Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday, February 2, a young Black man, Amir Locke, was murdered by the Minneapolis Police Department. He was shot by an officer nine seconds after entering the downtown Minneapolis apartment unit where Locke was sleeping. He was shot around 6:50 a.m.

Looming strike averted

Minneapolis MN – A looming strike was averted when AFSCME Local 2822 came to a mediated settlement with Hennepin County, January 27. The agreement comes one day after Local 34 also reached a tentative deal. Workers represented by these two locals will begin voting on the contract February 2, the first day workers were poised to walk out. The bargaining committees of both locals are unanimously recommending a yes vote on the new contract offer.

Minneapolis, MN – On January 23, protesters marched in freezing temperatures to bring attention to the Biden administration’s inhumane immigration policies. The march, organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), took place in a neighborhood with many immigrant families and received significant support from onlookers as protesters chanted about closing the camps, abolishing ICE, and supporting legalization for all. The protesters demanded that Biden and the Democratic-controlled Congress take immediate action to reverse all Trump-era anti-immigrant policies and act on their campaign promises to support immigrant families.

Minneapolis MN – Trails of frozen breath rose above hundreds of workers, January 19, as they chanted and picketed in subzero temperatures in front of county buildings throughout Hennepin County, the most populous county in Minnesota. The picketers are members of AFSCME Local 34 and AFSCME Local 2822 and work as library workers, social service workers and more. Earlier that morning the union members filed notice to go on strike February 2.

Minneapolis, MN – Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) is still saying “No to war” as the group celebrates 40 years of organizing and fighting back.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people gathered here to honor Mel Reeves, a community leader who died January 6 at age 64. Organized by Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, the event was a space for those who worked alongside him in community to share memories of a man who put in decades of work in struggles against racism and police violence, economic injustice and war and militarism. Reeves was a father and grandfather, and a journalist for the Black newspaper, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

Minneapolis, MN – On December 16, around 2500 hundred clerical, technical and healthcare workers at the University of Minnesota reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. The workers are members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Locals 3800, 3801, 3260 and 3937 and have been working with an expired contract since July 1. The agreement is for a one-year contract, which means even as this long round of negotiations and contract campaign actions wraps up, the locals are already gearing up to begin bargaining their next contract.

Minneapolis, MN – On December 13, over 3500 Hennepin County clerical and social service workers who are members AFSCME Locals 34 and 2822 rejected the county’s “last best and final” contract offer and authorized a strike across both locals. The two locals represent the largest blocks of organized workers in the Hennepin County system.

Minneapolis, MN – Despite a 12-inch snowfall, more than 60 people marched in recognition of International Human Rights Day in Midtown Minneapolis, shutting down a major business thoroughfare on December 11.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Climate Justice Committee-MN.