Members of the Network to Fight for Economic Justice have been leafleting and petitioning at unemployment offices demanding that Congress and state governments take action to extend and expand unemployment benefits.

Minneapolis, MN – Leaders of the Twin Cites Peace and Justice movement blasted city government at a press conference here, Aug. 27, in front of the Minneapolis City Hall.

_Interview with anti-war leader Meredith Aby _

Fight Back!: Many are saying that the occupation in Iraq is coming to an end. What is your view?

“What city were you born in?”

This essay was written by one of five people arrested at the Move the Game protest in Minneapolis on August 11, 2010. The protest confronted a meeting of Major League Baseball (MLB) team owners and league Commissioner Bud Selig, demanding that they move the 2011 All Star game out of Arizona unless the anti-immigrant law SB1070 is repealed. The essay focuses on part of the arrestees’ jail experience, bringing to light this largely hidden site of large numbers of immigrant deportations.

Immigrant rights protesters demand MLB move the All-Star game out of Arizona

Minneapolis, MN – Chanting “Move the game! Move the game!”, 100 immigrants and supporters confronted a meeting of Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bud Selig and team owners at a ritzy Minneapolis hotel on August 11, 2010. The protest was part of the national movement demanding that Major League Baseball move the 2011 All Star game out of Arizona unless the state repeals its recently passed anti-immigrant law, SB1070. Losing the All Star game would be a big blow to Arizona, resulting in an estimated $60 million loss of revenue. Thirty percent of MLB players are Latino, and many have spoken out against SB1070.

Minneapolis, MN – At an Aug. 9 press conference in front of Minneapolis City Hall, leaders of the Twin Cities peace and justice movement announced the route for the massive anti-war march that will take place if the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is held in that city. Activists had the march permits in hand, ready to be presented to city officials.

Minneapolis, MN – The outpouring of online anger at Target turned to the streets on Aug. 5, as more than 50 people protested outside of Target’s store on Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue in the heart of Minneapolis’s Latino community. Target is under fire for contributing $150,000 to MN Forward for television ads in support of Minnesota Republican governor candidate Tom Emmer, a man infamous for his extreme anti-immigrant, anti-gay and anti-minimum wage views.

Minneapolis, MN – Leaders of the Twin Cities peace and justice movement announced plans for a major anti-war march to coincide with the opening of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) – if the convention is held in Minneapolis. The press conference took place July 22 in front of the Metrodome, a proposed site of the convention.

Minneapolis, MN – Twenty protesters picketed outside the Twins game on July 18 to protest the proposal for Minneapolis hosting the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC). The DNC site selection committee was rumored to be inside and thousands of Minnesotans saw signs like “We say NO WAR Party” as they went into the stadium. Minneapolis is one of four cities in running to host the convention. The protest was organized by No DNC, a local coalition.

Minneapolis, MN – The immigrant rights movement scored a victory in Minnesota. Under pressure from a growing boycott and weekly protests, on July 14 the owner of nine local Jimmy John’s sandwich shops in Minneapolis and the western suburbs signed a public statement condemning Arizona’s anti-immigrant SB1070 law and calling for immigration reform.

Minneapolis, MN – 100 people took to the streets of South Minneapolis July 9 to demand justice for Oscar Grant. Over a year ago, on New Year's Day 2009, Oscar Grant, a young African-American man, was murdered by a police officer. He was shot in the back as he lay on his chest on a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) platform in Oakland, California.

Minneapolis, MN – On July 1 the Minnesota nurses’ union negotiating team reached a settlement with management, averting a strike. If they would have gone on strike, it would have been the largest nurses strike in U.S. history. The following is the text of a leaflet that Fight Back! prepared to distribute on the nurses’ picket lines during the strike. While the strike didn’t happen, we are sharing this leaflet because it lays out the importance of the nurses’ struggle in the context of the economic crisis.

Minneapolis, MN – About 100 anti-war activists protested outside of the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) annual meeting at the University of Minnesota on June 30 to oppose the U.S. unconditional support for Israel. The Coalition for Palestinian Rights organized the protest. This protest was a part of a series of protests organized in response to the massacre of the Gaza flotilla Memorial Day weekend.

Minneapolis, MN – Minnesota nurses returned to the bargaining table with Twin Cities Hospitals on June 29. Four days earlier, on June 25, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) had filed a ten-day notice of intent to strike, setting the stage for an open-ended strike beginning July 6 at 14 area hospitals.

Minneapolis, MN – 12,000 nurses are set to walk the picket lines in an open-ended strike on July 6, at 14 Minnesota hospitals. On June 22, nurses voted overwhelmingly to endorse an open-ended strike over staffing ratios and pension benefits. The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) filed the legally required 10-day strike notice after day-long negotiations with the hospitals on June 24 proved futile.

Minneapolis, MN – After 21 days in a Rwanda jail, lawyer Peter Erlinder returned home today. He was met by 20 supporters and as many reporters. After hugging his wife, Masako Usui, he said, “Unlike Mark Twain, the reports of my demise were only slightly exaggerated.”

Minneapolis, MN – Throughout the day on June 21, thousands of nurses streamed to the voting sites and overwhelmingly voted to authorize an open-ended strike against 14 Twin Cities hospitals. With 84% voting in support of authorizing a strike, the nurses have taken another historic step. On June 10, in the largest single strike in U.S. history, 12,000 nurses walked out for a one-day strike. After the hospitals refused to return to the bargaining table, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) called for a second vote, this time to authorize a strike that could be open ended.

On Thursday, anti-war activists protested at Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office to demonstrate against the Obama administration’s escalating war in Afghanistan. The Anti-War Committee of Minneapolis-St. Paul organized the protest.

Minneapolis, MN – One June 14, about 30 immigrants and immigrant rights supporters picketed outside of Jimmy Johns sandwich shop at Block E in downtown Minneapolis. Jimmy Johns is one of the companies targeted in the national boycott against Arizona in response to SB1070, the racist anti-immigrant law Arizona passed in April. The protest demanded that Jimmy Johns founder James ‘Jimmy John’ Liautaud stop supporting anti-immigrant politicians in Arizona such as Joe Arpaio and John McCain.

Minneapolis, MN – The Minnesota Nurses Association announced that a strike authorization vote will be held on June 21.