Minneapolis – On Saturday, January 18, around 40 workers gathered at the Lucy Parsons Institute in Minneapolis to hear from a panel of experienced labor movement figures on the issue of the incoming Trump administration, as well as attend workshops addressing common questions and workplace concerns. Minnesota Workers United hosted the event to educate labor and union activists, both new and old, about the challenges the incoming Trump admin will pose for our shop floor movements.

Emceeing the panel was MWU member and longtime labor activist David Gilbert-Pederson. Panel speakers included Max Vast, president of AFSCME Local 3800, and Neil Radford, an ESP with MFT/ESP Local 59, speaking on behalf of Natasha Dockter, first vice president of MFT Local 59, who was unable to attend the event.

Siobhan Moore, UPS Teamster and a steward in Local 638, explained that “Fighting Trump's reactionary agenda also must involve defending our Immigrant siblings, who are a large part of our class and our unions. We need to raise immigrant rights, the fight against racist attacks and for LGBTQ and women's and reproductive rights as union issues and tell Trump that we won't go back on any of it.”

The panel speakers expressed the need for labor to build a fighting rank and file that can be mobilized to combat the variety of attacks to come from a Trump administration.

After the panel, the group was divided to attend one of two workshop options led by MWU members. One group attended “How to be an Effective Organizer”, led by Anthony Taylor-Gouge and Rajan Nayar. During this workshop, Taylor-Gouge proposed that a good organizer is, “not only friendly and knows how to talk to people, but is also good at their job. People look to leaders they trust, and that trust will be gained by consistently carrying your own weight and demonstrating that you care about your co-workers.”

The second group attended, “Labor Under Attack”, led by Nuala Cacek and Jasper Nordin, that focused on Trump’s proposed labor policy. Among his proposals are waivers granting states exemption from federal labor law, unilateral contract changes for management, gutting enforcement of the civil rights act, and appointing union-busting corporate lawyers to federal labor office. In response to these attacks, Nordin urged attendees to focus on the immediate needs of the workers on the shop floor and, “build up a rank-and-file labor movement capable of carrying out and winning the struggle against Trump and the billionaire oligarchy he represents. That struggle takes place one workplace, one company, one state at a time.”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Labor #Trump #MNWorkersUnited

Minneapolis, MN – More than 75 community members and day laborers gathered on Lake Street in Minneapolis to call for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ecuadorians and show their willingness to fight on behalf of their immigrant coworkers and neighbors. During the rally, Lake Street was dense with cars and passersby; the rally was interspersed with their honks, raised fists, and other expressions of support.

TPS is a temporary immigration status for nationals of a particular country. Some currently designated TPS countries include Afghanistan, El Salvador, Haiti, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, and more. A granting of TPS allows certain nationals from the designated country to remain in the U.S. for two years, apply for a work permit, and receive protection from deportation. The president can choose to renew TPS every two years. Through this rally, MIRAC is calling on President Biden to use his last months in office to grant TPS to Ecuadorians who are fleeing organized crime, violence and the negative impacts of climate change in Ecuador.

As Cory Maria Dack, an Ecuadorian American and member of MIRAC, explains in the rally, “Ecuadorians deserve to live and work and thrive without fear of deportation. Granting them TPS will also benefit the economy. Minnesota currently has an employee shortage. Businesses are reporting a shortage of workers. Ecuadorians are ready to work! Give them the documentation so they can work legally. But more than any other reason, Ecuadorians deserve TPS because we all know that no human is illegal. Every human deserves to live and work and provide for their families!”

The people at the rally also heard from two Ecuadorian day laborers on why TPS is so important. As one day laborer explains, “Why do we come to the United States? We come here because the situation in Ecuador is very difficult. There is a lot of violence. There is corruption. And there is no work. We love our country. But out of necessity we had to make the most difficult decision of our lives to leave our homeland. If one cannot ensure the safety of our family and cannot ensure that there is food for our children, something has to be done.” [Translated from Spanish]

Another day laborer details the frequent challenges that the day laborers face. A pressing issue for all day laborers is the risk of underpayment and wage theft. However, she points out that “for women workers there are other risks as well. For us, we are often paid less because we are women. For us, there is the risk of sexual harassment. At the parada [the location where day laborers wait for work] and on the job.” [Translated from Spanish]

Neil Radford, a union member of Minnesota Federation of Teachers Local 59 and member of Minnesota Workers United, spoke at the rally to express solidarity with Ecuadorian and other immigrants, stating “Immigrants, or our unhoused neighbors, or anyone who struggles and fights every day for their survival and the well being of their loved ones, these people are not our enemies. They do not strip away from our security, or our ability to make a living. Immigrants come here to live in peace, to work and raise families, to find connection and support.”

Radford continued, “We must allow no divisions to be manufactured within the international working class. The only division that matters at all is between those who seek to rule and control, and those who are oppressed and victimized.”

The protest was led by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and featured speakers from first-generation Ecuadorian immigrants, Minnesota Workers United, and Asamblea de Derechos Civiles.

#MinneapolisMN #MIRAC #MNWorkersUnited #AsambleaDeDerechosCiviles #TPS #Ecuador

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.

Co-emcees David Gilbert-Pederson, a longtime labor organizer and member of Minnesota Workers United, and Meredith Aby-Keirsted, a union educator and leader in the anti-war movement in the Twin Cities, introduced the lineup of panelists, who included Anthony Taylor-Gouge, a former member of UFCW 663 and organizer with AFSCME 3800 at the University of Minnesota; Natasha Dockter, first vice-president of MFT Local 59, and Revmira, a member of Starbucks Workers United.

“In my view, there are three kinds of organizing in the workplace: institutional, relational and personal,” said Dockter. Institutional organizing, she described, included the passage of a Pro-Palestine resolution shortly after October 7. The resolution angered Zionist groups, which aggressively lobbied union members to vote to repeal the resolution and release a counter-statement condemning the Palestinian resistance. The vote to repeal the Pro-Palestine statement failed. However, a counter-statement was passed.

“We learned from this experience, we needed to do more relational organizing to mobilize union members to vote against the counter statement. One-on-one conversations in the workplace are critical,” stated Dockter.

Members of MFT Local 59 have their pensions managed by the Minnesota State Board of Investments (SBI), which invests public sector union workers pensions in companies complicit in Israeli apartheid and genocide, as well as direct Israel bonds. Members of the local have been mobilized to speak at SBI meetings to demand divestment from Israel, “I don’t know of a single teacher that wants their money being used to kill and harm children and families. We do our jobs because we care about kids, and not just our own,” said Dockter.

A barista and member of Starbucks Workers United spoke about the contradicting realities within their workplace, stating, “The majority of our co-workers are very progressive, and very pro-Palestine,” the Starbucks corporation, however ,is one of the highest profile boycott targets for their support of the Israeli occupation. Starbucks Workers United faces legal barriers to supporting the boycott, but they were able to pass a pro-Palestine resolution, and many wear legally protected union pins displaying the Palestinian flag.

Not all unions or labor organizations release statements or take similar institutional steps. Anthony Taylor-Gouge worked at Seward Co-op in South Minneapolis for eight years and was an organizer with UFCW Local 663. During his time there, only weeks before October 7, the workers at Seward Co-op had the highest strike authorization vote percentage in local UFCW history, they won a contract the next day.

Taylor-Gouge described how this militant environment was very useful once the Palestine solidarity movement took off. Workers at Seward Co-op wore Pro-Palestine union pins, drawing criticism from their union, as UFCW has broadly not taken a stance against the genocide in Palestine. This contradiction demonstrates the importance of a militant rank and file in a union. There are times when members have to get their union to say no, and fight union bureaucracy when it goes against the wishes of its members.

In the discussion after panelists speeches, attendees were split up into three groups: members of private sector unions, public sector unions, and unorganized workers. Groups discussed how their workplaces and unions have related to Palestine solidarity work and discussed strategies to start or continue to build militant action in their workplace to support the Palestine solidarity movement and Palestinian resistance.

#MinneapolisMN #MNWorkersUnited #UFCW663 #AFSCME3800 #MFT #StarbucksWorkersUnited #Palestine

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, February 13 around 100 flight attendants picketed in front of the arrivals gates of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport in Minnesota.

The crowd’s chants were heard clearly in the whole arrivals area. Chants included “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” as well as “If we don’t get it? Shut it down!”

The pickets are happening as flight attendants are in bargaining for their next round of national contracts. The flight attendants who are bargaining include members of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), and the Transportation Workers Union (TWU).

In 2023, a near strike by Teamsters at UPS was expected to have a major impact the U.S. economy. The UPS contract settlement was followed in short order by a round of “Stand Up Strikes” by UAW auto workers around the country. Both of those contract fights won major gains and garnered much attention from economists and labor supporters alike.

In 2024, as flight attendants bargain their national contracts, many of the same eyes are on these important negotiations, as flight attendants play a key role in the U.S. economy and have the ability in some instances to ground planes on the runway.

The international president of AFA is Sara Nelson. In a recent press release she stated, “Flight Attendants are fighting corporate greed, and demanding that our jobs make it possible to live a good life. Working people in every job and every industry can relate, and we feel the people with us.” Nelson went on to say “Our work brings people together from every part of the planet and showcases the strength of our diversity within our solidarity. We’re making history by standing together as one to make the airlines compete to the highest standards for our careers.”

Supporters from other unions – such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, The International Association of Machinists, the Service Employees International Union, and more – were on the picket line. A local labor solidarity grouping called Minnesota Workers United turned out a contingent in solidarity with the pickets and contract fight.

The flight attendants contract fights are a developing story and Fight Back! will continue to provide on-the-ground coverage as this story develops in coming months.

#MinneapolisMN #Labor #FlightAttendants #AFA #APFA #TWU #Teamsters #IAM #MNWorkersUnited