“Bigger Than a Contract”: In the Twin Cities, Marches, Strikes, and Blockades for May Day

Workers across the Twin Cities rallied and marched on International Worker’s Day, or May Day, in solidarity with contract fights, to stand with immigrant workers, and to oppose the threats against working people all over the globe. 

Many of the actions were led by leaders in the ICE OUT coalition that formed following Operation Metro Surge earlier this year. From the early morning hours into the evening of May 1, workers went out on strike, picketed in front of businesses, and led rallies in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Along with specific demands of various contract fights, the coalition is also calling for ICE to discontinue operations in Minnesota, that any officer who kills a civilian be held legally accountable, no additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming congressional budget, and an investigation for human rights and constitutional violations committed by ICE. The coalition is also demanding corporations become 4th Amendment businesses, ceasing economic relations with ICE and refusing ICE entry or use of their property.

Across the U.S., hundreds of thousands of workers and community members also engaged in actions, taking up the call for “no school, no work, no shopping” that Minnesotans had answered on January 23. According to the May Day Strong coalition, a network of unions and community groups building power against the billionaire agenda, millions of people participated in over 5,000 May Day actions planned across the U.S. that were aligned with worker and immigrant rights.

The day of action in the Twin Cities began with a “Bridge Brigade Against Billionaires” led by the local Sunrise Movement organization fighting for climate justice and demanding “No war, no ICE.” Six protestors were arrested for blocking the Hennepin Bridge.

Then, hotel workers with UNITE HERE! Local 17 went out on a one-day strike and picketed in front of the Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis. Hotel workers with the Best Western Plus The Normandy Inn & Suites were also out on strike and picketing.

A few dozen workers rallied, held up signs, and chanted, “One job should be enough,” and “No raises, no peace.” The Minneapolis Police Department had a visible presence at the rally, with multiple squad cars parked and circling the block. That same day, workers employed by Delaware North Company at Target Field with UNITE HERE! Local 17 voted to authorize a strike with 81% of workers who voted in favor. 

David McCann works as a guest service agent at the front desk of the Hotel Ivy. In an interview with Workday Magazine, McCann said, “This company is just not coming to the table for us. We’re asking for $3 and they offered 70 cents.” The Hotel Ivy workers have been in negotiations since last August and say that negotiations have stalled. 

The hotel staff is a multiracial workforce, with many Latino and East African immigrant workers on the frontlines. “They’re the hardest workers I’ve ever worked with in my life, to be honest with you,” said McCann. He continues, “All of us are just trying to just keep food on our table. We’re mostly working hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck, and I don’t think anybody deserves it more than the people that are working the hardest right here.” 

Juana, a veteran worker at the Hotel Ivy worker for the past 12 years, spoke through an interpreter: “My work deserves more because I always do my best and I’ve been here at this hotel for 12 years.” 

Many workers emphasized the importance of workers coming together following the events of Operation Metro Surge across Minnesota this winter. McCann adds, “Corporations and billionaires know that the economy is built on salary earning or wage earning workers, and they can’t really function without us.” 

Around noon, Hennepin County public sector workers represented by various AFSCME locals gathered at the government plaza in downtown Minneapolis. Locals represented at the rally included 34, 552, 1719, 2474, 2822, 2864, and 2938. Speakers emphasized the importance of staying unified ahead of upcoming contract negotiations next year, and of saving Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) from potential closure, which workers say would be devastating for the healthcare system in Minnesota.

“We know who is behind this crisis. Billionaires, corporate healthcare, insurance companies, and people who turn our pain into profit,” said Jess Tangen, a member of Local 2474, who works as a lactation consultant at HCMC, to the crowd. “I’m in disbelief and I’m heartbroken because the state of Minnesota is still undecided on whether this critical public hospital, the hospital that takes everyone and turns no one away, deserves a real dedicated funding stream to survive.”

In the afternoon, union and community members picketed outside of the AT&T retail store in the Highland neighborhood of St. Paul, in support of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7250.

Members celebrated winning a tentative agreement with AT&T as well as a new union for Alamo Drafthouse workers in Woodbury. 

Lori Wolf works at AT&T call center in Bloomington and is a steward with Local 7250. “This moment is much bigger than a contract,” she said to the crowd. “Unions were created in moments like this, when people have every reason to be silent, but choose to unite and speak out. When we stand up and say no to ICE, no to war, and no to billionaires, we are not stepping outside our union values, we are living them.”

Hundreds also participated in the 20th annual march for immigrant rights led by Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) down Lake Street in South Minneapolis. The demands were legalization for all, legislation that would make Minnesota a sanctuary state, the banning of 287(g) agreements between counties and immigration enforcement, and the implementation of a statewide eviction moratorium. 

There were members marching from Minneapolis Federation of Educators Local 59, Saint Paul Federation of Educators Local 28, IATSE Local 13, Graduate Labor Union-United Electrical Local 1105, AFSCME Locals 2800, 2822, and 34, IBEW Local 292, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, Office of Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 12, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en La Lucha, and the Minneapolis Regional Retiree Committee, in addition to Unidos Minnesota, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, Minnesota 50501, Democratic Socialists of America, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Revolutionary Communists of America, and more.

At the CWA rally, Dan Scoggins, an organizer with SEIU Local 26, said that janitors at the Minneapolis Institute of Art were planning to strike on Friday morning, however, the union and the museum reached a tentative agreement late Thursday.

According to Scoggins, OPEIU Local 12 members that also work at the museum were willing to strike alongside the janitors. “We weren’t alone. OPEIU, who was also in the same facility, had 45 people sign a petition saying ‘we should have parity with everybody else,’ ” he said. “The whole reason that January 23rd worked was because nobody stood alone and thousands of us showed up and spoke with one voice.”

Local labor historian and co-founder of the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul, Peter Rachleff, spoke at the CWA rally about the connections between struggles over time. “Today is not just part of the struggle to protect our immigrant neighbors, not just part of the struggle where we build the labor movement, not just part of the struggle to fight against fascism and authoritarianism, but part of building a world based on solidarity.”

Isabela is the Senior Associate Editor for Workday Magazine.

Amie Stager is the Associate Editor for Workday Magazine.