Dublin, CA – On June 8, at around 5 p.m., over 100 participants of the three-day “Caminata for Immigrant Rights” arrived at the corner of Arnold Road and Gleason Drive, next to FCI Dublin, a closed federal women’s prison that ICE plans to reopen as an immigrant detention center.

“This action shows just how united the Bay Area is against ICE. Across all three days, covering dozens of miles, we received only honks of support and cheers from folks. No one wants Trump’s ICE thugs here. Those who joined us, including families with young children, grandmothers, immigrants and allies from Santa Rosa to Napa to San Francisco and beyond, demonstrate how far people are willing to go to oppose new detention centers in the Bay,” said Danny Celaya from CSO Oakland.

Over three days, from Saturday, June 6, at Napa High School to Monday, June 8, in Dublin, marchers covered nearly 70 miles.

“As a member of the vehicle support team, this action was inspiring. People are committed to stopping Trump’s agenda and fighting ICE. Everyday working-class people organized this massive action, that quite literally united forces from every corner of the Bay to collectively say ‘Hell no!’ to the proposed detention centers. This demonstrates what we can achieve through organizing, so let’s be clear, we are going to win! Down with immigrant detention centers! Power to the people’s movements!” said Brandon Cavins from the Oakland chapter of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The march made a powerful impact, garnering press coverage and over 15 news articles in both Spanish and English. It made the front page of both the East Bay Times and Mercury News, the largest newspapers in both East Bay and South Bay, respectively.

The four key demands were legalization for all; ICE out of the Bay; no to immigrant detention centers in Dublin, Alcatraz and Gilroy, and stop deportations and repression.

Peyton Leone, representing Centro del Pueblo in Humboldt County, said, “We hear stories of people being sent to very faraway places when they are detained, and to hear that a new detention center could be opened closer to where I live; that’s something that I would show up every day, any time to protest. That’s why I’m here joining the caminata for all three days.”

Through the organizers’ efforts, families and participants of all ages were able to join as organizers secured lodging, three meals a day, and portable restrooms transported via a truck bed along every mile of the route. Additionally, a team of over 20 medics tended to the walkers, and more than 40 safety volunteers kept people safe across the four counties the march traversed: Napa, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Alameda.

Over 40 organizations took part in this three-day action including Raizes Collective, Almas Libres, Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition, CSO North Bay, CSO Oakland, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Human Agenda, National TPS Alliance, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, American Indian Movement, CodePink Sonoma County, North Bay Jobs with Justice, North Bay Organizing Project, Bay Resistance, Tsuru for Solidarity, Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN), the ICE out of Dublin Coalition, and dozens more.

#DublinCA #CA #OaklandCA #ImmigrantRights #ICE #DetentionCenter #CSONorthBay #CSOOakland #Featured

Gulfport, MS – On June 21, a crowd of about 15 people gathered for a rally and vigil against the murder of one-year-old Kohen Wiley at a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi.

The action was put on by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Mutual Aid Collective, drawing people from organizations including Indivisible, the Gulf Coast Humanists and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Speaking to Fight Back! at the rally, Ash Dawn of Gulf Coast Humanists said, “Our message is to amplify the demands of the people of Senatobia, which is to release the tape. Release everything and get full transparency for everything relating to Kohen Wiley’s murder.”

While addressing the crowd, Dawn also stated, “The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation relentlessly withholds information from Mississippians,” and spoke on the extreme lack of trust between the corrupt police departments and the local community.

Miu Sims of FRSO addressed the crowd saying, “We are absolutely outraged that a one-year-old child could be a victim to police brutality.” Sims drove with fellow activists from New Orleans to attend the rally, taking the trip to show support and solidarity. “These racist institutions do not care about your age. They don’t care if you’re a baby sitting in your mother’s lap while she is trying to take care of you. They will murder whoever they want!”

Sims also spoke on the particular violence that Black people face, saying that the police “see the color of our skin, and they automatically assume that a mother who is trying to take care of her child is a ‘looter’ or someone who is stealing.” Sims spoke passionately on how quickly racist, killer cops choose to “pull the trigger” and senselessly murder rather than protect Black lives.

The rally united protesters on the need for justice, Black liberation, and resistance to crooked intuitions of policing. Ash Dawn said to the crowd, “The people of Mississippi are damn tired!”

The crowd chanted, “When Black lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

#GulfportMS #MS #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops #KohenWiley #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #Featured

Lisbon, Portugal – On Thursday, June 18, thousands of workers marched outside the Assembly of the Republic demanding that the right-wing government kill the anti-worker “labor package” they were poised to vote on. The next day, in a vote that shocked most pundits, the labor package was voted down by the legislators even though there is a right-wing majority in the assembly.

How did this happen? Over nearly a year, the governing right-wing parties tried to push the proposal through, presenting it as absolutely necessary and its passage as inevitable.

But Portugal’s militant union federation, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), had different ideas. They sprung into motion, and over 11 months they carried out several mass marches and two general strikes – one on December 11, 2025, and another earlier this month, on June 3.

While Prime Minister Montenegro publicly claimed that not many workers participated in the general strikes, he and the right-wing parties knew that the reality on the ground was different. The general strike brought transportation systems, education and health care in the country to a near halt, and many private corporations, large and small, had significant numbers of workers go on strike, stopping production in important industries and sectors of the Portuguese economy. The working class spoke in a loud and united voice, saying that the labor package has to fall.

Even up to the day before the vote, the governing right-wing coalition thought they had the votes to pass it. But their negotiations to assure the votes of Chega, the farthest right-wing party, continued until a half hour before the vote. Chega is a far-right populist party not dissimilar from Trump’s MAGA movement. Ultimately, Chega likely feared losing the working-class voters in their base to the left if they voted in favor of the bosses’ labor package. So, Chega voted with the left-wing and centrist parties, sending the package to defeat.

The constant militant mobilizations by the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP) turned the labor package into a social question that drew sharp class lines. This made it impossible for the right-wing parties to simply craft labor policy behind closed doors at the behest of the rich. The working class took the stage and made this vote into a “which side are you on” question. The capitalists’ dream – of passing new labor laws that would increase profits for the rich by driving down workers’ living standards and peeling back union rights – turned into their nightmare of awakening the unity and militant action of the working class.

After the vote in the assembly, the leader of the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), Tiago Oliveira, said, “It was 11 months of struggle that translated into 11 months of workers mobilizing constantly, building two huge general strikes, building a set of initiatives that translated today into the defeat of the labor package. So today I give a huge recognition to the determining role of the workers’ struggle that developed over these long 11 months. It was the workers who were essential in all of these developments. The workers were the key that determined the position of all the political parties that today voted against this labor package. In the name of the CGTP, a word of solidarity and gratitude to the workers, because they are the true creators of everything good in our lives. Today it’s proven that it’s the workers’ struggle that determines whatever outcome.”

#LisbonPortugal #International #Portugal #Labor #Featured

Santa Ana, CA – On Monday, June 15, Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) served a demand letter to the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) and the city of Santa Ana threatening to sue if they do not immediately start producing records of the in-custody death of Freddie DeAngelo Washington.

Despite multiple public records act requests, SAPD has only produced a tiny handful of records, and none in over a year. This is far fewer records than SAPD has released in other cases. These delays give the impression that SAPD is hiding something, because what the public already knows about the brutality of the case is shocking.

Back on January 15, 2025, six SAPD officers broke into Washington’s hotel room and arrested him. As two officers pinned him to bed, one officer punched Washington in the back of the head twice. Police wrestled him to the ground, threatened to tase him, and tied down his arms and legs using a restraint device called “the wrap.” According to the police report, later that night Washington was put in a restraint chair and placed in a cell at Santa Ana Jail.

At least one officer with a prior history of violence can be identified in the arrest footage: Isaac Ibarra, who helped with the arrest and helped prepare the restraint device for Freddie Washington. Ibarra was one of the officers who killed unarmed 31-year-old Noe Rodriguez in 2024, shooting him 11 times and lying about what Rodriguez was doing before the shooting.

In Santa Ana Jail the day after Freddie Washington’s arrest, he fainted and officers placed him on his side. When Washington woke and flailed his legs, police violently pinned him to the tile floor with their knees for almost four minutes. Washington was tied down to a restraint chair, hooded with a spit mask and put back in a cell. Public Information Officer Natalie Garcia said that “at some point, jail staff determined the suspect did not appear to be breathing.” He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

As of Tuesday June 16, SAPD Records Division deleted public messages from the website, but CSO OC members preserved these records beforehand.

Meanwhile, the family of Freddie Washington has been left in the dark. Washington’s sister, Moesha Hightower, described him as “a country boy from Aitken, South Carolina who loved to cook, to travel, and to take care of his daughter.” In fact, SAPD incorrectly stated Washington was from Ventura County when he was in California to fight for custody of his daughter.

Washington’s mother, Beatrice Hightower, said he was “a family man and an honest child who helped Beatrice and his sisters.” She misses him bitterly and said she had to bury Washington on his birthday. Washington’s family demands justice for his death and for the officers involved to be held accountable.

Six years since the racist killing of George Floyd by killer cop Derek Chauvin, the brutality of Washington’s arrest and death by SAPD speaks for itself. This was another racist killing, and SAPD cannot be trusted to carry out investigations into their own officers.

This is why CSO OC fights for community control of the police. The public has a basic right to decide on police matters where they live, including how in-custody deaths are investigated and how police are held accountable for acts of brutality.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #OrangeCounty #FreddieWashington #InjusticeSystem #PoliceAccountability #CSO #CSOOC #Featured

Chicago, IL – The struggle for justice for survivors of police torture continues in Chicago. June 18 saw another defeat for Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen Burke, who is notoriously known for working hand-in-glove with the Chicago Police Department.

In 1991, Johnny Plummer was just 15 years old when he was beaten into a confession for a murder he didn’t commit. His torturers were Detectives Kenneth Boudreau and Michael Kill. Boudreau has 70 convictions to his name where survivors have accused him of torture; 28 of those men have since been exonerated for successfully proving they had been forced into confessions.

Plummer’s defense has always been that he was beaten into signing a confession by Kill and Boudreau, beaten in the abdomen with fists and a flashlight. He has declared this since the first moment his family came to the Area 3 police station after his two days in police custody. When Plummer saw a doctor at the Audy Juvenile Home, he told the doctor he had been beaten into signing the false confession. The medical examiner recorded Johnny’s account in his notes and, for 35 years, Plummer has been saying that he reported his torture to the doctor.

At his multiple trials since he was wrongfully convicted, that medical report did not surface.

Attorney Karl Leonard with the Exoneration Project explained to the presiding judge for Plummer’s case, Judge Tyria B. Walton, that a special prosecutor took this case in 2022 and requested all medical records from the state’s attorney’s office. “This year (2026) we received those files and finally saw the medical report from August 22, 1991,” Leonard stated.

Judge Walton’s opening question for counsel was to identify the issue at hand before the court. In his opening statement, Assistant State’s Attorney Miles O’Rourke claimed there was no Brady violation in 1991 and spent time showing that in the early years of trials and appeals, Plummer and his attorneys said nothing in court about not receiving medical records.

A Brady violation is when prosecutors fail to disclose impeaching evidence to the defense.

Judge Walton had previously been giving more support to the prosecutors, but as the defense brought out more information, Judge Walton reminded the court of the three things that are needed to establish a Brady claim: One, the evidence must be favorable to the accused because it is exculpatory (tends to prove innocence). Two, the prosecution suppressed or failed to turn over the evidence, even if the suppression was unintentional. And three, the evidence was “material,” meaning there is reason to think that the outcome of the trial would have been different.

State’s Attorney O’Rourke argued a number of times that there was no Brady violation and claimed that the defense had all the medical records. In the dramatic high point of the proceeding, Judge Walton identified that there was a first subpoena filed in 1991 and a second subpoena filed in 2022, and stated that the court was advised by the petitioner that they didn’t have the medical records.

O’Rourke interjected, “We didn’t have it either.”

Judge Walton continued, “Then in 2026, the records surfaced in a file review.”

Addressing O’Rourke’s outburst, Walton explained that the Brady language is unyielding: whether the withholding was intentional or not, there was definite cause for a Brady violation.

She went on to say that with the surfacing of the medical records earlier this year, she concluded the state’s attorney’s office had already been in possession of those records, though it may not have been in the possession of this particular counsel present at court.

After this, the state stopped arguing there was no basis for a Brady finding.

In response to the developments in court, Frank Chapman of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression stated, “When do facts matter? How can it be that something that happened 35 years ago is just now getting in front of a judge?”

Chapman recalled the words of Johnny’s mother, Jeanette Plummer, who died in May never seeing her son on this side of freedom. She had spoken out against injustice ever since he was wrongfully convicted. In 2012, at a forum on police crimes organized by the Chicago Alliance, she challenged the system of racist policing.

“How could they torture a 15-year-old child?” Chapman said, “Clearly we can’t trust the court system to bring justice. We must trust the movement to do this. Without the movement, we wouldn’t even be getting a hearing and keeping up his hopes for freedom.”

The next hearing for Johnny Plummer will be on Tuesday, June 23 at 1 p.m. at the George Leighton Courthouse (2650 S California Avenue) in room 304.

#ChicagoIL #IL #JohnnyPlummer #InjusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #Featured #NAARPR #CAARPR

Fort Morgan, CO – On the morning of May 20, an hour and a half drive northeast of Denver, Cargill Meat Solutions locked out 1700 workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. This lockout comes after months of negotiations for a new contract, during which Cargill, the largest privately-owned company in the United States, repeatedly refused to give necessary wage increases and health benefits to its workers.

The collective bargaining agreement between Cargill and the Teamsters expired in late February, with Cargill initially offering raises totaling 70 cents over the next five years. Over the course of several weeks of negotiations, representatives of Teamsters Local 455 were able to raise the employer’s offer to include pay increases of $2.15, along with a $1250 ratification bonus. On April 23, Cargill stopped production and demanded a vote on their most recent proposal.

“We continued to negotiate throughout the day,” said Servando Payan, a Teamsters Business Agent who took part in the negotiations, “They asked for a vote but it wasn’t a last best, and final offer.”

In union negotiations sometimes a boss will name an offer as their “last best and final” meaning that they will not move further and signaling that workers should vote on that deal, either to accept it, or to refuse it, which often signals a strike coming soon.

Cargill halted production, paying their workers to stay home until May 19, when they removed the $1250 ratification bonus from their latest proposal and refused to raise wages. Throughout this, the Cargill workers maintained their demand for $1 per year in raises, for a total of $5 over a five-year contract, or, preferably, $3 over a three-year contract.

A vote was held and of the over 1500 workers that cast a ballot, over 85% voted down the company’s newest proposal. The company then initiated a lockout the following day. As a response, workers started a picket line in. On June 1, workers continued to picket outside the Cargill meatpacking plant, calling for better wages and working conditions even after weeks of being locked out.

Concrete barricades were set up by Cargill and next to them workers shouted “¡Sí, se puede!” as neighbors and community members drove by honking in support. Local food vendors prepared food for the workers while volunteers passed out water. Rank-and-file Teamsters from UPS in Commerce City, several of whom were members of the Denver District of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), visited Fort Morgan to stand in solidarity with the workers.

On the picket line, Imam Kasim, a religious leader among the largely Muslim workforce, spoke about the daily religious discrimination workers face. He spoke about how Cargill regularly denies workers the ability to take prayer breaks. He also spoke of harassment from supervisors and cases of workers being prevented from leaving the disassembly line to use the bathroom. “They made him wait 30 minutes,” said Kasim while describing one such example. “The other guy wasn’t allowed to use [the] bathroom and pissed himself.”

On June 12, several members of FRSO again traveled to Fort Morgan to stand in solidarity with the locked-out Cargill workers. Many workers had gathered in a nearby park. FRSO members passed out cold water and fruit while talking to workers and Teamsters representatives. In expressing gratitude for the food and water, workers spoke the language they were comfortable in, whether Spanish, French, Somali or Haitian Creole. One Cargill maintenance worker spoke about how he was unhappy with how long the lockout had lasted but said he was glad that the union is taking care of everyone.

Union representatives spoke about the past few months of negotiations with Cargill, as well as what they described as collusion between the “Big Four” beef processing companies, which are Cargill, JBS, Tyson Foods, and National Beef, which together control around 85% of all cattle processing in the United States.

Teamsters officials said Cargill’s initial contract proposal offered raises and bonuses very similar to those rejected earlier this year by 3800 JBS workers in Greeley. Those workers went on a three-week strike in March to demand a better deal. Teamster officials said similar contract proposals are being offered at meatpacking plants across the country.

“These other deals are based on different costs of living, from Nebraska to Alaska,” said Teamsters Business Agent Servando Payan, “Those wages don’t make sense here.”

The Teamsters Food Processing Division is also looking into possible antitrust issues tied to the company’s conduct. Cargill and Tyson Foods were recently forced to pay a combined $87.5 million in antitrust settlements after claims that they conspired to keep beef prices high led to a class-action lawsuit. The Department of Justice has also announced the start of an antitrust investigation into major beef producers, including Cargill and JBS.

Payan spoke about the immense solidarity the Cargill workers have shown in their fight against the multi-billion dollar meatpacking company stating, “We have 27 different languages out here,” said Payan. “With so much diversity in race and culture, they came together collectively to vote down this contract.”

At the end of the day, Salem Chadwick, one of the FRSO members that came to stand in solidarity, said, “These workers have a tough battle ahead of them, but their fight is necessary. Together they can overcome any obstacle.”

A few days earlier, on June 10, Teamsters Local 455 filed unfair labor practice charges against the company, saying Cargill unlawfully cut off workers’ access to pay and benefits.

#FortMorganCO #CO #Labor #Teamsters #Featured

Los Angeles, CA – On June 3, Centro CSO held a press conference at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights demanding that the state keep its hands off Nadia Topete. On May 20, Topete, a Chicana immigrant rights activist with Centro CSO, was served a subpoena by the FBI demanding that she testifies in front of a grand jury. She did not appear at the grand jury proceedings, which were set for the same day.

Press conference organizers state, “Nadia bravely refused to rat on her fellow activists who did nothing wrong, risking serious jail time. Cases of blatant political repression like this one have continued to intensify in the wake of Trump’s racist, reactionary agenda. Nadia Topete’s determination is a strong example of the people’s refusal to back down.”

At the press conference, Centro CSO member Verita Topete, Nadia’s sister and herself a victim of FBI repression, led attendees in chants of “When we fight, we win!”

“Our enemies are trying to find ways to attack us, but we won’t stand down. This is a fight we are willing to take. We will win,” said Henry Cornejo, a Teamster at UPS and member of Centro CSO.

Carlos Montes, a longtime Chicano activist and member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization who has experienced political repression over the decades, said, “Federal grand juries have been used by the Trump administration to go after immigrant rights activists. We are united to denounce the use of the grand jury and the FBI by the Trump administration and the U.S. Attorney’s office to harass and intimidate activists who oppose Trump’s attacks on our immigrant community.”

In order to support Topete, the Committee to Stop FBI Repression is requesting donations: tinyurl.com/csfrdonate.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #CSFR #CentroCSO #NadiaTopete #Featured

Anaheim, CA – On Saturday, June 6, Community Service Organization, Orange County (CSO OC) along with friends and family of Albert Arzola, held a protest and vigil on the six-month anniversary of his killing by Anaheim PD Officer Nathan Garcia.

The energy was high as the protest began in front of the Anaheim City Hall with chants of “Justice for Albert Arzola!” Attendees' voices echoed far and wide as spectators from the streets stopped to watch. As the march began with chants of “Nathan Garcia, lock him up!” Anaheim residents driving by honked their horns in support. The match went from Anaheim City Hall to the front of the Anaheim Police Department.

There, CSO OC police accountability committee member Matthew Compton opened with, “We are here today to demand Anaheim Police Chief Manuel Cid fire killer cop Nathan Garcia!”

Compton described Arzola’s murder: “Officer Garcia leapt out of an unmarked police car, drew his gun, and chased Albert towards his home. He then dragged Albert backwards by his hoodie and shot him in the back.” As Compton continued with his speech, the crowd of over 50 people yelled “Shame!” making sure the police drone that was flying around could hear them.

The next speaker came up and stated: “My name is Rosie Camacho, the mother of Albert Arzola. I’m here seeking justice, and accountability from the killer cop who murdered my son. He’s still here in the police department, harassing kids, harassing my son, and coming to my house. He tried to get me arrested.”

Camacho continued, “I want him arrested. I want transparency, we need a change. They killed my son, they murdered him in front of me. We don’t want killer cops, we need accountability.” Rosie’s emotions ran high, and that influenced the crowd for the rest of the evening.

Other family members of Arzola spoke as well.

“My name is Leslie Lopez, I’m the older cousin of Albert. The moment we received the news all I can think is, there is no way they killed my baby cousin. In those moments every memory rushes through your mind. The summers we spent together, the family quinceaneras, river trips, and all the laughter we shared. In an instant, Nathan Garcia took all those future memories away from me and my family.”

Compton wrapped up with, “That is why CSO fights for community control of the police. We all know the police can’t police themselves. They are spineless little cowards who would rather shoot first then be held accountable for their actions. They are so fucking scared of being thrown into a prison cell that they have to constantly demonize their victims in order for their murder to be seen as justified.” The protesters followed with chants of “Justice for Albert Arzola!”

As the protest neared its end, the energy was at its peak. Loud and angry chants of “Fuck Anaheim PD!” and “Fuck Nathan Garcia!” closed out the protest.

After the protest, family, friends and members of CSO OC gathered in front of the house where Albert Arzola was killed. There, memories were shared as people honored his life.

Grace Arzola, Albert’s aunt said, “He would be down for any trip, even if it meant going from here to Lake Tahoe, down to San Francisco, back to here. All in all it took us three days.” Grace then said a prayer. “Lord, we thank you for the life of Albert, we thank you for the good memories, we thank you for bringing him into our lives.”

To finish out the vigil, a moment of silence was held which was led by Arzola’s mother, Rosie. They held a balloon release while Albert’s favorite song played in the background. Overall, the vigil was somber, but with family and friends sharing laughs and funny stories as they reminisced on the life of Albert.

#AnaheimCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops #CSOOC #Featured

Des Moines, IA – On the morning of June 8, about 100 nurses, members of the Teamsters union, and community supporters gathered at the Iowa State Capitol in downtown Des Moines to rally and march to UnityPoint Health Iowa Methodist Medical Center, a large hospital in the area. At the rally and march, the crowd chanted “Hey, hey, ho ho, union-busting has got to go!” and “Nurses, nurses won’t back down, patient safety all around!” along with other lively chants.

United Nurses of Iowa organized the rally and march to protest union-busting tactics being used by Unity Point Health management to avoid recognizing their union. It has been 180 days since nurses at UnityPoint Health voted to join Teamsters Local 90. In that time, the company has refused to recognize the union and has instead filed objections with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) challenging the outcome of the election. The NLRB has seen underfunding and a large backlog of cases under Donald Trump. In many cases, this means that wait times for cases to be heard or ruled on can take months or even years to see rulings.

Along with members of United Nurses of Iowa in the crowd were Teamsters members from Locals 90, 120, 135, 238, 320, 554 and 705. Additionally, the event drew Democratic Party politicians Josh Turek and Nate Boulton, as well as community organizations such as Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the League of United Latin American Citizens.

At the hospital, large inflatable figures of Scabby the Rat and Corporate Fat Cat were set up. Near these inflatables, the marchers gathered to hear speeches from some of the nurses who organized the union drive.

Teamsters Local 90 Secretary-Treasurer Alano de la Rosa opened the rally with brief remarks, saying, “We’re here because healthcare workers deserve respect. We’re here because patients deserve safe staffing and good care,” before turning the microphone over to Sammi Ladd and Belinda Huerta, two of the nurses who organized to form their union. Both nurses spoke about why they are fighting for a union and reiterated the demand for UnityPoint to recognize the results of the election.

Huerta said, “Our employer launched the most expensive union-busting campaign orchestrated by a hospital system. They spent millions on ‘consultants.’ Yet we’re told there’s no budget for staffing.” She concluded her remarks by saying, “To UnityPoint, we say this: if nurses truly matter, prove it. Work with us.”

#DesMoinesIA #IA #Labor #Nurses #UnitedNursesOfIowa #Featured

The successful conclusion of the 10th Congress of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) marked a genuine advance in our efforts to build a serious revolutionary communist organization in the United States. The Congress took place in the context of extraordinary growth, we have far more members in far more cities and towns. Over the past several years we have helped lead protests involving hundreds of thousands and have become a real force in the people’s movements. We are advancing towards the goal of building a new communist party that can contend for power.

As the call to the 10th Congress stated, “We have done great things. We have developed our work in the labor movement. We played a significant role in the George Floyd rebellion and are actively building the national movements. We have done much to push back against Trump’s reactionary attacks. We are proletarian internationalists, who stand with the oppressed from Palestine to the Philippines.”

Beneath a large banner reading, “Freedom Road Socialist Organization 10th Congress: We have nothing to lose but our chains!” a packed hall of 185 delegates and 101 alternate delegates came together to set goals and make plans for strengthening organization, and to elect leadership. This was our first congress where all in attendance were elected by their districts.

Delegates hailed from all regions of the country. Reflecting the rapid growth of FRSO over the last four years, this was the first congress for most attendees. While some of the participants were veterans of the communist movement with many decades of experience, the overwhelming majority were under 35 years old. Many attending were leaders and activists in the labor movement. Over 40 percent of those present were oppressed nationalities. About half of those present were women and LGBTQ people.

The 10th Congress of FRSO came at a critical juncture in the development of the people’s struggle and the accelerating decline of monopoly capitalism in the U.S.

The congress adopted political resolutions on the economy, the political situation, and the international situation that provide materialist analyses of the conditions we are facing, and that help us understand the terrain of struggle ahead. Participants both new and old navigated the democratic process to reach unity on our line.

The congress elected a new central committee to lead our organization. The central committee elected longtime communist Mick Kelly to serve as the organization’s political secretary.

Messages of greetings from communist and workers’ parties, national liberation movements, and anti-imperialist organizations were read to the delegates, including messages from the Workers Party of Belgium, Mouvement National Congolais – Lumumba (MNC/L), Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD), Communist Construction (Germany), CARC Party (Italy), Communist League of Indonesia, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), Communist Party, Sweden, and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

Messages from revolutionary organizations in the U.S., including the Workers World Party and the Struggle for Socialism Party / Struggle – La Lucha, were read to the delegates.

A message greeting the congress from the Communist Party of the Philippines states, “The Communist Party of the Philippines extends a militant salute to our comrades in the Freedom Road Socialist Organization on the occasion of your 10th Congress. Your gathering represents a significant victory for the working class and all other exploited and oppressed peoples here within the belly of the imperialist beast. It comes at no better a critical time, as contradictions within the United States and around the world are intensifying at an unprecedented rate.”

See all FRSO 10th Congress documents

See all Greetings from Communist and Workers Parties to the 10th Congress of the FRSO

#RevolutionaryTheory #FRSO #Congress #Featured

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

Nadia Topete, immigrants' rights activist in Los Angeles, refused to testify in front of a grand jury. Because of this, she could be arrested and held in jail for an unknown period of time. The CSFR calls on all supporters to, on Monday, June 8, call into the offices of the US Attorney Bilal Essayli and Assistant US Attorney Michael Wheat, to say, “Hands Off Nadia!”

While we don't know why Nadia Topete was subpoenaed, we know that she was part of the 2025 anti-ICE uprisings in LA. Grand juries result in indictments nine times out of ten and are tools of political repression. Refusing to testify is a heroic act that every person of conscience should look at as a model for what to do if you are ever summoned to a grand jury. She, like everyone else in that movement, did nothing wrong and should be able to walk free.

Call in on Monday, 6/8! Hands Off Nadia Topete!

When: June 8, Monday, from 9am to 5pm PDT

Who: call both

1. Bilal Essayli, US Attorney Central District Office Line @ (714) 338-3500, press 0

2. Assistant US Attorney Michael Wheat @ (619) 557-5610

Script:

“I am [NAME] calling from [STATE] and I demand that Nadia Topete not be arrested for refusing to testify in front of a grand jury. She did nothing wrong, committed no crime, and we will stand with her against any kind of repression. Hands Off Nadia Topete!”

#InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #CSFR #NadiaTopete #Featured

Grand Rapids, MI – On the evening of June 2, more than 40 people showed up outside the entrance of Devos Hall to protest the visit of former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill J. Clinton to Grand Rapids. The war criminals were speaking as guests of honor at the annual dinner put on by the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, a networking club for local elites.

The protest, which was organized by the Grand Rapids Opponents of War (GROW) took the form of a “People’s Indictment” of Bush and Clinton. Speakers from GROW condemned the Economic Club for hosting these men, while listing their record of war crimes. These condemnations included the sanctions, invasion and occupation of Iraq, as well as intervention in Somalia, Haiti and Sudan.

“There is no Trump without the past decades of history, without Bush, Clinton and their ilk. We cannot soften or blur our historical memory, lest we be made fools of again and again,” said Julian Cortez of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Joining GROW, with speeches and chants directed towards the imposing steel and glass frame of DeVos Place, was Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Michigan Senate District 29 candidate Iván Diaz.

“It’s important to show up in coalition as a candidate because as a grassroots organizer, I know we can’t do this work by ourselves,” said Diaz after the protest. “Bush and Clinton represent the bipartisan neoliberal, corporate and imperial order that we are seeking to disrupt and end. As a voter, I want the people who want to represent me to show up in exactly these kinds of spaces.”

Around 6:15 p.m., as Diaz was giving his speech, Grand Rapids police quickly rushed in between him and the protesters on bikes, leading to a tense confrontation between the two sides. Diaz and the protesters managed to stand up to the police, asserting their First Amendment rights to speak on a public sidewalk, but a citation was issued to Diaz for using a bullhorn.

An officer with GRPD was heard making a comment meant to intimidate Diaz, who continued to speak unfazed after the officers withdrew a short distance. Despite GRPD prohibiting amplification, protesters continued speeches and chants, increasing their volume without it, for nearly another hour. The unity and anger with the GRPD's show of force was palpable.

Throughout the demonstration, it was reiterated by attendees and speakers alike that the two former presidents sitting comfortably inside had laid much of the groundwork for the crises the world now faces.

“In my 57 years on this planet, I have realized the deliberate divide between us – the distractions, the lies,” said Kym Combs of the GR Queer Coalition. “We have been in a state of the haves and have-nots for decades, and it’s been cloaked by other things by the powers that be.”

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PSGR #GROW #Featured

Nearly 100 roadblocks around the country have the neoliberal agenda of domestic and foreign elites in the grip of the masses of organized Bolivians. From indigenous campesino organizations and trade unions, to mining cooperatives and neighborhood councils, working-class Bolivians have paralyzed the efforts of President Rodrigo Paz to make Bolivia a buffet for corporate interests.

City streets once filled with vehicles and small businesses have turned into massive popular assemblies organized by neighborhood councils. The singular unified demand of the masses: President Rodrigo Paz resign immediately!

The largest trade union federation, Central Obrera Boliviana, has worked in coordination with the social movements over the past several months since Paz’s election in November. The unions and movements immediately announced their rejection of tax cuts for the rich, denounced the end to food and fuel subsidies, and said no to steps to privatize the nationalized resources of Bolivia. They also released demands on May 31 to stop the repression against union leaders and protesters, release those held in detention, to recognize the official union leadership as negotiators, and for the immediate resignation of President Paz.

Wilma Colque, president of a large campesino organization, the Six Federations of the Tropico in Cochabamba, shared her perspective to a gathering of international trade unionists on June 5. The meeting, hosted by the Venezuela trade union federation, Central Bolivariana Socialista Trabajadora/o (CBST), regularly sees union leaders from nearly 30 countries.

Colque lauded “all departments [in the country] on their feet marching in struggle against the privatization of our resources. The people stood up against the stealing of our lithium, our resources. We see what is going on all across Latin America – Argentina, Chile, Perú, these neoliberal dictatorships, making the people poor and the transnationals rich. But in Bolivia, we are anti-imperialist, anti-colonialists, anti-capitalists, we don't want them to be our owners.”

The protests have been met with tear gas and arrests and clear involvement of the U.S.

Former President Evo Morales stated that he received intel from a source within security forces that there was a plan to kidnap or kill him now that the U.S. military is present. The people responded by surrounding his house, and it is reported that workers took over a nearby airport in an effort to prevent a repeat of the U.S. kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Colque added, “We know why the U.S. is here: to massacre the people who are resisting every day. Espionage, infiltrating our spaces, antennas listening to us, intercepting our cellular communications, they are trying to divide us, trying to stop us. They spread lies, disinformation, and make accusations. Tactics we’ve seen before here and elsewhere.”

Colque continued: “It’s clear what has happened. The U.S. lost hegemony around the world and they’re trying to claim trenches in Latin America. They’re going after countries with resources and some advanced technology. But it doesn’t matter if they shoot us, if they kill us, our youth will keep going. Many of us are mothers, we give our life to children, we are the light of the country. To defend our children, we will be disobedient! We have no fear, we are millions, we are free people!”

The willingness of the people to persist amid shortages speaks to the resolve and commitment to the cause. The turmoil has also resulted in the resignation of Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas and Education Minister Beatriz García. Reports speculate that the ministers disagreed with signing a state of emergency that would allow all police and military to use all force to arrest and detain and break up the mobilizations.

#Bolivia #International #Labor #GeneralStrike #Strike #Featured

Charleston, SC – As immigration enforcement intensifies across South Carolina, the Charleston chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO) has launched rapid-response “Barrio Walks”, with volunteers canvassing apartment complexes and neighborhoods being targeted by ICE.

Working in coordination with the Charleston Immigrant Community Hotline, CSO identifies areas seeing significant ICE activity and mobilizes quickly to distribute whistle kits to residents. Each kit contains know-your-rights cards, a zine with planning resources, trusted local legal contacts, tips for identifying ICE, and a whistle which can be used to alert neighbors when ICE is present in the area.

“People are being pulled out of their homes, taken to detention centers, and families are left scrambling,” said CSO organizer Lucía Peña. “When neighbors know their rights, have the right resources, and can warn each other, that's how we defend our communities. We keep us safe.”

The urgency is grounded in real numbers. Nearly one-third of all South Carolina immigration arrests in 2025 occurred in Charleston County, according to ICE. That surge is driven in part by the expansion of 287(g) agreements – arrangements that authorize local and state law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement tasks in coordination with ICE, including executing immigration warrants and flagging individuals in custody for transfer to ICE detention centers.

Detainees are frequently transferred to facilities out of state, compounding the chaos for families trying to locate loved ones and secure legal representation. The resulting fear has had a chilling effect on daily life for immigrants in an area known as the Lowcountry. Community members are missing work, pulling their children from school, and avoiding critical medical appointments rather than risk an encounter with ICE.

CSO's Barrio Walks aim to cut through that fear with direct, neighbor-to-neighbor outreach offering both practical tools and a reminder that their community stands with them and families do not have to face these fears in isolation.

#CharlestonSC #SC #ImmigrantRights #CSO #Featured

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

On May 20, Nadia Topete was visited by two FBI agents and served a subpoena demanding that she testify in front of a grand jury on June 3. Even now, it is not known why she is being subpoenaed; all we know is that she is an immigrants rights activist and an outspoken political Chicana organizer. She refused to go and testify, the penalty to which can be prison time without a known end date. Topete is a hero who stood with the people and the movement at a potentially huge cost to herself and her freedom. We in the Committee to Stop FBI Repression say, “Hands Off!” and we will fight any attempt to jail her, tooth and nail.

Grand juries, nine times out of ten, result in indictments. They do not permit the person being questioned to be in the room with a lawyer, nor to present a defense of any kind, nor even any witnesses. There would have been nothing but Topete and the prosecutors interrogating her and looking for somebody to indict. The result of refusing to go is often jailtime without knowing when you would get out. She did the right, brave thing by saying no. Every activist reading this statement needs to learn from her example.

Topete did nothing wrong. Neither did the other members of the activist group she is in, Centro CSO in Los Angeles, who were charged by the federal government after their participation in the anti ICE uprising in Los Angeles in 2025, such as Alejandro Orellana whose charges were dropped. They did nothing wrong either. We view this as a political attack on activists in Los Angeles, and we say a loud, resounding “No!” to political repression. We say, “Hands Off Nadia Topete!” We will do whatever it takes to defend her, a true daughter of Aztlán.

#InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #NadiaTopete #ImmigrantRights #CentroCSO #CSFR #Featured

Indianapolis, IN — More than 30 workers, Teamsters members and labor supporters rallied outside the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) office in Indianapolis on the morning of June 2. They gathered to demand union certification for nearly 200 table games dealers and dual-rate dealers at Horseshoe Indianapolis, who struck for recognition in fall 2025.

Although the workers won an NLRB election on December 5, 2025, with 70% voting yes, the dealers and dual-rate dealers have continued to face anti-union tactics from Caesars Entertainment. The company filed three objections to the election results in an attempt to delay certification, leading NLRB Region 25 to schedule a hearing for June 2 – nearly six months after the workers' victory.

The rally began an hour before the hearing. It brought together many of the dealers and dual-rate dealers who spent 52 days on strike last year, along with Teamsters from workplaces including UPS and Kroger. Members of other unions, including the United Steelworkers and the Air Line Pilots Association, also joined community supporters in solidarity.

Outside the federal building, the energy was defiant and militant. Workers carried signs reading “Union now,” “Fight back,” and “Organize” as chants echoed through downtown Indianapolis. Teamsters Local 135's tractor-trailer repeatedly circled the building, sounding its horn as workers cheered.

“What do we want? Union! When do we want it? Now!” protesters shouted, calling for the election result to be respected and for the company to stop delaying recognition.

Other chants came directly from the strike that first united the dealers and dual-rate dealers. “One day longer, one day stronger,” demonstrators repeated – a familiar phrase that became a source of encouragement and solidarity on the picket line.

After the rally, members of Teamsters Local 135 and other supporters entered the federal building for an NLRB hearing on Caesars Entertainment's objections related to the payment of strike benefits during the workers' 52-day strike for union recognition.

Dealers and dual rates revive the strike for recognition

A supermajority of dealers and dual-rate dealers at Horseshoe Casino formed a union with Teamsters Local 135 and demanded recognition from the company on September 4, 2025. When management ignored that demand, the workers moved toward an NLRB election scheduled for October 17. But last year's federal government shutdown postponed the election indefinitely.

The union proposed holding the vote as scheduled through a neutral third party under the stipulated election agreement, but the company ignored that proposal as well. Instead, Caesars hired Littler Mendelson, one of the country's largest anti-union law firms, to launch an aggressive campaign against the union.

With no resolution in sight, the Horseshoe dealers and dual-rate dealers turned to a tactic used widely before the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935: the recognition strike.

Strikes for union recognition continued after the passage of the NLRA, though employer and government attacks on the right to strike in general made them increasingly less common. In the last four decades, the tactic virtually disappeared, as organized labor came to rely on the NLRB election process for union certification and moved away from strikes at all. Meanwhile, union density has collapsed from 20.1% in 1983 to 10% in 2025, with an even greater decline in the private sector.

On October 17, the date originally set for their union election, the dealers and dual rates of Horseshoe casino made history. By a vote of 92%, they authorized a strike for recognition and set up a picket line to force Caesars to the bargaining table. The strike lasted 52 days through severe thunderstorms, subzero temperatures, and heavy snow. Caesars relied on the Shelbyville Police Department and city officials to pressure the strikers, but those efforts failed to break the strike.

After the federal government reopened in mid-November, the NLRB set a date for an expedited election. NLRB Region 25 rejected union requests to hold the vote off-site while the strike continued, forcing striking workers to cross their own picket line to cast ballots.

Following advice from Littler Mendelson, Caesars challenged the eligibility of 50 of its own workers, further delaying the process. Even so, the union won decisively on December 5, 2025, with 100 votes in favor and 47 against. The strike ended a few days later, and the dealers and dual-rate dealers returned to work.

Employer attacks on the right to strike

One week after the union's victory, Caesars Entertainment, through outside counsel, filed three objections aimed at delaying certification. All three focused on strike benefits paid to workers while they were out, which Caesars claimed improperly influenced the election.

Since 2023, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) has offered enhanced strike benefits of $1000 per week, beginning on the first day of an authorized strike. Under General President Sean O'Brien, the union has paid these benefits in more than 300 labor disputes in less than three years.

Because the Horseshoe dealers and dual-rate dealers had already organized, whether or not the employer or the NLRB formally recognized them, the IBT extended enhanced strike benefits to support their fight for recognition. Teamsters Local 135 also provided supplemental aid from its own strike and defense fund. That support helped protect workers and their families from serious financial hardship and enabled them to sustain the strike through victory.

These benefits became the basis for all three company objections, which the NLRB allowed Caesars to pursue without requiring proof at the outset. Caesars argued that the benefits bribed workers to support the union, even though the strike began when no election was scheduled. The company also claimed, without evidence, that the union threatened workers with having to repay benefits if they did not back the union.

Despite decades of case law supporting unions' right to provide financial support during strikes, the Region 25 director ordered a hearing on these claims. The hearing took place on June 2 and 3 and drew more than a dozen dealers and dual-rate dealers.

These objections amount to a broad attack on workers' right to strike. Under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) of 1959, workers picketing for union recognition must file an election petition with the NLRB by the 30th day, and employers may file their own petition during that period. As a result, while not every recognition strike ends in an NLRB election, any recognition strike can.

If the NLRB were to rule that strike benefits constitute a form of bribery that taints an NLRB election, it would effectively restrict the ability of workers to strike for recognition at all. Such a ruling would give employers a powerful weapon for breaking recognition strikes any time a union provides financial support to its members.

Caesars' false testimony and Littler Mendelson's real motive

On the first day of the hearing, Jill Bortone, Horseshoe Casino's director of human resources, testified. When challenged during the union's cross-examination, she said twice that she had received a union message about strike benefits before the December 5 vote. When the union attorney produced screenshots of the original message dated December 6, the day after the election, doubts were raised about the accuracy of her testimony.

As the company's case weakened, Caesars attorney Alan Model of Littler Mendelson became increasingly combative before the hearing officer.

Model, who says he specializes in “NLRA compliance” and represented Starbucks in its recent anti-union campaign, signaled the company's broader goal in his opening remarks. He argued for limiting recognition strikes by restricting a union's ability to support members on the picket line. Over the two-day hearing, he presented no evidence for the company's third objection: that the union threatened workers with repaying strike benefits.

Lawyers like Model hate working people. They ideologically despise unions because they represent the organized power of the working class. Billing tens of thousands of dollars per hour, they work on behalf of big business and monopoly corporations to attack labor.

For Littler Mendelson, this case is larger than Horseshoe casino. By reviving the strike weapon during an organizing campaign, the dealers and dual rates dealt a mighty blow to their union-busting playbook and won. Employers and their dogs like Model fear the power of the recognition strike will spread to other workplaces. Much to their dismay, this has already happened in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where workers at Batesville Products Inc. are engaged in their own strike for recognition, also with Teamsters Local 135.

Teamsters power at the NLRB hearing

The union presented a strong defense to the objections, calling witnesses and introducing evidence showing the true picture of the Horseshoe strike. Payroll records and other documents showed that Caesars artificially juiced wages for dealers who continued working during the strike and even paid scabs from another casino to break the strike, all of which far exceeded the $25 per hour of strike benefits ($1000 per week divided by 40 hours on the picket line).

Strike leaders testified to the discipline on the strike line, in which both part-time and full-time dealers walked the picket line for five eight-hour shifts each week, and highlighted the real economic harms that strikers overcame to fight for their union. In a particularly powerful display, the union introduced a petition that dealers and dual rates gathered themselves in the days before the hearing. Well over 100 workers signed the petition to demand union certification from the NLRB and to dispel the company's bogus objections.

The proceedings ended on June 3. Both the union and the company have additional days to file a 25-page brief outlining their positions and using the available evidence introduced at the hearing. The hearing officer will make a recommendation to NLRB Region 25 director Colleen Maples, who will then issue a ruling.

After the hearing, dealers and dual rates pledged to continue fighting in the workplace. They have already formed their union, and billion-dollar corporations cannot override the power of organized labor.

#IndianapolisIN #IN #Labor #Teamsters #Featured

Jacksonville, FL – On May 29, Community members protested against the harsh sentencing of Conor Cauley and Leah Grady, vowing to continue the fight against their charges and demanding the release of Conor Cauley, who is currently being held in Duval County Jail as a political prisoner.

Despite heavy rainstorms, over 60 community members protested in front of the courthouse and, later, in front of the county jail under tents buckling and breaking from the weight of rainwater. This did not discourage attendees, who continued to chant and rally against the unjust treatment of anti-war organizers.

These protests were led by Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network alongside community organizations including Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, Brentwood 300, Democratic Socialists of America, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Cauley was sentenced to 60 days jail and three years of probation. He is additionally being ordered to stay more than 1000 feet from Officer Maykel Aliaga-Ruiz, the arresting officer who instigated the initial arrest last year by violently grabbing Cauley by the neck and throwing him over a row of chairs. This condition will, as Cauley’s lawyer pointed out in the courtroom, effectively ban him from city council meetings where Aliaga-Ruiz works, directly attacking his right to speak openly to his own elected officials and organize in the city.

Grady was sentenced to six months’ probation, 50 hours of community service, and court-ordered to write a “letter of apology” to the Republican City Council President Randy White.

Both sentences were heavier even than what had been recommended by the prosecutors. The prosecution requested three months’ probation and 25 hours community service for Leah Grady and requested 30 days of jail and one year of probation for Conor Cauley. In both instances, the judges either doubled or tripled the sentences. This comes after public calls by Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters for judges to make an example out of the arrested JPSN organizers in order to politically intimidate them.

This was also in spite of an overwhelming display of community support for both organizers. Over 40 character letters were submitted to the court for Conor Cauley, and high profile character witnesses spoke in Cauley’s favor, including the executive director of the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) Local 1408, Courtnee Staples.

“Who came out to defend Conor today?” asked a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization during the rally at the courthouse. “Teachers, neighbors, union workers, students and people from all walks of life in Jacksonville – in short, a microcosm of the entire community. The city could only wrangle up a handful of people to speak against Conor, and who did they pick? The director of city council and chief of police.”

Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network is committing to fight the verdicts of both Conor Cauley and Leah Grady, having developed a plan to fight their convictions through appeal for retrial. They will be rallying to demand Cauley’s release until he is out of jail.

“It’s because of this jail that, for the next 60 days, Conor will see no justice,” said Ryan Delaney of the Anti-War Action Network. “Well that means that we’re gonna be the reason that for the next 60 days, this jail will see no peace!”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #JPSN #AWAN #Palestine #ConorCauley #Featured

Saint Paul, MN – On Wednesday, May 27, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) brought its demands for a sanctuary state executive order to the office of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, along with dozens of blue bunny hats that they left on the floor outside of his office.

MIRAC has been calling on Governor Walz to issue an executive order making Minnesota a sanctuary state and on all gubernatorial candidates to commit to implementing statewide sanctuary policies. With no response from Walz, the group took their demands to his office in person.

MIRAC member Yann Chen laid out the group’s demands for the governor to sign an executive order that would: ban collaboration with local agencies and ICE; protect sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and churches from immigration enforcement; keep ICE off of state property; ban officers from wearing any face covering or concealing their identity; defend protesters against political repression; provide justice for all victims of ICE terror, and implement a state wide eviction moratorium.

“At least five of my neighbors from my apartment complex have been stolen, while on the way to work, or getting ready in the early morning,” said Chen, “We demand Walz signs this executive order and we demand a sanctuary state now!”

Alissa Washington, representing the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over Sentenced Families Council (WIAOSFC-MN) as well as Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) said, “We witnessed the devastating impact Operation Metro Surge had on Black and brown communities throughout Minnesota. But our people fought back. Because when systems fail, the people protect each other. And we are still fighting ICE today! Governor Walz, if Minnesota truly believes immigrants belong here, then prove it!”

After hearing from a few speakers, the group brought a box of blue bunny hats into the office foyer and took them out one by one, placing them on the floor. In the next room, children while on tour of the Capitol building watched as the hats were placed and organizers explained the significance of the hats and why they were protesting.

The hats are a tribute to five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos who was kidnapped along with his father outside their home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota and sent to detention in Texas before being released and returning home. Although released by a judge due to the outrage sparked by pictures of Liam being detained in his blue bunny hat, the Trump administration has continued its campaign to deport him and his father. The fight continues, so MIRAC brought the hats directly to the governor’s office, giving him no choice to look away.

A member of the governor’s staff repeatedly told the group they should leave and not interrupt the school groups or leave the hats on the floor, asserting that this was “a hazard.” Protesters left the hats there anyway and told the staff, “if children are not too young to be separated from their families, they are not too young to hear about this.”

After the hats were all placed, the group held a banner in the hallway that read “Sanctuary now!” and chanted “We want justice, you say how? Sanctuary state now!” as school group after school group went in and out of the office foyer, most of them stepping on the pile of bunny hats as they walked through. Before they left, protesters were told that the bunny hats would be thrown away. As MIRAC member Erika Zurkawski pointed out “this shows what they think of immigrants – that they are disposable!” The group left the pile of bunny hats on the floor for the governor and his staff when they left the capitol premises.

#StPaulMN #MN #MIRAC #ImmigrantRights #LiamConejoRamos #TimWalz #Featured

Milwaukee, WI – On the evening of May 25, a few dozen community members in Milwaukee gathered to pay tribute to the 6th anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police. The vigil was organized by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

During 2020, thousands in Milwaukee took to the streets to demand justice for George Floyd and an end to police crimes. In 2026, the community is still coming out in his name to demand an end to police crimes.

Solidarity with the Floyd family is strong in Milwaukee and, unfortunately, the city has its own history of police murders. In the summer of 2024, Sam Sharpe Jr. was murdered by the Columbus, Ohio police department, who were in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.

Sharpe Jr.’s sister, Angelique Sharpe, the Milwaukee Alliance’s Education Chair, spoke at the rally and said, “I’m here really to join in solidarity. My brother wasn’t the first killed by those sworn to serve and protect and he won’t be the last.” Sharpe emphasized over and over that the community will continue to fight until there is justice for all victims of police crimes.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #GeorgeFloyd #PoliceAccountability #InjusticeSystem #NAARPR #MilwaukeeAlliance #Featured

Los Angeles, CA – On the morning of Wednesday, May 20, Nadia Topete, a Chicana organizer with Centro Community Service Organization (CSO), was served with a subpoena to appear June 3 in front of a grand jury.

The subpoena was signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael G Wheat. Nadia Topete did nothing wrong and this is an attack on the immigrant rights movement and on Centro CSO.

In June of 2025, Centro CSO member Alejandro Orellana was raided by the FBI, National Guard and East Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. A week later, Verita Topete, the sister of Nadia Topete, was ambushed by FBI Agents and her phone was seized. The agents had a search warrant but have yet to give her phone back.

Due to a nationwide defense campaign, charges against Alejandro Orellana were dropped, Verita Topete was not charged, and Centro CSO assumed the FBI witch hunt was over. Almost a year later, Topete is now being targeted by the United States. She is being ordered to appear at the Orange County Federal Courthouse.

Carlos Montes, a longtime Centro CSO leader and Chicano activist, stated, “Nadia is actively advocating for our community, this federal subpoena is just an intimidating tactic by the Trump government.”

Centro CSO is committed to fighting back against this act of political repression and its members will not be intimidated.

Follow @CentroCSO on social media for any updates.

#LosAngelesCA #PoliticalRepression #InJusticeSystem #GrandJury #CentroCSO #Featured