Minneapolis, MN – Around 40 people gathered in Dinkytown, off the intersection of 15th Avenue and 4th Street to hold a speak-out in support of striking Minneapolis educators on Saturday, March 19. The action kicked off with a round of chants, as onlookers passed by, some even joining the protest, and cars honked their horns in support, and speakers made their way to the mic.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) member and former Minneapolis Public Schools student, Gillian Rath, said, “being a schoolteacher is one of the most demanding jobs I can think of.”

Rath continued, “I had teachers who would pay for school materials out-of-pocket and talk with me when I needed advice. That’s not uncommon for teachers to do. I’m sure everyone here can think of one teacher they had that did things like that for them.” She ended her speech by demanding, “so why doesn’t the district provide teachers with the necessary wages and resources?”

Ana Vasquez, an educator and the Second Vice-President of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59’s teacher chapter, and Loretta Van Pelt, a rank-and-file member of MFT and organizer with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar, both detailed what educators were striking for, showing that it’s not just a fight against cuts in the moment, but a fight against a long ongoing attack on public education and on the working class.

Vasquez led the demonstrators in reading aloud MFT’s demands for Safe and Stable Schools, including a living wage and professional time for educational support professionals, recruitment and retention of educators of color, smaller class sizes and more mental health supports for students, and competitive pay to retain licensed educators.

Olivia Crull, a member of SDS and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization made clear to students, “We have to hold the line with [MFT], so that they can win everything that educators and students in this city deserve.” Crull continued, “Now I love the word solidarity, but I want to challenge us all to go beyond that. Students shouldn’t just be in solidarity with workers, we should see their fight as our fight. We should see ourselves as the future working class.”

Closing out the action, David Gilbert-Pederson, an organizer with AFSCME 3800 and Minnesota Workers United, and who is currently on release to MFT 59 to lead up their strike solidarity work, detailed how much the educators he had did for him, and how important it is to stand with them in this moment. Gilbert-Pederson also made the connection of how MFT is leading a fight for the whole working class.

The action was initiated by Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota, and co-sponsored by UMN Students for Climate Justice, UMN Young Democratic Socialists of America, and the College Democrats.

#MinneapolisMN #PeoplesStruggles #Strikes #TeachersUnions #UNMStudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #MinnesotaFederationOfTeachers

Both the Climate Justice Committee and members of the Giniw Collective, an indigenous-led group that protested outside the mansion earlier in the day, held the street and chanted slogans like “Climate change has got to go!” Police confronted the crowd and demanded that they stay out of the street, threatening to arrest anyone who would not step back over the curb. The scene escalated briefly, but protesters decided to clear the roadway in order to continue the action.

Activists with the Climate Justice Committee, the University of Minnesota Climate Strike, and University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society delivered speeches. A central point touched on by all speakers was the Democratic Party’s unwillingness to promise meaningful change. UMN Climate Strike speakers noted that Joe Biden’s plan to get the United States off of fossil fuels by 2050 is too little, far too late, as climate experts have pointed to 2030 as the deadline for serious changes to be made.

CJ McCormick, speaking for the Climate Justice Committee, spoke about the power of direct action, saying, “The green movement in the U.S. once pressured Richard Nixon, an avidly anti-activist conservative, to authorize the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.” McCormick went on to ask, “If we can pressure someone like Nixon to make concessions for the earth, then why is it proving so hard to get the Democratic Party – who claim to care about the planet – to stop posturing and actually defend it?”

Celia Nimz, a member of UMN Students for a Democratic Society, spoke about the inability of a capitalist country to effectively address climate change, stating that “green capitalism still means violent imperialism abroad.” Lithium is a key ingredient of the batteries used to power electric motors, and much of the world’s lithium mining takes place in Bolivia. Elon Musk, the CEO of the electric car company Tesla Motors, recently said outright that “We [the U.S. government and capitalists] will coup whoever we want! Deal with it,” when referring to the recent violent removal of Evo Morales, the leftist president of Bolivia.

A few hours after the Climate Justice Committee’s protest ended, Governor Walz’s office put out a press release announcing that he would be re-filing the appeal and thus delaying or even ending the ecologically disastrous Line 3 project. This reinforces a point made by Celine Jennings from the UMN Climate Strike, that we are “way more powerful than we believe.”

When we take to the streets to fight back, anything is possible.

#StPaulMN #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateJusticeCommittee #GiniwCollective #Line3Pipeline #UNMStudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS