Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

MinneapolisMN

By staff

Rally of striking Minneapolis park workers.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – On July 4, round 100 members of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 363 walked off their jobs and began what was intended to be a limited-duration strike set to end on Wednesday, July 10.

Right from the start the attitude was one of feisty resolve from these workers. This is the first time in the Minneapolis Park Board’s 141 year history that the workers went on strike, and the strike was authorized by a 94% majority.

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By Jess Sundin

Protestors march through the street with an audience watching on the sidewalks. The march carries a large banner that reads "Take Back Pride. Stand Up, Fight Back".

Minneapolis, MN – For the seventh year running, community members disrupted the Twin Cities Pride parade, June 30, to protest the inclusion of cops and corporations. Their inclusion comes at the expense of queer community members who want the event to honor the spirit of radical resistance Pride came out of and to continue the fight for LGBTQ liberation. This year, more than 1000 protesters marched with the Taking Back Pride Coalition for not only LGBTQ liberation, but especially for Palestinian liberation.

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By Mick Kelly

Chrisley Carpio of Students for a Democratic Society \[SDS\].   | Staff/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapters from around the U.S. are mobilizing for the massive July 15 march on the Republican National Convention.

Chrisley Carpio of National SDS states, “Whether they are banning abortion, public sector unions, diversity programs, or even eliminating funds for public schools and higher education, Republicans like Trump make it clear every day that they stand against youth and students. Every attack they launch at our movements will be a fight, and in the end, we will destroy their entire agenda.”

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By Mick Kelly

Frank Chapman of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression

Minneapolis, MN – The National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARAPR) is one of the organizations that has joined the Coalition to March on the RNC and is mobilizing for the major protest on the opening day of the Republican National Convention, July 15, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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By Brian Chval

Protest at U.S. gymnastics trials calls for banning apartheid Israel from Olympics.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, June 29, as Olympic trials for gymnastics were being held at Target Center, 85 people gathered at a rally organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee to demand that Israel be banned from the Olympics due to its genocide against the people of Palestine.

The crowd was received warmly by many passersby on foot and in cars as they used drums, whistles, chants, and speeches to make themselves heard.

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By Sorcha Lona

Panel discussion on the labor movement and Palestine

Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, June 27, 25 workers gathered to hear a panel of rank-and-file union members share their experience of bringing Palestine solidarity to the workplace, followed by practical discussions of how attendees can take action to support the Palestine struggle for liberation on the shop floor.

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By Drake Myers

No Minnesota money for weapons manufacturers banner at Honeywell Aerospace protest.  | Ashley Taylor-Gougé/watch me rise mpls

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, June 25, around 100 people gathered as the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition led a protest of the Honeywell Aerospace Building in Northeast Minneapolis. Cars honked in support and many people who were just passing by brought bulk packs of cold bottled water for the protesters unprompted, just to show their support on the sunny day.

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By Robyn Harbison and Kristen Bledsoe

Minneapolis, MN—On June 13, members of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC) and their allies gathered for an emergency rally after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on mifepristone. Mifepristone is one of the two drugs commonly used for medication abortion. The ruling affects women and others’ healthcare across the entire country.

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By Erika Zurawski

Minneapolis, MN – On June 8, 75 people gathered to protest President Biden’s executive order closing the border and restricting asylum. Immediately after Biden issued the order on Tuesday, June 4, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) called an emergency protest to oppose his action.

Biden’s executive order closes the U.S./Mexico border and severely restricts asylum. It is a continuation of Donald Trump’s repressive immigration policies and is a copy of the ban Trump tried to put into effect before he was blocked by the federal courts. During his presidential campaign of 2020, Biden sharply criticized Trump’s immigration policies and decried his efforts to restrict asylum. Biden is openly breaking his campaign promises and shifting U.S. immigration politics to the far right.

Susana De León, an immigration lawyer and community organizer, talked about the politicians’ hateful rhetoric: “Everything continues to be blamed on Black and brown bodies, indigenous people, and people who have been left out of the system by the same corporations that are now enjoying the highest profits while we have to get food at the highest prices ever.”

The location of the protest was significant. Protesters rallied in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood, a block away from where dozens of day laborers gather daily in desperate search of jobs to feed themselves and their families. The majority of the day laborers are immigrants who recently arrived from Ecuador, driving home the stark reality that President Biden is taking only repressive actions against immigrants while national pressure builds for Biden to grant Temporary Protective Status to Ecuadorian immigrants.

Adriana Cerrillo, speaking on behalf of the Minnesota Interfaith Coalition on Immigration, told the crowd her story and why it was difficult but important to her to be at the action: “It is very difficult for me to be here today, because my own trauma and my own experience from this fucking system is really hard, it’s really difficult. This system has taken so much from me, and yet it is my obligation to stay strong, and the way that I stay strong is by being with and surrounding myself with people like you here today.”

Asylum is a human right protected under international law. Both Democrats and Republicans are using immigrants in a political game. Biden’s closing of the border and nearly total ban on asylum is dangerous and must be opposed.

We must take a firm stance against racist and repressive anti-immigrant policies regardless of which political party is in power. MIRAC will join immigrant rights groups from around the country to protest both the Republican and the Democratic National Conventions this summer. Stand with MIRAC to demand no more attacks on immigrants and legalization for all.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #USMexicoBorder #MIRAC #Asylum

By Charlie Berg and Joe Vital

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.

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