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Waiters, Cooks, and Bartenders Are Calling on Hospitality Industry to Ban ICE From Minnesota Restaurants

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On February 13, restaurant workers rallied outside the Hospitality Minnesota building in downtown Minneapolis to deliver a Valentine’s Day card asking industry leaders to ban ICE from restaurants. The workers also want stronger protocols for protections at restaurants, and know-your-rights trainings for restaurant workers on the front lines. It’s not radical to refuse service to agents who are threatening and at times killing our community members,” said Jake, a line cook at prominent Minneapolis restaurants. The rally was organized by the “86 ICE” coalition, supported by Restaurant Opportunities Center of Minnesota (ROC MN and Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL), which includes both front- and back-of-house restaurant workers and restaurant owners. The number “86” refers to restaurant and bar patrons who are kicked out of an establishment.

Metro Transit Workers Rally at Bus Stop Where ICE Abduction Took Place, Demand ICE Not Interfere with Transit Operations

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On the corner of Bloomington Avenue and 31st Street in South Minneapolis, workers with Metro Transit and allies held up a sign that read, “Minnesotans were abducted here.” It was the morning of January 14, and they were part of a press conference protesting a violent detention at the bus stop in broad daylight on January 10, witnessed by a Metro Transit bus operator. Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) 1005 says a driver witnessed ICE create a chaotic scene, blocking traffic, removing individuals from their cars, and blocking the bus from proceeding through the intersection. It was part of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown on Minnesota that has sent masked, armed federal agents throughout the state. 

Metro Transit workers are calling on ICE to not interfere with transit operations, according to a press release from ATU 1005. David Stiggers, president of the union, said at the press conference that ICE activity in Minneapolis is “a throwback to the darkest times of human history, 1940s Germany.”  

In another incident, a Somali-American Metro Transit worker was detained on December 2, according to the union, and was held in ICE detention for over a month. The bus operator was transferred to Iowa and then Nebraska, then returned home on January 6, according to the union, which says his detention was unlawful.

Unions

Why 650 Minnesota Doctors May Go on Strike

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On November 5, 650 medical doctors, physicians assistants, and nurse practitioners with the Doctors Council-SEIU may go on a one-day Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike. The strike would impact over 60 Allina clinics across Minnesota. The workers are demanding safe staffing levels in order to retain healthcare providers and improve the quality of care for patients. If the workers do strike, the union believes it will mark the largest doctors’ strike in the private healthcare industry in the country. 

The workers formed the union in October 2023, making the unit the largest private-sector doctors’ union in the United States, according to a press release from SEIU. After nearly 20 months and over 50 bargaining sessions, the union states that Allina has not met them in good faith at the bargaining table.

Minnesota

Billionaire Pohlad Family Accused of Using Anti-Worker Construction Contractors

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This article is a joint publication of Workday Magazine and The American Prospect. The Minneapolis-based billionaire Pohlad family has a national profile, as the owner of the Minnesota Twins and the 75th-richest family in the United States. And the Pohlad Family Foundation has cultivated a progressive image for its stated commitment to “housing stability” and “racial justice,” with a special focus on reducing racial disparities. But the Pohlad family empire of dozens of businesses includes a real estate development firm called United Properties. The Minneapolis/St.

Minnesota

Los trabajadores de limpieza asean los establecimientos después de las compras navideñas, pero ellos no pueden festejar con sus familias.

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Para Elbida Gomez, la temporada festiva no se marca con alegría o tiempo con familia, sino un aumento drástico en su carga de trabajo—limpiando baños y oficinas, sacando la basura, trapeando y limpiando comida del piso de la cafetería para empleados. 

La madre de dos, de 43 años, dice que es una de solo dos personas cuyo trabajo principal es limpiar la sucursal de Cabela’s—una cadena de tiendas que venden artículos de caza, pesca y campamento—de Woodbury, Minnesota. Aumenta el tráfico peatonal en lo que los clientes hacen sus compras navideñas. Los padres hacen fila con sus hijos para tomarse una foto con Santa Claus. El piso se cubre con chocolate, envolturas de dulces y huellas, y, cuando empieza a nevar, la entrada de la tienda está perpetuamente cubierta de sal y arena, dice. 

“Hay poco tiempo y mucho trabajo”, dice Gomez, quien ha hecho trabajo de limpieza desde que se mudo a los Estados Unidos de Honduras hace unos 15 años. 

Pero en un sector que trata—literalmente—de sanitizar las experiencias festivas de otras familias, a ella se le niega la oportunidad de relajarse y festejar con su propia familia. Gomez no recibe vacaciones pagadas de su empleador, Carlson Building Maintenance, que se contrata para limpiar a Cabela’s.

International

The U.S. Labor Voices Opposing Military Aid to Israel

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This article was jointly produced by Workday Magazine and In These Times. As the Israeli military relentlessly bombards 2.4 million Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and a ground invasion appears imminent, one storied, national union — the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) — is opposing U.S. military aid for the state of Israel whose assault on the besieged strip has already taken the lives of at least 1,800 Palestinians (a number that is quickly rising) and displaced more than 420,000 others. The Israeli government’s overwhelming violence comes on the heels of a surprise attack by Hamas militants on October 7 when 150 were taken hostage and more than 1,300 people, almost entirely Israelis, were killed. “We certainly don’t support any killing, whether it’s in the form of bombs, guns, starving people through blockades, or through apartheid, from any side,” says Andrew Dinkelaker, the UE’s general secretary treasurer. ​“U.S. military aid going in is pouring gasoline onto a fire. It encourages that there be military solutions, and military solutions will get more people killed.”

In opposing U.S. military aid to Israel, the UE — along with some organizers, elected representatives and rank-and-file workers from other unions, as well as just a few progressive members of Congress like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D.-Mich.) and Rep. Cori Bush (D.-Mo.) — is striking in a U.S. political climate defined by unqualified bipartisan support for Israel’s newly formed, hawkish ​“unity” government as it uses white phosphorus and cuts off fuel, food, water and electricity to Gaza’s entire population, which is about half children. 

A video has been circulating of Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant saying, ​“We are fighting against human animals.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Friday, ​“It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible.

International

Republicans Are Using Anti-China Rhetoric to Undercut Striking UAW Workers’ Demands

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​​This article is a joint publication of Workday Magazine and In These Times. Three and a half weeks into the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) stand-up strike against the Big Three — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — the GOP is coalescing around a talking point: that the autoworkers’ real enemy is China. The argument goes something like this: Biden’s federal policies are driving up electric vehicle production, which requires the import of components, like batteries, from China. This process, according to Republicans, is not only enriching an official U.S. rival, but also threatening U.S. jobs. This line of thinking fits perfect for a staunchly anti-union Republican Party, because it allows its purveyors to look like they are standing with striking workers, without supporting any of their actual demands, like a 36% pay increase, an end to tiers, stopping the abuse of temporary workers, cost-of-living adjustments and more paid time off.

Midwest

UAW’s “Element of Surprise” Strike Appears to Be Working

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This article is a joint publication of Workday Magazine and In These Times. Workers walked off their shifts on September 14 at midnight to cheering crowds, as the United Auto Workers launched its first simultaneous strike against the ​“Big Three” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. The initial work stoppages were not company-wide, but instead targeted at three locations: GM’s Wentzville Assembly in Missouri, Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., just outside Detroit. The plants employ some 12,700 of the roughly 150,000 UAW members who work for the Big Three. The strike strategy, developed under the leadership of reform challenger Shawn Fain, was defined by its element of surprise.

Minnesota

Demora de asistencia médica, robo de salarios: El costo humano de la clasificación errónea de los trabajadores.

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Este informe fue traducido del inglés por Maria Uhlmann. Read this article in English. En 2022, José Alfredo Gómez, trabajador de la construcción, afirma que se cayó desde el segundo piso de la casa en que trabajaba. Un grupo de hombres en una embarcación en un lago cercano se percató, y llamó a la ambulancia. Esto, en contra de la voluntad del encargado de la obra, quien insistió en transportarlo en una camioneta sin asientos y llena de herramientas de trabajo, menciona Gomez.