The workers are represented by Teamsters Local 320. Teamsters have approved strike benefits for the Teamsters at the U which would offer $1000 per week that the workers are on strike. The strike would occur across all five University of Minnesota campuses, including the large Twin Cities campus. The workers who would be striking include building cleaners, workers who service dormitories, do maintenance of grounds, maintain HVAC systems, care for research animals and drive trucks, among other duties.

The Teamsters say that they are striking because the university has failed to address key issues in bargaining, as well as low wage scales and cuts to benefits. The Teamsters contract with the university expired on June 30.

No deal was reached before expiration and the university is currently offering amounts to a two-and-half-year contract, including raises of 2.5% in the first year and 1% in the second year. At the same time as offering only 3.5% over the length of the contract, the university is proposing a 10% increase in healthcare costs for the workers, which would mean that for many workers the pay increases would not keep up with the cost increases for healthcare; the ultimate impact would in effect be a pay decrease for the workers. The university also wants the right to pay new hires higher pay rates than long-term workers who do the same jobs.

Christy O’Connor is a senior building and grounds worker who has worked at the university for 26 years. O’Connor said, “Our pay isn’t keeping up with inflation and many of us are forced to work multiple jobs,” adding, “We are struggling to support our families, but after months at the bargaining table, UMN is only offering us tiny raises that barely offset the big increases in healthcare costs that UMN expects us to pay.”

The Teamsters have also said that the university has been unwilling to deal with harassment of their members in food services, which is run by Chartwells Higher Ed, which is a subsidiary of the Compass Group. According to the university’s own data, disciplines increased by 96% over a two-year period between 2022 and 2024. The data also shows that while only 40% of the workforce in dining services are women, the majority of suspensions and firings have been targeted at women workers. Since the year 2000, Compass Group has paid out nearly $35 million in fines and penalties, including $9.6 million in employment-related offenses and $843,755 in penalties for employment discrimination.

Christina Magee has been a food service worker on the Twin Cities campus for nine years and said, “Management in dining harasses a lot of workers, and we’ve brought it to UMN’s attention. This is a company that has been fined millions for discrimination and abuse across the U.S. But the university doesn’t seem to care and says we shouldn’t be able to file complaints against the vendor when it mistreats us.”

The strike could begin any time after August 20. Notably, the week beginning on August 25 is known at the university as “move-in week.” During move-in week the campus is buzzing with students attempting to move into dorms and returning to campus. The mix of jobs that the Teamsters do is in strong demand that week, as even on a good year the week is fast paced and chaotic. A strike is likely to have a major impact on move-in week.

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #Teamsters #IBT320 #UMN

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from by UMN SDS.

On the second day of the Halimy Hall suspension hearings there were three big takeaways.

Witnesses inside Halimy hall state they would like to see Halimy hall arrestees participate in restorative justice. When asked about restorative justice for the students, witnesses from inside Halimy Hall said they would be interested in seeing the students have a restorative justice option as opposed to further punitive punishment. This contrasts the university's multiple denials of a restorative justice proposal by the legal team, in which they claim restorative justice is exclusively used for academic cases, refusing to consider the social and historical context behind this case and firmly placing it among cases of sexual misconduct in how it can be handled.

UMN pushes ridiculous restitution onto students without proof of students causing the supposed damage or receipts for replaced items

When the restitution charges were brought up during the trial on day 2, the UMN attorney was unable to prove that any of the students did any of the alleged property damage or provide receipts of spending. Currently, they are still trying to force the students to pay for unnecessary upgrades done to doors, security systems, and electrical systems within Halimy Hall. The University of Minnesota has no right to charge students for unnecessary upgrades they wish to do to Halimy Hall under the guise of paying back property damage, which they have no proof of the students committing.

Students and legal team now await outcome of hearings

After several months the Halimy Hall students have finished their student conduct hearings. Now they just have to wait for the panel to decide the outcome. We are expecting administration to give them the results by Friday evening, right before break. Throughout the entire hearing admin has maintained complete control over the process, and has objected to every measure of transparency the students and their legal team have suggested. They have arbitrarily chosen which rules they must abide by and which policies no longer apply. Keep an eye on our social media for updates regarding the hearing.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #StudentMovement #SDS #HalimyHall #UMN #UMNSDS #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

Since last fall SDS and the UMN Divest Coalition have been demanding the UMN administration divest from Israel. After months of protests, die-ins, a campus-wide resolution that won by 75%, and continued silence on the genocide from UMN administration, an encampment was set up to pressure the administration to meet our demands. During the encampment that occurred last spring, students banded together to demand 1. Divestment from Israel and all companies complicit in their crimes 2. Ban these companies from hosting workshops and job fairs where they poach our best and brightest to run their war machine 3. Sever all ties with Israeli universities 4. Disclose all University investments and spending 5. Release a statement supporting the Thawabit, and 6. Ensure amnesty for all students and staff involved in the Palestinian liberation at the University of Minnesota. These demands were agreed to by Interim President Ettinger. It has been six months since then, and Ettinger did not follow through on his promises when he left our campus in the hands of Rebecca Cunningham.

Shortly after President Cunningham started working at our university, she and the Board of Regents held an emergency meeting, a week before students returned to campus, where they passed a policy of neutrality for the UMN endowment. Regent Jamie Meyron introduced the institutional neutrality policy declaring the University’s endowment funds “politically neutral”, effectively making it impossible for students to campaign for the University to divest from certain companies. In this same meeting, they resurrected restrictive protest policies, including banning unpermitted protests of more than 100 people and the use of more than one sound amplification device, and put size limits on signs and banners. To enforce these rules, administrators have followed any pro-Palestine protest around with clipboards, taken pictures of protesters without their consent, and repeatedly threatened students with suspension.

While any sort of speech about Palestine has been repressed on campus,  Cunningham and the board of regents have been preaching about how our university is a beacon of inclusivity in public while saying heinous things in private, supporting the genocide of the Palestinian people to appease Zionist shareholders and ultimately increase their bottom lines. SDS could not in good conscience let this continue and after months of attempted negotiations, our only choice was to escalate our actions. As we had promised during the encampment negotiations with Interim President Ettinger, we would be back.

This lack of urgency shown by the administration shows both a disregard of student voices as well as a disregard of the rapidly worsening conditions in Gaza. While we attend classes and debate policy, horrific images and stories have been coming out of Northern Gaza. Israel is now believed to be carrying out the “General's Plan” to forcefully starve the remaining population of north Gaza, according to a former Israeli National Security Council deputy director. For the first two weeks of October, the entirety of North Gaza was cut off from any aid by Israel. Aid continues to be severely restricted. As of 10/25, the last remaining hospital in Northern Gaza was raided by IDF soldiers, leaving the entire population of north Gaza without access to any medical treatment.

On October 21st, student protesters entered Morrill Hall and occupied it as a form of protest. When entering the building protesters made it abundantly clear to all those inside they were free to leave and were in no form of danger.  Our people explicitly left the central door on the west end of the building open for those who wished to leave. All others stayed willingly. Additionally, our protesters did not vandalize any property, and any damage was done either by police or in self-defense.

Once students took the building, they hung a banner renaming it in honor of Medo Halimy. Medo Halimy was a 19 year old Gazan student who was brutally murdered by Israel; he posted on social media about his ‘tent life’ and the lives of thousands of other people during the ongoing genocide. Halimy deserved an education and life just as much as the students at the University of Minnesota.

About two hours into the occupation of Halimy Hall, Safe U notifications were sent out causing fear and confusion around campus. This in combination with an exponentially heightened police presence -over 30 UMPD, MPD, State Patrol, and SWAT cars along with a helicopter- made the wider population of students uneasy, but nonetheless our protest persisted.

UMPD, in conjunction with the Minneapolis Police Department, and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, forcibly entered HalimyHall through the tunnels, using a battery ram to break through barricades, yelling, and pointing guns at protesters. They demanded them to get on the ground, and even after this order was complied with, multiple people were still physically restrained and dog-piled by police. They went from door to door until they had arrested eleven protesters and detained a member of the press who had been reporting, despite them wearing a vest clearly dictating their role; when press started taking photos of their colleague being detained, cops tried blocking the camera. Everyone was held in the basement, including members of the press, until 7:35; two hours after the police had entered the building. During this time, we were unable to determine the location of the protestors and were concerned for their safety. The belongings of the protestors inside, including those of the press, were subsequently confiscated. The press member was eventually able to collect their belongings on Wednesday, but the arrestees have not yet received their belongings and have not been given a concrete timeline of when they will get them back. This is despite the fact that some of the belongings collected are essential to their safety, including glasses, prescription medications, and house keys.

The arrestees were then brought to Hennepin County Jail. It wasn’t until 4 AM that they all were processed. They were held under a probable cause hold, which has a maximum limit of 36 hours. Protestors were held under this supposed “36-hour” hold from late Monday night until 5:30 on Wednesday when the last protestor was processed to be released. While they could have been released anytime within the 36 hours – we were hopeful they would be- the University Police did not send over the charges. There was no transparency for us or the arrestees on how long they would be kept. During this time, protesters had to endure insults from law enforcement, inadequate food, the release of dead names to the public, and were separated and put in blocks despite their gender identities. Trans women were put together in a men's cell and kept in there for 23 hours a day without knowing what time of day it was. During the 36-hour hold, arrestees were interrogated by UMPD, as well as the FBI. One arrestee’s processing was delayed by 5 hours, meaning that they stayed in custody hours after they should have been released despite not being charged. Protestors had to continually remind officers and guards that they were being kept past the 36-hour hold they were supposed to be held for. Our students dealt with these dehumanizing conditions with grace and bravery, but this suffering though could have been far shorter if the University police had sent through complete charges sooner. Instead, they dragged their feet and let their students suffer for merely for exercising their constitutional right.

While all eleven arrestees were released without bail and without charges, as of yesterday one arrestee, Robyn Harbinson, received word that they were charged with fourth-degree assault. Robyn's first court date is on November 7th, look out for a court rally for our brave protestor. Additionally, all students who were detained received an email that they had been placed under immediate interim suspension. Not only does this mean that they can no longer attend classes, but students who relied on student housing and food plans were left scrambling to find new accommodations for the foreseeable future. These emails also included blatant misinformation, citing incorrect dates of arrest stating people were arrested on September 21st instead of October, and stating that protestors had prevented staff from leaving Halimy Hall, a point that has been disproven by staff members themselves.

While our students were in jail President Cunningham sent out an email to the student body claiming our protesters caused intentional property damage and held staff in the building against their wills, statements which are factually incorrect and actively defame our brave protesters.

That leads us to our current situation where all 11 of our arrestees may still be unjustly charged for their heroic actions. We as SDS need the support of our community now more than ever to bring our brave students back to campus to receive the education they deserve. More importantly, the people of Palestine, Lebanon, and Yemen need your support more than ever as they are bombed, starved, dehumanized, and burnt alive.

They may arrest us, jail us, suspend us, and evict us but we will never stop fighting for our university to divest from Israel and we won't stop fighting until there is a free and liberated Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #UMN #FreePalestine #SDS #UMNSDS #HalimyHall #StudentIntifada #Divest #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – On May 10, the UMN Divest Coalition gathered 100 people, who first rallied outside the McNamara Alumni Center and then packed the meeting room of the board of regents at the University of Minnesota, despite intimidation from campus police.

Following the seven months of genocide in Gaza being carried out by Israel with material support from the United States, the UMN Divest Coalition held a Gaza solidarity encampment on the University of Minnesota East Bank campus to protest the institution’s complicity. Modeled after the one at Columbia University in New York, the UMN Divest Coalition’s encampment put pressure on the university administration to respond to their demands of divestment, or else the encampment would remain standing during commencement ceremonies for graduating students.

After two weeks of a sustained encampment and other protests on campus led by the Coalition, including the arrests of nine activists by the University of Minnesota Police Department, Interim President Jeff Ettinger and other senior advisers held several meetings with the leaders of the Coalition. During the third meeting, he made a promise to organizers to address the following demands:

• Full financial disclosure regarding transactions with Israeli universities and other entities by May 7.
• To allow a divestment resolution to be presented to the Board of Regents on May 10 with the full support of administration.
• Biweekly meetings with administration, including incoming President Rebecca Cunningham, until full divestment from companies complicit in war crimes is achieved.
• Public support to Palestinian students starting with an email to be sent out by President Ettinger opening up the pathway to academic divestment from Israeli universities aiding the genocide of Palestinians, as well as establishing relationships with Palestinian universities via meetings with the Vice Provost of International Affairs
• Amnesty for encampment protesters and administration advocating for Hennepin County to drop the charges against the nine arrested.
• Expansion of Scholars in Exile Program at UMN to include the hiring of exiled Palestinian scholars

The UMN Divest Coalition was placed on the agenda for the May 10 Board of Regents meeting near the end of the schedule. However, members began showing up at the McNamara Alumni Center at 6 a.m. to be first in line to sign up for the public comment forum regarding Interim President Jeff Ettinger’s proposed operations budget for the coming fiscal year, which includes up to a 5.5% tuition increase for university students.

19 out of 20 speaker slots were filled by the Coalition and supporters of their campaign to give additional insight to the board regarding the use of their finances, particularly those that are invested in the apartheid state of Israel and companies complicit in human rights violations.

Co-president of Students for Justice in Palestine Donia Abu informed the board of regents of the personal toll that this issue bears on her life, stating, “Thousands of my tuition dollars and other students’ tuition dollars are invested in companies that build the bombs and machinery that are being used to kill my family.” Abu has had 12 family members killed in Gaza since October 7 and is raising money to help her other relatives evacuate.

Once the latter half of the agenda was reached, it was time for a delegate of each organization in the UMN Divest Coalition to present the proposed policy change to the board within their allotted five minutes, among these leaders from Students for Justice in Palestine, Students for a Democratic Society, Young Democratic Socialists of America, and Students for Climate Justice. They began their address by affirming that the purpose of their presentation to the board was “to raise our moral concerns with the University of Minnesota’s investments, the university’s lack of transparency in regards to their investments, as well as their known ties to weapons companies.”

What followed were suggestions for concrete steps the university could take to seriously begin the path towards divestment from companies and institutions complicit in war crimes and other human rights violations, such as Israeli universities and weapons manufacturers. The proposed actions are as follows:

“We ask that a vote be taken by the Board of Regents at the nearest opportunity to direct the Office of Investments and Banking to use all resources in their power to divest the University of Minnesota endowment from all companies complicit in war crimes and human rights violations according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, including but not limited to weapons companies such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Boeing, Honeywell, and their subsidiaries. The process and progress of divestment should be clearly communicated through regularly scheduled meetings with Students for Justice in Palestine, as a part of the University of Minnesota showing accountability and (re)building trust with the student body. We also request that the university publicly disclose the percentage of its holdings that are invested in these companies annually.”

Directly after this plea for the board of regents to recognize the humanity of Palestinians was a presentation from University of Minnesota Hillel, a Zionist community organization on campus that claims to represent all Jewish students. Hillel’s delegates spent their allotted five minutes recounting “feeling scared” for their safety on campus the last seven months, opposing divestment, and implying that members of the Coalition have connections with Hamas.

Outside of the meeting, a spirited rally took place. Gillian Rath of SDS stated, “We cannot trust the word of the university. If this administration says they're going to begin the process of divestment, give us a seat at the table, and help us gain amnesty, we need to make sure they do.”

This rally was attended by members and supporters of the UMN Divest Coalition who were barred from entering the building by campus police and building security, which has not happened in recent years.  UMN SDS has regularly attended and disrupted board of regents meetings for several years without interference upon entry. All entrances to the building were monitored by security guards and armed police officers who would allow entry of two to five people at a time at the discretion of their colleagues monitoring the board room where the meeting took place. Those who were let into the building could only take the elevator to the board room if it was operated by building staff. One University of Minnesota student was threatened with arrest if she were to enter the building to retrieve her purse she had set down before being ushered outside from the lobby.

This is only the beginning of the fight the UMN Divest Coalition and its allies are waging to divest the University of Minnesota from Israel and all companies responsible for human rights violations, to end its complicity in the decades-long deadly Zionist occupation of Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #FreePalestine #UMN #UMNDivestCoalition #UMNSDS #SDS #SJP

St. Paul, MN – On the evening of November 28, 500 protesters gathered in below freezing temperatures on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol. The protest, organized by the Free Palestine Coalition,  demanded that the State Board of Investment (SBI) divest over $1 billion currently invested in Israeli bonds, banks, weapons manufacturers and other entities that profit from Israeli apartheid.

In total, the SBI manages and invests over $128 billion of Minnesota taxpayer money. Board members include Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Auditor Julie Blaha and Secretary of State Steve Simon.

Held on the eve of the SBI meeting on November 29, which is also the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the protest was a continuation of a multi-year campaign spearheaded by groups, including the MN Anti-War Committee, to demand the SBI divest public pension funds from the system of apartheid and ethnic cleansing in occupied Palestine.

Despite the cold, a large crowd formed on the capitol steps to attend the rally. It was evidence of the passion and dedication the Palestinian cause has brought about during the decades of occupation.

Mariam El-Khatib, a member of American Muslims for Palestine, kicked off the rally, “America, it’s a fact. Israel would not be able to do what it’s doing without the U.S. We are funding the ethnic cleansing of the people of Palestine. We are funding the killing of children. We are funding the killing of civilians. We are funding the bombing of hospitals. We are funding Israel’s war crimes and atrocities. So whether you like it or not, all of us are implicated – because we live in this country and pay tax dollars. So whether you like it or not we have to speak up!”

Skyler Dorr, a rank-and-file member of AFSCME 3800 at the University of Minnesota and an anti-Zionist Jew, stated, “I am a pissed off public employee, and I don’t want my retirement fund invested in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine! Shame on the State Board of Investment for implicating all of us in genocide, shame!”

As the last speaker on the program, Brian Chval from the MN Anti-War Committee rallied the crowd, “As the tax paying constituents of the state of Minnesota, I think we should have a say in how our money is invested. So I ask you, $283 million for weapons manufacturers that sell to Israel. Invest or divest? Nearly $50 million for Siemens, who provides electrical grid services to Israel and its settlements on stolen Palestinian land. Invest or divest? Almost $25 million in direct investments in Israel in the form of bonds, who has occupied and oppressed Palestinians for over 75 years. Invest or divest?”

Each time, the crowd erupted, “Divest!”

Other speakers included Julia Pearlstein-Levy from Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Palestinian activist Dr. Christine Harb, and Natasha Dockter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59.

Protesters were encouraged to come back to the capitol the next day to attend the State Board of Investment meeting.

#StPaulMN #FreePalestine #UMN #SBI #Divest #BDS

Saint Paul, MN – On November 19, the MN Anti-War Committee held a rally on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River that was attended by over 3000 Minnesotans. After an hour of holding signs and chanting on both sides of the bridge, the protest marched to Minnesota Governor Walz’ Eastcliff Mansion in Saint Paul to interrupt his Sunday football viewing and demand that he divest Minnesota from apartheid Israel.

Skyler Dorr, a clerical worker at the University of Minnesota and a member of AFSCME 3800, spoke about the Minnesota State Board of Investment’s (SBI) role in investing public worker pensions in companies complicit in the occupation of Palestine. They specifically mentioned Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company, and Caterpillar, the ubiquitous construction equipment company.

Dorr stated, “There is blood on the hands of not only these companies, but also Governor Tim Walz and his SBI for continuing to invest in these companies, and yet when we cry out for Israeli bombs to stop for good, when we demand an end to the brutal, unjustified occupation, we're called antisemites. As a Jewish person myself I'm proud of the long history of my people fighting back against oppression. History rightfully praises the uprisings of the Warsaw Ghetto and the concentration camps of Treblinka, Sobibor, Buchenwald and others – history will also praise the Palestinian resistance against occupation!”

Drake Myers, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee and an associate educator in the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Education Support Professionals Local 59, spoke about a Palestine solidarity resolution that the membership voted to pass. “We don't want to teach our kids that genocide is okay, and we don't want teachers fired for speaking out against Israel. This resolution has gotten national coverage for showing that working people in America don’t support this genocide. It acknowledges that the American government has picked the wrong side of history yet again!”

Myers also spoke about the attacks on MFT 59 after the publication of the resolution: “After posting the resolution the union has been attacked by right wingers, Zionists, who called the union antisemitic, terrorist supporters, and Jewish members who supported the resolution were told multiple times that they weren’t real Jews. As working-class educators, we are under no obligation to support racists or make space for racists or to support racist apartheids. Very much the opposite.”

Miguel Hernandez of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee was the final speaker, discussing his time in various people’s movements and the group’s recent delegation to the U.S./Mexico border. “I got the privilege to go to the border wall and see what oppression my family, my lineage, had to go through. It's hard to put it into words, to see the trauma that has stayed with generations here in the U.S. and just see that wall built. I saw these gray towers surveilling every inch of that wall, and you knew you were being watched. And those towers are made by an Israeli company called Elbit Systems.”

Hernandez concluded his speech: “Every revolution that has happened has had just as much intelligence, creativity, and power as we do here now. We can do this together. Just take a look at each other. This is what it looks like. These are the faces, the people who will stick with you, the same way people did in the Civil Rights struggle, the Chicano movement, the labor rights movement, all those movements.”

Other speakers at the protest included Donia Abu from Students for Justice in Palestine and Erin Gable from the Anti-War Committee. Protesters were encouraged to keep showing up, especially to the SBI’s next meeting on November 29, with Gable noting how direct actions like these got Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum to join on to congressional calls for President Biden to facilitate a ceasefire.

#StPaulMN #FreePalestine #SJP #UMN #TwinCities #MNAWC

Minneapolis, MN – On November 18, three University of Minnesota Twin Cities student organizations; (Students for a Democratic Society, Young Democratic Socialists of America, and Students for Justice in Palestine) held a rally and march starting in front of the Humphrey School of Public affairs on UMN campus.

This protest marked the end of the sixth week of Israel’s bombardment campaign against Gaza, and anger at the University of Minnesota’s unwillingness to denounce Israel’s ongoing war crimes in Gaza. Demands were directed at Jeff Ettinger in particular, the current interim president of the UMN, after he made a university-wide statement on October 11 condemning the “abhorrent acts committed by Hamas” without any reference to the ongoing Israeli occupation or acknowledging Israel’s war crimes and subjugation of the Palestinian people.

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) member Amira Ahmed had this to say on Ettinger’s statement, “Do you, Jeff Ettinger, not see that in your silence, you are allowing the justification of terrorist acts committed by the IDF?” Ahmed went on to criticize Ettinger for refusing to acknowledge Israel’s bombing of hospitals and schools across Gaza and “failing to include historical significance, perpetuating a one sided agenda against the Palestinian people.”

U.S. divestment from Israel was highlighted as a step for Palestinian liberation by several speakers during the event. Emily Chu from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) said, “Israel cannot stand on its own without substantial financial and military support from the U.S.” Tracy Molm from Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke further on this topic: “We must stand with Palestine and say no more to our hard-earned money, our tax dollars that we work for day in and day out at shitty jobs with no healthcare, no food or housing security, huge amounts of student debt; paying for the genocide of Palestinians.”

Molm also spoke about her visit to Gaza in 2004 and connected the Palestinian right to rebel to the struggle against police brutality in America. “Just like in 2020 when millions in the U.S. and across the world stood for justice for George Floyd, said no more to the unjust and cruel murder of Black people, we had a right to rebel against the oppression that the U.S. imposes on Black people and other oppressed nationalities in this country. The Palestinian people have a legal and moral right to rebel against the Israeli occupation forces, and a right to their land.”

After the first half of speakers, a contingent of roughly 300 students marched from the Humphrey building to Amy Klobuchar’s office. While marching, several bystanders and families from the residential Cedar Riverside neighborhood, through which the march route traversed, ran up to join in the chanting and marching.

After arriving at Klobuchar’s office, the speaker program resumed with Maysoon Pali from Americans for Muslim in Palestine (AMP), who highlighted some of the IDF’s most recent attempts at social media, particularly their now-deleted Twitter post claiming that a calendar they found in the basement of al-Shifa hospital was actually a list of Hamas actions. She continued to speak about how the tide is turning in favor of Palestine on social media stating, “Israel and the U.S. are terrified of this new tide on social media for exposing their lies. More people than ever now are seeing the truth about the real victims of this conflict, and it is up to us to keep pushing the truth to the front. Even just one more person who becomes educated on the conflict can become a wave of truth that spreads to other people, and it is through spreading the truth that we will free Palestine!”

Matt Steitz, speaking on behalf of Young Democratic Socialists of America, emphasized the importance of not staying neutral in times of global crises. “Today, those who do not stand up and proclaim that they support the liberation of the Palestinian people are not just giving in to the status quo. They are complicit in genocide!”

Other speakers at the protest included Sasmit Rahman from SDS and Erin Gable from the Anti-War Committee, who both spoke on the importance of continued protesting and not relenting until the demands for permanent divestment from Israel and the liberation of Palestine are met.

#MinneapolisMN #TwinCities #SDS #FreePalestine #Klobuchar #SJP #UMN

 St Paul, MN – 100 people rallied at the weekly Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) bannering at rush hour at the intersection of Snelling and Summit Avenues, November 17. People gathered to show their outrage of against the Israeli bombings on children, hospitals, homes and schools.

They chanted, “Hey Biden what do you say, how many kids did you kill today?” “Netanyahu you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and “Not another nickel not another dime, no more money for Israel’s war crimes.” They held signs and banners calling for an “End to U.S. aid to Israel,” to “Free Palestine” and “To Let Gaza live.” The response from motorists passing by continued to be unanimously positive and loud.

Penny Gardner, a member of WAMM and a retired nurse, spoke to the crowd. She said that she couldn’t possibly imagine what the nurses are going through to take care of the injured people in Gaza today. She read an article written by a Gazan nurse working at Al Shifa Hospital. The letter stated, “24 hours a day, every hour, every minute we receive injured patients. Hundreds every day. Their injuries are horrific and devastating. We don’t have enough supplies, enough gauze, enough medicines, enough pain killers. 2000 people are on the waiting list for emergency surgeries. It’s a health catastrophe. It’s overwhelming but we keep going.”

Erin Gable, member of the MN Anti-War Committee, talked of being welcomed into a Palestinian family, “I have seen through their eyes the strength of resistance and compassion that shine through the cracks of memory of war and occupation.” She went on to say, “I am Irish and my people knew the forced withholding and monopolizing of resources by the British. We were called terrorists for our resistance. After the ceasefire in 1921 the British immediately went to Palestine and the same forces that terrorized us, terrorized the Palestinians to the nth degree.” 

Bob Goonin, member of the Boycott Divest and Sanctions community said to the crowd, ”The BDS movement works to end international complicity in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians, and it draws its inspiration from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. BDS has three goals. Equal rights for Palestinian citizens living in Israel, to end the colonization of Palestinian lands, and the right of return of all Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Some have charged that the BDS movement is anti-Semitic. As a jew I am here to tell you that is a lie.”

Gillian Rath, representing SDS at the University of MN, also spoke, “Historically and certainly right now, students have been at the forefront of anti-war movements. All the way back to the very first Vietnam war protests, to protesting the war on Iraq and now protesting the genocide in Palestine, students have been one of the loudest voices saying ‘no’ to U.S. intervention. We have had many political wins and we have mobilized thousands. But this does not come without a fight. Administrators and public officials know that students are powerful and they are scared of us.”

Rath continued, “A couple of weeks ago, in the state of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis banned the presence of Students for Justice in Palestine at universities in Florida. The same week, a group of students here in Minnesota from Edina High school were harassed by faculty and are now facing suspension for participating in a national walkout for Palestine. Student activists at universities across the country have been facing so much backlash. I feel like every day I see videos on social media of protesters on campuses being harassed and violated. These attacks are racist, xenophobic and just absolutely disgusting. These are attempts to suppress the student movement. Now more than ever, student activists need to stand up and fight back.”

Protesters were encouraged to keep coming out. Protests on Saturday and Sunday were announced.

#StPaulMN #TwinCities #FreePalestine #UMN #SDS #BDS #WAMM

Rallies across the globe for Palestinian justice have increased in the last couple of weeks in response to the heightened Zionist violence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including thousands mobilizing in Minneapolis alone and multiple events on the UMN’s campus, including a vigil the previous week organized by SJP.

Protests and activism for a free Palestine have been as consistent as Israel's aggression as had the U.S.’s complicity.

A member of SJP asked, “How many more hospitals need to be blown up? How many more houses need to get demolished? How many more families must find their child under the rubble of their own homes? How much money does the U.S. need to fund the Israeli military?”

Along with mass fear tactics, the Western media has assisted in peddling numerous lies about Palestinian resistance and Israel's actions while silencing Palestinian leaders both in Gaza and across the globe. For example, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis banned all SJP groups from Florida state universities, just the day before the UMN walkout.

In response to the media lies, Palestinians in Gaza have taken to social media to share their experiences and the reality of what is happening on the ground. A list of these incredible accounts can be found on UMN’s SJP Instagram (@sjpumn.)

A SDS member stated, “It is also important to note that this propaganda is not a new thing. U.S. aggression, especially in these parts of the world, has a history of lies that are made up to justify genocide and racist murder. These are the same forces that have an interest in the U.S. support of Israel, not the interest of the Palestinian people.”

The U.S. and the University of Minnesota continue to fund the genocide of Palestinian people, and in response organizers across Minneapolis vow to continue calling for Palestinian justice.

Other groups represented at the rally were the Anti-War Committee, Students for Climate Justice, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Students for Socialist Revolution.

#MinneapolisMN #SDS #SJP #UMN

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, October 16, a group of students and community members rallied on the steps of Northrop Hall at University of Minnesota. They were there to protest U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett at the annual donor-funded Law School public lecture.

The rally was covered by over a dozen local and national news outlets. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UMN and the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC) jointly organized the rally, where at least 250 people mobilized in support of abortion access, affirmative action, and the rights of marginalized peoples.

Justice Barrett is a key figure in the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority and played an instrumental role in striking down Roe v. Wade (1973) in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). Roe v. Wade was a longstanding precedent for the Supreme Court which protected the constitutional right to an abortion. Since the Dobbs decision, 13 states have banned abortions, and many others imposed client and/or provider restrictions on abortions, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Abortion rights movements in the Twin Cities, especially MNAAC, are currently in the struggle to expand legitimate abortion clinics and shut down the nearly 90 illegitimate “crisis pregnancy centers” across Minnesota.

Barrett also voted with conservative justices to strike down affirmative action in SFFA v. Harvard (2023) and SFFA v. UNC (2023). Student movements in the 1960s and ‘70s called for affirmative action in efforts to increase Black and brown enrollment in U.S. universities. Though legal decisions have debated what affirmative action can look like, affirmative action remains an important tool to increase diversity in higher education. Alongside attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion in states like Florida, Texas and Louisiana, where SDS chapters are currently engaging in struggles against university administrations, the SFFA decisions are certain to make higher education for Black and brown students even less accessible.

Florida members of SDS, the Tampa 5, were arrested on felony charges and are being put on trial for protesting similar attacks on education by Governor Ron DeSantis.

Rally speaker Maggie Moynihan of MNAAC spoke about the contradictions the UMN presents when they invite a Supreme Court justice with a track record of harming women and students of color. “As a white-majority school, the University of Minnesota has an especially important duty to provide its marginalized students with a diverse and inclusive educational experience,” said Moynihan. “Amy Coney Barrett is a threat to all working-class and marginalized people in the United States and the university administrators have invited this threat to spread her hateful ideology to students on this campus. The message this decision sends is clear. The university does not value the safety of the women, people of color, immigrants, or queer people on this campus.”

Speaker Bryce Riesner of SDS reminded the UMN administration that when they invited Barrett to campus, they had invited “a representative of bigotry.” Speaking against the fallacy of “free speech,’”Riesner pointed out that the university has the power to draw the line at hate and intolerance. “I have so many conservative family and friends who have no hatred in their heart for anyone. [Barrett] does not represent them,” said Riesner. “Her fundamentalist beliefs are not conservative. What she practices in her home is her business, but when she takes a seat as a Supreme Court justice, her beliefs affect all of us!”

During the rally, a handful of experienced UMN SDS members disrupted Barrett’s lecture inside Northrop Hall, where over 1500 attendees sat. Video of the interaction posted to the chapter’s @umnsds Instagram account shows protesters chanting “Not the court! Not the state! The people must decide their fate!” and “When affirmative action is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

In their rally speech, Sasmit Rahman recounted the experience of being removed from the lecture, stating that the removal was a cowardly act by Barrett, who apparently refused to acknowledge the protesters. “You’re so comfortable stripping us of our rights,” Rahman said of Barrett, “but too scared to face the consequences of your bigoted decisions! Shame on you Amy, you fucking coward!”

Over a dozen rally speakers represented progressive grassroots organizations across the Twin Cities. These organizations include the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Young Democratic Socialists of America, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar, Students for Climate Justice, Anti-War Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and local trade unions.

Progressive organizations agree that giving Barrett a platform is a disgrace to the UMN and that we must fight back.

Abortion is a human right!

Defend affirmative action and queer rights!

No to Amy Coney Barrett!

#MinneapolisMN #Minneapolis #AmyConeyBarrett #SDS #MNAAC #UMN #ReproductiveJustice #Abortion #SupremeCourt #AffirmativeAction #RoevWade