19, more than 60 people rallied and marched during the weekly Dane County Farmers Market to demand that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) put an end to Line 5. The DNR holds the authority to approve or deny the permit that Enbridge, the Canada-based corporation that owns the pipeline, needs in order to continue its operations in the state. The actions were organized by students and youth with Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) and drew support from many organizations and community members.

“We’re so excited to have so many people out here to show support for the Bad River Band of the Greater Chippewa Indians to urge the DNR to shut down the Line 5 pipeline,” said Marco Marquez, the Program Manager for Wisconsin ACE.

After the rally at the market, the assembled crowd marched around the State Capitol building before breaking away and heading to the state offices of the DNR to deliver a petition for them to deny the permits to Enbridge for their Line 5 pipeline.

“I’m 16 and I can't remember a time when I wasn't involved in the pipeline fight. I was 11 running around at camps in northern Minnesota where we were there to protest Line 3. I visited communities in the Dakotas that were impacted by the Dakota Access Pipeline,” said Xanthi Salman, a student leader with ACE Madison and a member of the Dane County Youth Environmental Committee. “After fighting pipelines for so long I’m very aware of and absolutely enraged by [these corporations] disregarding frontline communities. And now the pattern is repeating itself in our state with the Line 5 pipeline.”

Line 5 transports millions of gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids from Superior, Wisconsin to a refinery in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. The pipeline cuts through the heart of the Bad River Reservation, the home of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and then runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac, the waterway that serves as the dividing line between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Built in 1953, the 70-year old pipeline has spilled more than 1 million gallons of crude oil over its lifetime.

The struggle over Line 5 has been decades in the making, led primarily by members of the Bad River Band. A watershed moment occurred in 2013 when many of the legal agreements that allowed Enbridge to operate their pipeline on the reservation land expired. The tribe moved at once to expel the corporation from their lands in order to protect their cultural and natural resources, but early negotiations went nowhere.

The Bad River Band ultimately passed a resolution not only to remove the pipeline from their lands but from the entire watershed. Enbridge proceeded to disregard the wishes of the tribe in spite of the expiration of the easements which allowed them to operate on their land, and so the struggle went to the courts. In June 2023, a federal judge in Wisconsin ruled in favor of the Bad River Band, stating that Enbridge needs to shut down the segment of their pipeline that runs through the reservation within three years and to pay the tribe $5 million. However, Enbridge filed an appeal on June 30 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. While the legal battle carries on, the movement in communities across Wisconsin is beginning to pick up.

#MadisonWI #EnvironmentalJustice #line5

Tacoma, WA – On Sunday August 20, several dozen community members, organizers, labor leaders and activists gathered in Tacoma’s South Park to protest the mega warehouse complex slated to be constructed just a few blocks away. Gemini Gnull, coordinating director of the Climate Alliance of the South Sound led the crowd, chanting “People power!” and “No to the warehouse!”

In early 2023 the Tacoma Planning and Development Services Department permitted the development of Bridge Industrial’s 2.5 million square foot warehouse complex in South Tacoma. “The quiet approval of the mega warehouse by Bridge Industrial was done without a single health impact study despite obvious concerns of extreme air pollution,” said Isaac Pennoyer, member of the South End Neighborhood Council. “Already, South Tacoma has the highest rate of heart disease in all of Pierce County.”

These warehouses, if they are built, will be surrounded by residential houses in historically redlined neighborhoods. This will disproportionately impact working class Black, Chicano, Latino, indigenous and Pacific Island peoples in the area.

Barbra Church, a community organizer with The Conversation 253, lives in one of the would-be impacted neighborhoods. Church voiced her concerns about the impact of the warehouses, saying, “Traffic to and from the warehouse will increase from 5 to 12 thousand vehicles a day. One of the main trucking routes has several school crossings putting the health and safety of our children, parents and neighborhoods at risk. We need a Health Impact Assessment!”

The EPA, Washington State’s health department and ecology department, and the county’s health department have all also raised concerns over this project, yet the city of Tacoma still approved it.

The International Brotherhood of the Teamsters Joint Council No 28. and United Food & Commercial Workers Local 367 are also opposed to the project due to the low-paying, non-union jobs the warehouse is suspected to bring. In April 2022 the Teamsters Joint Council published a letter saying, “the City should have more carefully studied the hydrological impacts of so much impervious surface being placed atop a sensitive aquifer. The mitigation documents do not take into account, or adequately address, the potential long-term impacts of this project.” The Climate Alliance of the South Sound plans to bring together the Teamsters, UFCW, and other local unions in a united front of organized labor to combat the warehouse.

“The good news is, this fight is not over. We can fight and we can win,” Gnull said in her closing remarks. “When we all come together we can show the city ‘Hey we’re not going to accept this.’ The way we win this is by standing up and fighting together!”

The rally was punctuated by a park cleanup that spanned multiple surrounding blocks. Community members used garbage bags, gloves and grabbers to collect litter for 45 minutes before returning to chat, rest and enjoy the park.

#TacomaWA #EnvironmentalJustice

Milwaukee, WI – The people’s movements mourn the loss of veteran activist George Martin, who passed away on July 16th, 2023. Martin was a well respected leader in local, national, and international anti-war, environmental, and social justice movements who had a great impact on many people over his life-long service to the cause of peace and justice.

In Milwaukee, Martin helped lead Peace Action Wisconsin and its anti-war coalition for many years. Martin and his partner, Julie Enslow, played a leading role in organizing the large upsurge of the movement during the criminal U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Martin mentored many new activists, offering advice and support to nurture a new generation of anti-war activists.

Martin co-led Milwaukee’s Martin Luther King Justice Coalition that has organized an annual MLK Day ceremony and march for over 20 years, honoring King’s vision for radical change.

Martin participated in the coalition to organize the massive march on the RNC in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2008, and helped organize busloads of protesters from Wisconsin.

After 23 Midwest anti-war activists and Freedom Road Socialist Organization members were targeted with FBI raids and Grand Jury subpoenas, Martin participated in the successful defense movement to stop FBI repression against the activists.

In recent years Martin organized primarily in the environmental justice movement, including with 350.org.

Martin’s death is a heavy loss for the people’s movements, but his innumerable contributions to the cause of peace and justice will live on.

¡George Martin, Presente!

#MilwaukeeWI #AntiwarMovement #EnvironmentalJustice #Antiracism #PoliticalRepression #GeorgeMartin

Minneapolis, MN – On July 9, 40 activists, organizers and community members gathered to rally for environmental justice. The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) organized this rally as a kickoff event for their new campaign to force two heavy polluters, Bituminous Roadways and Smith Foundry, out of the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Over the past couple months, the people of Minneapolis have been celebrating their success of winning a major environmental justice fight against the demolition of the Roof Depot in the East Phillips neighborhood. While the people continue to celebrate this win, the CJC has been pushing to further the fight for environmental justice in East Phillips.

The CJC is organizing to get industrial polluters out of this majority oppressed nationality and immigrant working-class community. East Phillips has some of the highest rates of asthma and cardiovascular disease in the state of Minnesota, specifically due to the pollution concentrated in the neighborhood. The presence of Bituminous and Smith in the neighborhood is a continuation of this legacy of over polluting East Phillips.

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Smith Foundry alone is responsible for 75% of lead pollution in all of Hennepin County. Smith and Bituminous together are responsible for the following pollution and more in East Phillips: 56% of the carbon monoxide emissions, 11% of CO2 emissions, 99% of particulate matter emissions, and 66% of sulfur dioxide emissions.

Protesters marched across the highway and onto the Greenway bike trail, carrying a “Fight for the air we breathe” banner and chanting, “Land back” and “Bituminous and Smith out!” Bicyclists passed with fists raised and cars honked in solidarity. CJC members handed out informational flyers to pedestrians so they could learn more about the struggle.

In one speech, Joe Vital of the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute reminded everyone of the importance of the solidarity between movements that led to success in the Roof Depot struggle. He also called back to the critical role of mass movements in the Roof Depot struggle and reminded everyone to carry that forward in the Bituminous and Smith fight.

Vital declared, “Roof Depot is the prototype, Roof Depot is the blueprint. We’ve been given the roundabout. ‘Go to the city, go to the state,’ but you know what we did? We went to the people, and the people is what shut that shit down!”

As the march concluded, Jasper Becker of the CJC gave a final speech, showing international examples of the connections between climate disasters and capitalism. Jasper brought these connections back to the struggle to relocate Bituminous Roadways and Smith Foundry when they said, “The theft of native land and the commodification of native land are one and the same. We cannot stop climate change without ending capitalism!”

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #RoofDepot

Minneapolis, MN – On June 28, the Climate Justice Committee gathered with around 20 community members outside the former Minneapolis Police Department 3rd Precinct building to stand in solidarity with Atlanta Forest Defenders, who called for a national week of action to stop Cop City as intense political repression continues on the frontlines of that fight. The protest also called for a local demand: no new 3rd Precinct building in Minneapolis.

People stood at the intersection of Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue holding signs that read “Stop Cop City,” “Defend the Atlanta Forest,” and “No new 3rd Precinct.” Representatives from five local justice organizations gave speeches marking the connections between the struggle to defend the Atlanta forest and the struggle against retraumatizing community by rebuilding the 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis, despite overwhelming opposition to both.

Charlie Berg, from Climate Justice Committee, called out the fact that major corporate funders of Cop City have stakes in Minneapolis – and are funding Cop City precisely because of the 2020 uprising that began here.

Joe Vital spoke on behalf of East Phillips Neighborhood Institute about the irreparable harm the colonial systems of destruction have and will continue to inflict on the unceded lands, water, and all other living beings who dwell there. “We know the phrase ‘The borders crossed us.’ And when they crossed us, that changed our relationship with the land, the animals, our kinships to one another, our relationship to free-flowing water and to the trees themselves. We are talking about 381 acres of forest land—and we have to remember it’s all Indian Country.”

Vital continued by drawing a parallel to the local, native-led fight to defend the Roof Depot, which proved how collective organizing can effectively fight the system.

Hannah Jerrie from the Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar called out the city of Minneapolis’ attempt to manufacture consent around the 3rd Precinct, and how the power of the state to take away our rights is working exactly as it was designed. Atlanta has continued escalating attacks on protesters, creating trumped-up charges, incarcerating protesters, and otherwise violating freedom of speech – in all the ways the government was designed to do, Jerrie emphasized.

Repping Minnesota Defend the Forest, Griffy Lake put out a call for anyone to join the grassroots movement to defend the Atlanta forest, pointing out that the movement is gaining momentum, thanks to people involved refusing to be quiet and lending their voices and passions. Lake suggested taking part in whatever ways people feel comfortable with, whether that’s offering creative talents, helping to raise bail funds or provide jail support, or even just talking to people in the community about the importance of stopping Cop City, because “resisting one is tied hand in hand with resisting the other.”

Siobhan Moore, a representative of Students for Democratic Society at the U of M, denounced political repression, the destruction of the Weelaunee Forest for Cop City and the proposed new precinct in Minneapolis. Siobhan spoke about their proximity as a student organizer to the state’s attacks on activists, with fellow student activists known as the Tampa 5 currently facing up to ten years in prison for protests in Florida after a brutal arrest.

Finally, a member of Communities United Against Police Brutality rounded out the rally by highlighting the political prosecutions and oppressive tactics that both police and elected officials are using to silence movements like the ones in Minneapolis and Atlanta.

The rally ended with the crowd chanting “Justice for Tortuguita! Justice for the Forest Defenders! Justice for the Tampa 5!”

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateJusticeCommittee #StopCopCity

Minneapolis, MN – On June 18, 40 activists, organizers and community members gathered to rally and march in celebration of the recent Roof Depot victory in the East Phillips community of Minneapolis. The march was initiated by the Climate Justice Committee (CJC).

The community has been fighting for nearly ten years to prevent the Hiawatha Expansion Project and Roof Depot demolition, both of which would have poisoned an already environmentally burdened community with diesel fumes and arsenic. Instead, the community wanted the city to give the Roof Depot property back to the people, so they could use the building in ways that serve East Phillips, a majority oppressed nationality, immigrant, and working-class neighborhood. The city finally caved and agreed to sell the Roof Depot property, but only after the people of East Phillips and their allies began to raise the stakes for the city by packing city council meetings and holding rallies and marches, culminating in an indigenous-led occupation of the Roof Depot site.

In celebration of the city finally agreeing to sell the property to the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI), a coalition of forces organized a block party in Little Earth, a native-preference housing complex within East Phillips. The CJC’s rally began at the Roof Depot site. Members of Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) marched to the Roof Depot site as part of a national day of action for the Legalization for All Network, and their march joined the CJC rally as it began.

Speakers from the CJC, MIRAC and EPNI spoke about the win and the solidarity and in-the-streets organizing that made the win possible. Kay Lerohl of the CJC summed up the prevailing perspectives, stating, “Let us remember the strength of collective action, the power of our communities, and the profound impact we have when we stand together.”

The protesters marched through the East Phillips neighborhood to Cedar Field Park, holding a “Fight environmental racism” banner, and shouting chants such as, “¡Sí se puede!” and “When we fight, we win!” Passing cars honked in support, and neighbors came out in their lawns and front porches to witness the celebration. Upon arriving at Cedar Field Park, community groups set up educational tables, musical performances, free food and mutual aid tents to share in celebration and show that the support for the East Phillips community is ongoing.

The Climate Justice Committee was honored by the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, the American Indian Movement and community with a blanket as part of a ceremony at the block party celebration.

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateJustice #communityOrganizing

Santa Marta, Cabañas, El Salvador – On January 11, 2023, five environmental activists and community leaders from Santa Marta, Cabañas, El Salvador were arrested on bogus charges in a clear case of political persecution. They are still detained five months later and the movement to free them is growing around the world.

The men arrested – Antonio Pacheco, Saúl Rivas, Pedro Antonio Rivas, Alejandro Laínez and Miguel Gámez – are prominent leaders of the grassroots movement that won the world's first ban on metallic mining. The organization they’re part of, the Association for Social Economic Development (ADES), organized for years until succeeding in 2017 to get El Salvador to implement a country-wide ban on metallic mining due to the environmental damage it causes just to enrich multinational corporations.

There are strong signals that the current Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who also controls the country’s legislative assembly and the courts, wants to overturn the ban on mining. The arrest of the Santa Marta 5 appears to be an attempt to weaken the organized opposition to overturning the mining ban.

The Santa Marta 5 are facing dangerous conditions in El Salvador's prisons, and there has been a growing movement in El Salvador and internationally demanding their immediate release.

On June 11, the five-month anniversary of their arrest and detention, ADES released a statement saying, “For five months the Salvadoran government has mercilessly detained these five humble and brave fighters for social justice; the same heroes who saved the country from the horrific outcomes of metal mining in rural communities that was directly threatening the water, environment, agriculture and the continuity of life. Their work was key to demonstrating the infeasibility of metal mining and in approving the law that prohibits it in El Salvador. They deserve to be rewarded, not punished...Our colleagues have not been here for five months. We are overwhelmed by sadness of their absence, but also our fighting spirit to demand their freedom grows every day.”

Salvadoran President Bukele declared a “state of exception” in March 2022, which allows the government to arrest and hold anyone without due process or trial, among other severe restrictions on civil liberties. This was ostensibly to combat street gangs that have plagued El Salvador for decades. In the past year, Bukele’s government has arrested more than 68,000 people under the state of exception and has created the largest prison in Latin America to hold all the people being arrested and detained.

While his crackdown on gangs is popular in the country, Bukele is also taking advantage of that popularity to widen the net and politically persecute his perceived political enemies. He has mainly targeted people and organizations on the left but has also lashed out against some on the right who haven’t gone along with his leadership.

Bukele particularly has carried out a vendetta against the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), El Salvador’s main leftist political party, with both former FMLN presidents of the country, Mauricio Funes and Salvador Sanchez Ceren, in exile in Nicaragua to avoid political persecution, and many other FMLN leaders and members facing very serious trumped up legal charges.

In that vein, Bukele’s government has also gone after the Santa Marta 5, jailing them on ridiculous charges dating back to the country’s civil war in the 1980s. The five were members of the FMLN during El Salvador's civil war, who fought against El Salvador’s U.S.– backed right-wing dictatorship. After the war, many FMLN members, including the Santa Marta 5, continued organizing for social justice in El Salvador.

The Santa Marta 5 are targets of repression because of their leadership in the anti-mining struggle and other popular struggles that confront Bukele’s government.

Additionally, at least 16 union leaders have been arrested and held indefinitely under the state of exception, since many unions continue to organize and fight against Bukele’s anti-worker policies.

The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), which has organized solidarity with the Salvadoran left and popular movement since the country's civil war, is asking people to email their U.S. Representative and Senator, calling on them to speak out against the unjust detention of the Santa Marta 5: https://cispes.salsalabs.org/SantaMartaCongressionalaction/index.html

#SantaMartaCabañas #SantaMarta #ElSalvador #PoliticalPrisoners #environmentalJustice #Americas

Saint Paul, MN – The 2023 Minnesota legislative session ended on May 22, and it’s one for the history books. A wide array of progressive measures that working class and oppressed peoples’ movements in Minnesota have demanded for years and even decades became law, as the Republicans howled from the sidelines but didn’t have the votes to stop it.

The stage was set for this when the Democrats bucked predictions of Republican gains in the November 2022 election, with Democratic Governor Tim Walz handily winning re-election, and the Democrats winning a slim majority in both the state House and Senate. This Democratic “trifecta” brought to an end to around a decade of divided government in Minnesota that bottled up any progressive policies and led to gridlock where little legislation of consequence passed. Add to the mix a $17 billion budget surplus, a new group of oppressed nationality legislators with histories in mass movements, the virtual disappearance of rural moderate Democrats due to political polarization, and pent up frustration with the extreme right wing turn of the federal courts and the Republican Party, and you have the ingredients for the most progressive legislative session in a generation.

This led to a legislative session unlike any in recent times.

The breadth of progressive policies that the state legislature passed this year surprised many observers. The last time the DFL had a trifecta of control over the governor’s office along with the state House and Senate a decade ago, they passed a small number of important progressive measures but overall chose caution and just maintained the status quo on most issues. This has matched the experience of Democrats in power at the federal level for our entire lifetimes; when they have won elections, the Democrats have not only failed to advance bold, new progressive policies — they've failed to even maintain the status quo of the gains won in the 1930s New Deal era and the 1960s freedom movement era as the Republicans have relentlessly attacked those gains.

The recent experience of a Democratic trifecta at the national level from 2020-2022 repeated this experience, with President Biden and the Democratic-controlled Congress failing to pass transformational legislation to advance people’s rights and even failed to defend abortion rights while Republicans in the courts and in state governments continued to methodically strip away the gains of previous struggles and have gone on the attack to further erode the basic democratic rights of working class and oppressed peoples.

The fact that the Democrats only had a one-vote majority in the Minnesota Senate led many people to expect something similar to what we saw at the federal level over the previous two years, where two of the Democrats’ most conservative U.S. Senators – Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema – blocked serious progressive legislation, negating the Democratic majority.

But that didn’t happen this year in Minnesota. The Democrats came out swinging from the start of the legislative session, passing progressive legislation on a range of issues quickly and not letting up until the session ended in May.

That said, there are some notable things the legislature didn't do, and things that Governor Walz vetoed after threats of blackmail by major corporations, which clearly demonstrate the limits of what's possible in this system even with total Democratic control.

What was passed?

Abortion rights

Given that the Democrats largely won the elections in Minnesota because of outrage about the overturning of Roe v. Wade nationally, they put a high priority on a range of bills to strengthen abortion rights in Minnesota. In the face of attacks on abortion rights in many Republican-controlled states, Minnesota went in the opposite direction and significantly expanded abortion rights.

While a state court ruling had previously protected abortion rights in Minnesota, the overturning of Roe v. Wade nationally made it clear that a court ruling is not strong enough protection for this basic right. So the legislature passed a law to put abortion rights into the Minnesota legal code as a “fundamental right”, making it harder for right wing judges to easily overturn it. They also overturned basically all the restrictions that had been placed on abortion over the years as part of the long-term Republican strategy to chip away at abortion rights bit-by-bit with things like waiting periods, extra unnecessary paperwork, etc.

They passed a law protecting people who come to Minnesota for an abortion from other states that might try to legally prosecute them because they’ve outlawed abortion. And finally, they cut all state funding to “crisis pregnancy centers,” which are misleading anti-abortion “fake clinics” littering the state. Many are religious institutions that try to talk vulnerable people out of seeking abortion as one of their health care options. Previously these centers received millions of dollars of state funding, but no more. The struggle to increase access to abortion continues, as even though it remains legal there are very few clinics that offer abortion services in the state.

Voting rights expansion

In the face of attacks on voting rights on the federal level with the effective end of the Voting Rights Act and attacks on voting rights in Republican-controlled states, this year’s Minnesota legislature passed several expansions of voting rights. One important one is restoring the vote to people convicted of felonies who are on felony probation or parole. This voting restriction has disproportionately impacted Black Minnesotans. This change restores the right to vote for around 50,000 Minnesotans. They also passed a law that will now automatically register eligible voters to vote, which is a significant expansion of voting access, and will automatically pre-register eligible 16 and 17-year-olds to vote. There will also now be a permanent absentee voter list, so people who want to vote by mail can automatically get a ballot sent to their home before each election.

Protecting trans and queer rights

In the face of attacks on transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary people in Republican-controlled states, the Minnesota legislature passed a series of bills to protect trans people. One bill protects people traveling to Minnesota for gender-affirming care from legal attacks in other states, including prohibiting the governor from extraditing someone for receiving gender-affirming care in Minnesota. Another bill bans “conversion therapy” statewide, which is a discredited practice of trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity to make them straight.

Drivers license for all and insurance for immigrants

The immigrant rights movement in Minnesota has fought to win back drivers license access for all regardless of immigration status since that right was taken away from undocumented residents in the anti-immigrant fervor after 9/11. After 20 years of struggle, this year the legislature quickly moved to pass the drivers license for all bill, and passed a clean version of the bill without special markings on the license that would expose people as being immigrants, like some previous versions of the bill would have done.

Another important measure passed that benefits immigrant communities is that now Minnesota’s immigrant residents will be eligible to enroll in MinnesotaCare, the state’s publicly-subsidized insurance program.

Police accountability

One of the biggest missing elements in the legislature’s otherwise progressive efforts has been around reigning in racist police violence with policies to increase police accountability. In the aftermath of the police murdering George Floyd, several organizations fighting for police accountability and families impacted by police violence proposed a series of new laws; they were almost entirely ignored. This year, one significant piece of legislation passed that addresses police brutality – new limits statewide on no-knock search warrants, like the kind that led to the Minneapolis police killing Amir Locke in January 2022. There are loopholes in the bill though that still allow no-knock warrants in some situations. But overall, the legislature failed to make significant strides toward reigning in racist police violence.

Health care

The legislature expanded MinnesotaCare to create a public option, an important step in the direction of health care for all.

The legislature also passed a statewide paid family and medical leave plan, expanding paid work leave to large numbers of workers who don’t currently have such benefits at their jobs. Eleven other states have similar programs. Additionally, the legislature passed a statewide sick leave program. Workers who don’t currently get sick leave at their jobs will now get an hour of sick leave per 30 hours of work.

Transportation

After decades of underfunding of transportation infrastructure, legislators passed a nearly $9 billion transportation bill, including new taxes and fees that will raise significant amounts of dedicated funding for transportation infrastructure as well as funding for public transit and funding for the ever-elusive passenger train line from the Twin Cities to Duluth, which now seems like it will become a reality. The legislature decriminalized fare evasion for all Twin Cities transit agencies, an important move in both curtailing racist enforcement of such laws as well as potentially a step toward free public transportation.

Housing

The state legislature passed $1 billion in spending on housing, and created the first-ever tax dedicated to affordable housing. While more should have been allocated to public housing, there is $10 million to retrofit public high-rise housing with sprinklers; a few years ago, several people died in a fire in a Minneapolis public housing fire. A new state program was also created that’s similar to the federal Section 8 program that could help 5,000 low-income renters.

Public education

For higher education, the North Star Promise Program creates a free college education for students with a family income under $80,000, and increased funding for Minnesota’s tribal colleges.

The K-12 public education budget is $23.2 billion. This is a significant increase over previous years, coming after decades of underfunding of public education. Importantly, future funding will be tied to inflation increases to not fall behind inflation. The bill includes a permanent expansion of pre-kindergarten education to 12,360 seats statewide, funds to increase the size and diversity of the teaching workforce, nearly doubling funding for American Indian education, $65.9 million to pay paraprofessionals and special education instructors for their work time outside of the classroom in addition to their classroom time, funding for a new mandate that schools have menstrual products available, funding for creating new gender-neutral bathrooms, and much more.

The legislature also passed free school lunch statewide, starting next school year. This continues something that was implemented on a temporary basis at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but was set to end.

Child care assistance

The legislature passed a large increase in funding for the Child Care Assistance Program.

Climate change

A new law set a statewide goal to have a carbon-free electric grid in Minnesota by 2040. While slower than climate activists want, it moves in the right direction in comparison to the reversals in Republican-controlled states. Hundreds of millions will also now be available for climate projects and rebates for electric vehicles, buses, bikes, air-source heat pumps, and more.

Roof Depot

Late in the session, legislators intervened in the struggle in the East Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis over the future of the Roof Depot site. A years-long struggle came to a head this year as the largely indigenous and immigrant working-class neighborhood fought to stop the city of Minneapolis’s plan to demolish the Roof Depot site, releasing arsenic into the air from the polluted site, and then putting a public works site there that would bring more diesel traffic to the heavily polluted neighborhood. Instead the community wanted to create an urban farm on the site, but Minneapolis Mayor Frey and the majority of the city council pushed ahead with their own plan.

As the demolition of the site was looming, the state legislature budgeted money for the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute to purchase the site and brokered a deal that Mayor Frey agreed to accept for the community to take control of the site. This sealed a huge victory for the indigenous people and environmentalists who resisted the city’s plan for eight years.

New state flag

The legislature passed a measure that will likely result in a new Minnesota state flag to replace the current flag which is both aesthetically confusing as well as racist in portraying a Native American exiting the scene as a white farmer works the land. A commission will propose a new state flag design for the legislature to consider next year.

CROWN Act

The CROWN Act was passed this session, which changes the MN Human Rights Act to protect against discrimination in employment, housing and education based on hairstyle, something that has been particularly used against Black people.

Unprecedented budget increase and new revenue

The biggest financial thing that happens in a legislative session is passing the state’s budget for the next two years. The budget they passed this year smashed the previous record, with a 40% increase in spending. This means a significant increase in spending on social programs that benefit working people, which have been starved of funds in recent decades as neo-liberal cuts to social programs have been the norm under both Republican and Democrat administrations. There was also a large increase to local government aid, and a massive $2.6 billion bonding package of infrastructure projects. This is the largest bonding bill ever passed in Minnesota; no bonding bill for infrastructure was passed at all in the previous two years due to divided government gridlock. The legislature passed $100 million in funding for high-speed internet infrastructure, which will help in many parts of the state with inadequate internet access.

Marijuana legalization

One of the measures that got the most media attention was the legalization of recreational marijuana in Minnesota, which now becomes the 23rd state to do so. Decriminalization of simple possession and home growing of marijuana will go into effect in August. The bill also calls for expunging some low-level marijuana offenses from people’s criminal records; Black people in Minnesota have been arrested for marijuana possession at a much higher rate than white people.

Capitalists set limits

The fast pace and wide array of bills the legislature passed seemed to even catch many in the capitalist class off guard. But by the end of the legislative session, they regained their footing and stopped some important bills in their tracks. Under threats from large corporations, Governor Walz intervened to squash two bills that working class people and unions fought hard for. One was a bill supported by the nurses’ union, the Keep Nurses at the Bedside Act, which would have taken important measures to address the crisis of understaffing and overworking of nurses. This was set to pass until the Mayo Clinic, a hugely powerful corporation in Minnesota, sent a public letter to legislators and the governor threatening to move billions of dollars of future investments to other states if Minnesota passed this law. First the legislature tried to do a carveout for Mayo to exclude them from the bill, but then other hospital corporations got mad, and the whole bill fell apart.

Second was a bill that passed both the House and Senate and only needed the governor’s signature to pass. This bill would have created basic worker protections and a minimum wage for Uber and Lyft rideshare drivers, who are classified as “independent contractors,” and so most existing labor law, as inadequate as it is, doesn’t apply to them. The bill was pushed by the Minnesota Uber & Lyft Drivers Association (MULDA), representing the largely East African workers who are rideshare drivers.

After passing both houses of the legislature, Uber, learning from what Mayo Clinic did to tank the nursing bill, sent a threatening letter to the governor saying that if he signed it, Uber would end all operations in greater Minnesota and would only continue certain specialized services in the Twin Cities. The governor balked and issued the first veto of his time in office, leaving thousands of oppressed nationality workers still without a basic minimum wage or workers’ protections.

The killing of these two bills in particular show where the true power lies in a capitalist country. Even in a best case scenario of complete Democratic control in a state under the most ideal economic conditions of a massive budget surplus, the capitalist class can still override the will of the people and of the legislature and essentially veto bills they don’t like by issuing threats. This shows the need to not only fight to win what can be won under the current system, but to fight for a new system – socialism – where working class and oppressed people have the reins of power and can’t be bullied by large corporations into denying workers basic rights.

Angered but unbowed by the governor caving to capitalist threats, both the nurses’ union and MULDA have pledged to continue their struggle to pass these bills next year.

Increased polarization – two legal systems in one country

The results of this year’s legislative session in Minnesota paint a sharp contrast to the avalanche of reactionary laws passing in Republican-controlled states. This is a reflection of the growing political polarization in the U.S., and the consolidation of two very different legal systems in this country, with some states preserving and expanding democratic rights, and other states sharply attacking and curtailing them.

This situation of political polarization makes it possible to win some important advances for democratic rights in Democratic-controlled states if mass movements are well organized and prepared to place clear demands on the Democrats in power.

It also shows the need to strongly support movements and communities in Republican-controlled states that are under attack and fighting back and resisting the wave of reaction in their states. Winning more democratic rights in the states where it’s possible helps those fighting in other states through raising the bar of what’s possible, as well as offering sanctuary to people and communities in those states who come under increasing attack with the wave of reactionary laws.

#SaintPaulMN #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #Labor #WomensMovement #Healthcare #HousingStruggles #EnvironmentalJustice

Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, April 22, 200 people marched with the MN Climate Justice Committee and the many organizations that have been fighting the Hiawatha Expansion. The Earth Day march began and ended at the Roof Depot site.

The event featured speakers from organizations at the center of the fight, such as East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, the American Indian Movement and Little Earth Defenders, as well as groups that have been standing in solidarity and support of the struggle, including Minnesota Workers United and TCC4J.

April 22 is Earth Day. In the face of urgently needed climate action and climate injustice, too many would turn Earth Day into a consumer holiday, as ironic as that is.

Katherine Gould of the Climate Justice Committee said, “We are here to reclaim Earth Day. This means that we recognize Earth Day as something much bigger, more radical and more challenging than what it has become for many – an opportunity to market 'green' products for a few weeks of the year. Earth Day is a recognition that one's access to safe and clean environments shouldn't be dictated by your race, your income, or your immigration status. Earth Day calls us to dismantle systems that enrich those with power and privilege while endangering the lives of others.”

She continued, “This community's fight against the city of Minneapolis’ proposed Hiawatha Expansion project and for community control of the Roof Depot site embodies the revolutionary spirit of Earth Day. East Phillips and Little Earth residents are standing up against an environmentally racist project that would concentrate pollution generated by service to the whole city in just a few predominantly low-income and BIPOC neighborhoods. Fighting environmental injustice and the public health crisis of racism is what Earth Day is about. It's about holding polluters accountable and protecting vulnerable ecosystems. It's about fighting for air that's safe to breathe, water that's safe to drink, and land that sustains life for generations.”

Follow the MN Climate Justice Committee on social media and look for a video of the Earth Day protest on Instagram: @climatejusticeMN

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice

Milwaukee, WI – The Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC) hosted an anti-war rally and march on April 22 to commemorate Earth Day. The rally highlighted the need to fight back against the sources of environmental destruction: namely, the capitalist war machine and the corporations that put profit over people and planet.

The determined group braved a late April hailstorm and marched to a local Chase Bank, where they filled the space with fiery chants of “Chase Bank you can't hide, stop funding Line 5!” Chase was chosen as the destination because of their partnership with war profiteer Raytheon and the funding of Line 5 and other oil pipelines that desecrate indigenous sacred sites and contaminate the environment through oil leaks.

At Chase, local organizations spoke in support of the rally. The speakers included Farzad Ghodsi from Milwaukee Anti-War Committee, Ryan Hamann from Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Dr. Alexandra Skeeter from the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, Rory Donovan from the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UW-Milwaukee, and Blake Dee from the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (MAARPR).

The speakers shared important perspectives on the links between climate change, war and capitalism. On the U.S. military, the largest polluter in the world, MAC speaker Farzad Ghodsi said, “The United States military exists not to defend the people from threats, but to defend the profits of the oil and gas companies whose products they use in great quantities every single day. They have a mutually beneficial relationship that is harmful to every living thing on the planet.”

Rory Donovan from SDS echoed Ghodsi’s words on the U.S. military and highlighted a pressing student concern around the recent University of Wisconsin Board of Regents decision to increase tuition, supposedly due to a lack of their own funding. They connected this to militarism, explaining, “Our government doesn’t step in because the money is all tied up in the military, so they have to squeeze it out of us instead. For shame! We know there is more than enough money to subsidize education.”

Others spoke on socialist countries such as Cuba and their incredible efforts around environmentalism and sustainability.

The topics were wide-ranging, but the speakers were resounding in their rejection of the narrative that climate change can be solved through reducing personal consumption or individual acts of goodwill such as picking up trash. Working-class people are not to blame for climate change, and as Ryan Hamann from FRSO stated, “Capitalism does not exist in the abstract, nor does it act in the world as some sort of independent force. Its perpetrators and proponents, its facilitators, have names and addresses.”

The Milwaukee Anti-War Committee took the fight right to Chase Bank, declaring that anti-war and environmental causes cannot be separated. The Milwaukee Anti-War Committee says, “People and planet over profit! Save the planet, end all wars!”

#MilwaukeeWI #AntiwarMovement #EnvironmentalJustice #EarthDay

Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis’ Mayor Frey and seven Minneapolis city council members are talking about how they feel personally threatened after the Roof Depot struggle has become national news – after years of ignoring the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, the group that has been spearheading the push to buy the building with the goal of creating a neighborhood space. As the neighborhood is mobilized and righteously angry about the pollution, Frey and his cronies in the Minneapolis city council try to demonize the neighborhood, attempting to paint activists, particularly indigenous activists, as violent.

The Climate Justice Committee condemns the scapegoating of indigenous people by city officials who are trying to divert attention away from the ongoing poisoning of the East Phillips neighborhood.

East Phillips is a neighborhood that includes the largest native preference Section 8 housing, Little Earth. It's also home to very large Latino and Somali populations, and overall is one of the most diverse parts of Minneapolis with a strong working-class identity. Historically this neighborhood has been the site for many polluting companies, like the asphalt manufacturer Bituminous Roadways and Smith Foundry, both located across the street from the Roof Depot building currently under contention. East Phillips has been underdeveloped, underserved and over-polluted for decades. The Roof Depot company closed its doors and in 2015 leaving residents hoping for something better. This led to the formation of the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI).

EPNI intended to buy the site and create something that was sorely missing – a community space with an indoor farm for fresh produce for the residents and the potential for housing, job training and more. But quickly it became clear the red tape of capitalism couldn't understand or account for community ownership structures, while at the same time Mayor Frey's development plans took shape. The city swooped in and purchased the site, under the thread of eminent domain, for the city's industrial fleet. The current city plan will add over 800 parking spots with the intention of filling some portion of that with Minneapolis industrial vehicles.

This all came as a surprise to East Phillips residents as it's also the location of the Midtown Greenway bike trail and was named a 'Green Zone' by the same mayor and city council, acknowledging the historic pollution in the area.

EPNI tried in vain to meet with the mayor's office for several years. The city council members’ votes went back and forth on the future of the site, but every time coming up short of giving control or voice to the residents most affected. EPNI invited Frey to talk to members of the community on multiple occasions all to no response.

The Climate Justice Committee, a newer group in the Twin Cities, joined with the struggle, wanting to help mobilize the community and to work with the residents of Little Earth and EPNI to resist this clear plan of environmental racism.

Over the summer of 2022 EPNI anonymously received a city document showing how Mayor Frey's plan to move the city's diesel fleet wasn't fiscally sound. The document showed that upgrades to the current waterworks location in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood would make more sense. But this report was slid under the rug and not given the light of day until well after Frey's plans were in motion.

EPNI continued to call for meetings with Frey's office, finally attempting a legal strategy which did lead to a meeting with the mayor’s office. The empty promises made in the meeting by Frey's team never materialized, or were outright lies.

Parallel to the legal fight, the Climate Justice Committee, EPNI and Little Earth residents were confronting Frey about the poisoning of East Phillips and bringing the fight to city council meetings and taking rallies into the mayor’s office. But after Little Earth residents fill the council chambers, city council members claim to feel threatened – filing restraining orders against elders and attempting to make policy changes to criminalize protests of city officials and at city meetings.

The narrative of vague death threats and violence is disingenuous, false and intended to distract from the real perpetrators of violence: Mayor Frey and his cronies on the Minneapolis city council. The mayor wrings his hands about death threats while East Phillips gets poisoned. One council member (Vetaw) filed a police report, but the only evidence clearly shows her physically assaulting a protester and taking their phone. Another council member (Palmisano) claims activists are paid to disrupt meetings, but can only show gas cards provided to help get those affected to meetings. These narratives are right-wing talking points meant to make the mayor and his cronies on the city council seem like the innocent victims, while they punch down at the Little Earth community actually under attack.

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #environmentalRacism #RoofDepot