Minneapolis: anti-racist union mobilization

After the double murder by the anti-immigrant police militia in Minneapolis, Kieran Knutson, president of the CWA 7250 trade union, kindly answered our questions, particularly on the mobilisation of the trade union movement. The CWA union was founded in 1938 and represents workers in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada in the communications and information sectors, as well as in the media, air transport, television (terrestrial and cable), public services, higher education, health, manufacturing, high technology and many other sectors. It has 700,000 members in the private and public sectors.

What is the situation in Minneapolis with migrants and the crackdown organized by ICE? What union mobilizations or actions are being organized?

The situation for migrant labor is dire. There are 3000 ICE and other Federal agents combing the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area and the state of Minnesota. Thousands of immigrant workers have been abducted and sent to detention facilities in other states before being deported out of the country. Many have been brutalized. At least one man, a Nicaraguan national, who was abducted in Minneapolis died in a Federal detention camp in Texas. Many, many thousand of Latino workers are basically living underground - not leaving their homes at all. A Venezuelan man working Door-Dash (an app-based delivery service) was chased by ICE, and then shot in his leg while escaping into his home. Workers have been jumped by ICE while taking out the trash at work. A working-class school district reported ICE has begun using kids as "bait" to trap and abduct their parents (and often the kids too!) The Somali community - which the overwhelming majority have legal status and most now are citizens - has also been villainized and specifically targeted by Federal police. Dozens of trade union members have been abducted and deported - including more than 20 from SEIU 26 ( janitor and security guards) and this week 10 HERE (Hotel and hospitality workers) were abducted at their jobs at the airport. There have been three CWA workers - in sister Locals, not ours, who have been abducted. Two workers from Laos who have lived in the US for 50 years and worked at the New Flyer factory in St Cloud MN for 20 years. And a Mexican brother who was in the CWA-affiliated Newspaper Guild and worked at a local non-profit.

What is the position of your union, CWA 7250, and the labor movement on these repressive actions?

Our Local does not have a heavy immigrant membership, but we have some members with legal status and some more whose parents are immigrants. But our Local strongly believes in the principle of "AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL". So we have educated our members about their legal rights, endorsed anti-ICE actions and statements in the Twin Cities, and supported and built the "Day of Truth & Freedom - NO WORK - NO SCHOOL - NO SHOPPING". We mobilized a majority of our membership to be off of work on January 23rd - one quality assurance facility was completely closed (300 workers); a call center had 86% absent; a majority of workers in 20 retail stories we represent participated. We have had contingents at street actions and some of our members participate in anti-ICE neighborhood rapid response groups. One woman member was recently violently attacked while part of her neighborhood rapid response group confronting ICE during an abduction near her home. 

On January 23, a mass protest was organized under the slogan “NO WORK, NO SCHOOL, NO SHOPPING.” How did it go?

It was a huge accomplishment - tens of thousands of workers were absent from the job and up to 100,000 marched in -20 below zero fahrenheit degree weather. Earlier in the day a large action of workers and clergy temporarily shut down the MSP international airport - while direct action militants blockaded ICE at their HQ. In the aftermath - in what appears to be a clear act of retaliation - a union nurse at the veterans hospital [Alex Pretti] was executed in broad daylight while filming ICE in Minneapolis. This follows the similar murder of a queer stay-at-home-mom in her car [Renee Good] while she was protesting ICE - and as mentioned before a restaurant worker from Nicaragua who was abducted by I E in Minneapolis and sent to Texas where he died in a detention camp. Unions, community groups, and radical activists are discussing next steps - with a massive demo and two huge meetings both taking place today.  

Video interview (in English) with Kieran Knutson, president of the CWA 7250 union