Los Angeles, CA – The Guatemalan community, especially the indigenous Mayan sector, has been protesting and angry over the brutal killing of their community member Manuel Jamines. Jamines was shot in the head and body on a busy street in the late afternoon in the Pico Union, a Central American community, by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on Sept. 5.

Minneapolis, MN – On Jan. 13, hundreds of janitors, the majority Latino and Somali immigrants, held a spirited meeting at the Minneapolis Labor Center and voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike. The multinational crowd chanted, “Yes we can do it!” in Spanish (“Sí se puede!”) and in Somali (“Haa wakarna!”). When the vote was taken to authorize a strike, members held up signs reading “Yes! Sí! Haa!” (‘yes’ in English, Spanish and Somali).

Bloomington, MN – AFSCME Council 5, which represents over 40,000 public sector workers in Minnesota, held its annual convention here Oct. 5-7. At the convention, two notable resolutions were passed, both of which were written by AFSCME Local 3800, the clerical workers union at the University of Minnesota.

Minneapolis, MN – For 13 days, members of Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) Local 17 walked the picket lines at Twin Cities hotels. The strike for better wages, dependent healthcare and dignity on the job garnered national attention. “This was a fight for the lowest paid and the most exploited worker,” said Jaye Rykunyk, principle officer of Local 17.