Minneapolis, MN – More than 400 rank-and-file members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) joined the picket lines of the nurses on strike at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Friday, Sept. 23. They held a solidarity rally and walked the picket lines together with striking nurses, undeterred by the rain. Eight buses and many cars full of AFSCME members went together from the AFSCME Council 5 convention in Bloomington, which brought together AFSCME members from throughout Minnesota.
Minneapolis, MN – Thirteen members of WAMM (Women Against Military Madness) joined the striking Allina nurses on the Abbott Northwestern picket line Sunday afternoon, Sept. 18. WAMM member Margaret Sarfehjooy, a nurse at Fairview Southdale hospital said, “We understand the importance of community support for these nurses and Minnesota Nurses Association as Allina tries to bust their union.”
Minneapolis, MN – Over 250 people rallied and marched through the Cedar-Riverside and Seward neighborhoods Sept.17, showing solidarity and denouncing the hate crimes being committed against Muslims. The protest started at May Day Plaza and included a march to the headquarters of the Republican Party of Minnesota on Franklin Avenue, where they confronted the Islamophobic message of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate.
Minneapolis, MN – A hundred people rallied in Minneapolis Sept. 14, calling for a stop to the deportation of several Twin Cities-area Cambodian (Khmer) refugees who have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Minneapolis, MN – Members of Women Against Military Madness picketed with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Sept. 11. The MNA went on strike at Allina hospitals on Labor Day.
Minneapolis, MN – Over 75 people demonstrated in downtown Minneapolis Sept. 9 to mark the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising. Community elder Rosemary Williams called together several groups to organize the event, including the Black Coalition for Restorative Justice and Community Defense, the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar Clark, and the Twin Cities Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee. After rallying at the Hennepin County Government Center for some speeches, protesters hit the streets, taking over the light rail train tracks and several busy downtown streets. More speeches were delivered across the street at the county jail, and a few blocks away outside the Juvenile Detention Center.
Minneapolis, MN – Picket lines at Allina hospitals remain strong as the first week of the strike by more than 4000 members of the Minnesota Nurses Association draws to a close, Sept 11. The open-ended unfair labor practices strike began Labor Day, and comes in response to an attempt by Allina to extract major concessions in nurses’ heath care.
Minneapolis, MN – Members of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee picketed with the Minnesota Nurses Association at Abbot Northwestern Hospital during rush hour, Sept. 8. The nurses went out on strike on Labor Day.
Minneapolis, MN – Nearly 5000 members of the Minnesota Nurses Association walked off the job at Allina hospitals, Sept. 5, Labor Day, in an open-ended unfair labor practices strike. Allina is pressing for concessions on the health care plans that would shift more costs to the nurses.
Minneapolis, MN – Burhan Mohumed, a Somali-American leader in the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis and a member of Minnesotans Against Islamophobia, was visited by law enforcement on July 22. Mohumed refused to speak to them and quickly posted the audio of their encounter online.
Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of Minnesota Nurses Association members, along with their supporters, rallied in Stewart Park Aug. 31 to show support for Allina Health nurses who are set to go on an open-ended Unfair Labor Practice strike on Labor Day. A broad spectrum of labor and community groups, including teachers, AFSCME, and Teamsters attended the rally.
Minneapolis, MN – Over 300 protesters rallied outside the Minneapolis Convention Center Aug. 19 as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump came to Minneapolis for a private big-money fundraiser with rich supporters. Most of the Minnesota Republican Party distanced itself from the Trump event and the small group of attendees paid a minimum of $1000 to meet the candidate and represent rich right-wing extremists of the Republican Party.
Minneapolis, MN – Members of the Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) and supporters protested the 20th anniversary of the passage of the disastrous U.S. welfare reform law. On Aug. 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the right-wing welfare reform measure into law. Hillary Clinton supported it.
Minneapolis, MN – On Aug. 20, Jesus Chucho Garcia, the Venezuelan Consul in New Orleans, spoke in Minneapolis at May Day Bookstore about the current situation and the future of Venezuela. The store was packed with activists from the peace movement, the Latin American solidarity movement and Venezuelans living in the U.S.
Minneapolis, MN – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s new campaign head, Stephen K. Bannon, is the chairman of the Breitbart News, a reactionary, right-wing ‘news’ outlet that has made a specialty of attacking leftists in general and Freedom Road Socialist Organization in particular.
Minneapolis, MN – Over 50 people protested on Aug. 6 to mark the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasak. The call was to stop to the endless series of U.S. wars and military interventions. The protest came five days after the start of what appears to be a new campaign of U.S. airstrikes in Libya. The protest was in the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis in front of May Day Bookstore and was well received by many African members of the community who joined in the protest or rolled down their car windows to wave and give peace signs to protesters.
Minneapolis, MN – Contract negotiations ended Aug. 1, when nurses received another offer from Allina Health that eliminates all four of their contract health insurance plans. The nurses’ negotiations team will take the offer to the membership to vote to accept or reject later this month.
Minneapolis, MN – A coalition of Minneapolis/Saint Paul area groups will hold a protest this Saturday, Aug. 6. The protest was called to mark the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a call for an end to the endless series of U.S. wars and military interventions.
Minneapolis, MN – El 21 de julio, la colombiana-americana Jennie Eisert, presentó un conmovido reporte sobre su participación en la delegación enviada por Alliance for Global Justice, para el proceso de paz en Colombia. Eisert estuvo en Colombia en mayo, semanas antes de que el gobierno colombiano y las Fuerzas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejercito Popular (FARC-EP) declararan oficialmente, el 23 de junio, el fin a la guerra de medio siglo.
