Minneapolis, MN – Over 1000 union members, immigrant rights activists and supporters marched through Minneapolis’ Whittier neighborhood on Monday, February 16, to demand an end to ICE’s occupation of the city and for the defense of immigrant rights.

Marchers held dozens of banners with slogans like “ICE our now,” “Legalization for all,” and “Killer ICE off our streets.” The march began at Stewart Park, crossed a highway where the supportive honks of passing traffic temporarily drowned out the marchers’ chants, and ended at the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and 26th Street, where Alex Pretti was murdered.

Pretti was shot repeatedly in the back while held down on the ground by masked federal agents agents, after stepping between the agents and a woman who they were attempting to pepper spray.

The march was headlined by the Minnesota AFL-CIO, and was endorsed by many local unions, including AFGE Local 3669, AFSCME Council 5 and Council 65, ATU Local 1005, IATSE Local 13, IAM District 77, IUPAT District Council 82, LiUNA Minnesota and North Dakota, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, Minnesota Nurses Association, NALC Branch 9, SEIU Locals 26 and 284, UFCW Locals 1189 and 663, and UNITE HERE Local 17. Many community organizations endorsed the event and turned out their membership to march as well, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations — MN (CAIR-MN), 50501 Minnesota, Reviving Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE), Women’s March Minnesota, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC).

Speakers were unanimous in driving home the message that ICE occupation of Minnesota has not ended. Manuel Pascual, a member of MIRAC, spoke to the crowd from the back of a truck as the marchers took the streets, saying, “Just days ago, federal officials announced the end of Operation Metro Surge. Let’s be clear — that did not happen because they suddenly found compassion. It happened because people across Minnesota organized, spoke out, marched, and refused to stay silent. It happened because immigrant communities and allies showed courage. It happened because resistance worked.”

However, Pascual continued to note that the community fight against ICE continues, and spoke to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s agreeing to “unprecedented” levels of state collaboration with ICE, without details of this agreement being made public. Pascual said, “What we are seeing now is not a victory lap from those in power. It is a shift in strategy. A quieter approach. Deals being made behind closed doors. Policies that risk embedding ICE deeper into our local systems — into our jails, into policing, into everyday encounters — where harm becomes less visible but no less real. We must say clearly: we will not be fooled.”

Organizers noted that a decreased ICE presence in Minnesota also does not mean that the battle against ICE has ended on a national scale, and that just as millions marched across the country in solidarity with Minnesota, Minnesota will march in solidarity with any future city to see a large-scale occupation by ICE.

When the march arrived at the site of Alex Pretti’s murder, organizers handed out flowers to attendees so they could lay them in tribute at his memorial. The crowd was asked to repeat these slogans after the emcee: “We have a duty to fight for our freedom! We have a duty to win! We have nothing to lose but our chains!”

MIRAC plans to take their demands for an end to ICE terror and for legalization for all directly to Governor Walz, with a rally outside the Minnesota Governor’s Residence at 1006 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 24.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #Labor #AFLCIO #AFGE #AFSCME #ATU #IAM #MIRAC #CAIRMN #FRSO

Tacoma, WA – On May 23, labor unions and Filipino community groups rallied with a unified message: “Free them all and shut it down!”

As the Trump administration continues escalating attacks against immigrant communities, the working class is drawing closer together to defend itself and fight back. The coalition is demanding the immediate release of a Filipino union member known lovingly as “Kuya Max.” Maximo Londonio immigrated to the U.S. as a 12-year-old boy and is now 42. He was detained at the Sea-Tac airport on his way back home to Olympia from a family trip to the Philippines.

Unions such as the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) united with community groups Tanggol Migrante, Bayan WA, La Resistencia, and more to make it clear that they will not tolerate these attacks.

Londonio is a member of IAM, and his union siblings began organizing as soon as he was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They are also demanding the release of the other immigrants, many of them workers, held by ICE.

“I’m afraid how far this is going to go. How far it's gone already is not ok. But I'm glad we're here sticking up for the people who can't stick up for themselves. When this place goes – you know the contract is up next year, then we should definitely do the work to get rid of it. It doesn't belong here,” said Latasha Palmer, who is running for Tacoma City Council Position 6.

“It's disgusting what he is doing to immigrants. He is enacting terror on them, and it's coming really close to home,” explained Haze Leviathan, a member of Teamsters Local 174, referencing Trump’s attacks.

Despite the fear of repression, people are showing up right outside the Northwest Detention Center in protest against for-profit corporations like GEO Group, which operates the facility.

“We are all going to have to stand together. Immigrants’ rights are real close to workers’ rights. Who are most of the workers? A lot of them are immigrants. Not so long ago, my family were immigrants also. Max is one of my coworkers. That hurts in our shop, having him out. Not only for his family, but on the floor. He is our friend. We want to stand together and get everyone back up and going, to lead their best lives”, stated Richard Howard, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 695.

A rank-and-file Teamster with Local 117 stated, “On the international observers mission that ICHRP did this month, we were able to talk to steel workers, steel process workers, teachers and other workers that are organizing under the most intense repression. We heard conditions of steel workers that are working 12-18 hour shifts seven days per week. And they were emphasizing these were the conditions that forced them to go abroad in search of work, to the U.S., to Canada, to Saudi Arabia. Those are the same conditions that create their detainments. Even when they become union members in the U.S., they are still being detained in Tacoma and all around the country.”

#TacomaWA #KuyaMax #MaximoLondonio #IAM #SEIU #ICHRP #Feature

Seattle, WA – At 8 p.m., September 22, at the Boeing 2-122 building, striking machinists held down the round-the-clock picket line.

“We’re asking for more than they’re offering,” said Shane Vanpelt, a Boeing machinist and IAM member. He said that Boeing is “gonna lay everyone off, well, you’re going to have layoffs anyways. We know this because we know Boeing’s history, and if nothing else, they’re predictable. They’re going to lay people off regardless, but that’s not up to us. What’s up to us is trying to get the best deal possible for everyone, so we’ve got no choice but to strike.”

In 2008, amidst an economic recession, 27,000 Boeing machinists went on strike for 57 days over outsourcing, job security, pay and benefits among other issues. After reaching a tentative agreement with the company, they were able to win several concessions, notably protection against outsourcing. In the first quarter of the next year, the company laid off at least 10,000 workers, or approximately 6% of the workforce.

“It’s us against Boeing,” said Vanpelt. “They’ve shown their true colors. That’s why we’re here. 96% is solid. We’re being painted out as the bad guy, I’m feeding my kids, we’re all out here trying to feed our kids.”

The strike authorization vote passed by an overwhelming 96% approval rate. Vanpelt stated, “It’s a very high bar that’s set for us to go on strike. That should speak volumes. We were so disappointed when we got this contract. We wanted something we would accept.”

When asked what people could do to support Boeing machinists on strike, Vanpelt said, “Public support, guys want people at the pickets supporting. We need more.”

#SeattleWA #Labor #IAM #Boeing #Strike #Feature

Boeing is one of the largest manufacturers in the U.S. and has close to 10,000 suppliers across all 50 states. They are also the largest exporter in the U.S. The ongoing strike has nearly halted the manufacturing of Boeing planes and is expected to have significant ramifications for the entire U.S. economy due to the size of the company.

The latest contract offer by management would have given at least 25% in pay increases to the majority of IAM members at Boeing. However, the union says that they have seen 20 years of mismanagement and concessions leading up to this moment. They say they have seen layoffs as a result of union work being shifted to the company’s only nonunion plant, and that concessions from past contracts over the last 20 years mean that this offer just wasn’t enough to for the IAM members to accept.

Fitch, a credit rating agency, said that Boeing “has limited headroom for a strike,” and that “an extended strike could have a meaningful operational and financial impact, increasing the risk of a downgrade.” The downgrade they are talking about would be moving Boeing’s credit to a category referred to as “junk” status.

Some of the key issues which the IAM members are fighting for include more job security, increases to time off and higher wages to make up for rising costs after recent spikes in inflation. The union members lost their pensions in a recent contract and say that wages have been stagnant for the last ten years.

The last time Boeing workers went on strike was in 2008, when they stayed out for eight weeks. In the last year, UAW workers went on strike at all three major auto manufacturers, winning huge gains. Shortly before the auto strikes, workers at UPS nationwide prepared to go on strike at UPS and won major increases as a result of their credible strike threat. More than a million union workers won pay increases of more than ten percent in 2022 and 2023.

With the strike at Boeing, the trend of building strikes and fighting for higher wages and benefits has extended to another major U.S. industry. Time will tell when and how the Boeing strike will conclude and in what industry the wave of major strikes will turn towards next.

#SeattleWA #WA #Labor #Strike #IAM #Boeing

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, February 13 around 100 flight attendants picketed in front of the arrivals gates of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport in Minnesota.

The crowd’s chants were heard clearly in the whole arrivals area. Chants included “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” as well as “If we don’t get it? Shut it down!”

The pickets are happening as flight attendants are in bargaining for their next round of national contracts. The flight attendants who are bargaining include members of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), and the Transportation Workers Union (TWU).

In 2023, a near strike by Teamsters at UPS was expected to have a major impact the U.S. economy. The UPS contract settlement was followed in short order by a round of “Stand Up Strikes” by UAW auto workers around the country. Both of those contract fights won major gains and garnered much attention from economists and labor supporters alike.

In 2024, as flight attendants bargain their national contracts, many of the same eyes are on these important negotiations, as flight attendants play a key role in the U.S. economy and have the ability in some instances to ground planes on the runway.

The international president of AFA is Sara Nelson. In a recent press release she stated, “Flight Attendants are fighting corporate greed, and demanding that our jobs make it possible to live a good life. Working people in every job and every industry can relate, and we feel the people with us.” Nelson went on to say “Our work brings people together from every part of the planet and showcases the strength of our diversity within our solidarity. We’re making history by standing together as one to make the airlines compete to the highest standards for our careers.”

Supporters from other unions – such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, The International Association of Machinists, the Service Employees International Union, and more – were on the picket line. A local labor solidarity grouping called Minnesota Workers United turned out a contingent in solidarity with the pickets and contract fight.

The flight attendants contract fights are a developing story and Fight Back! will continue to provide on-the-ground coverage as this story develops in coming months.

#MinneapolisMN #Labor #FlightAttendants #AFA #APFA #TWU #Teamsters #IAM #MNWorkersUnited