Unions and community groups gathered in front of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning to announce a day of “no work, no school, no shopping” on January 23 to oppose the ferocious assault on the state by federal immigration authorities.
“We are facing a tsunami of hate from our own federal government,” Abdikarim Khasim, a Minnesota rideshare driver, told the crowd. “We’re going to shut it down on the 23rd. We’re going to overcome this.”
JaNaé Bates Imari, representative of the church Camphor Memorial UMC., told the crowd that the joint action will be “a day when every single Minnesotan who loves this state—who loves the idea of truth and freedom—will refuse to work, shop and go to school. We are asking every single person, every family member, every teacher, every bus driver, every childcare worker, to come together, to be in community, to stand with one another.”
“What we have witnessed, what we have all gone through, is not normal,” she added. “We have seen through several videos the murder of one of our own, Renee Good. We have witnessed violence, over and over again. Families being ripped apart, loved ones being torn from their hospital beds, from their workplaces, homes. Violence is no longer a threat but a reality that surrounds us.”
Major labor unions in Minnesota are supporting the call, including Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005, SEIU Local 26, UNITE HERE Local 17, CWA Local 7250, and St. Paul Federation of Educators Local 28—and organizers expect this list to grow. Faith in Minnesota, a faith-based social justice organization, has also joined the call. Minnesota has a history of joint, coalitional action among community groups, worker centers and unions.
✊ fuck ICE
I’m so down to solidarity skip all those things on the 23rd. Telling a friend!
This could get spicy.
I’ve never thought of Minnesota and spicy in the same context, but I agree. I’d go so far as to say it will get spicy.
I’ve lived in Minneapolis. Delightful people. Don’t fuck with them.
Genuine question: Does a general strike in Minnesota actually do anything to deter ICE?
If the federal government actually care about the economy of Minnesota then it would but I’m thinking more likely they are delighted to injure blue states and don’t understand we are connected.
Minnesota will probably care. And that’s important, because it shows to legislators and politicians of the state that if they want any support from the populace, they have to find a way to help kick out ICE.
EDIT: I originally had a second paragraph here talking about how local politicians had walked back earlier anti-ICE sentiments somewhat; while this is likely still true for some of them, the example I used (Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis) turned out to have been sourced from a likely hit piece, so I’ve removed it and generalized my statements. Frey is fine, as far as I know.
If there’s enough people on the streets, they’ll outnumber ice for sure. Right now, I think it’s more about organizing people. Getting people involved and connected.
In my personal opinion I think at this point you would have to figure out how to cripple the feds/ice through disruption, or you’re looking at a genuine fight/war. They dont listen to anyone and won’t back down easily either
