The Freedom Socialist Party is encouraging supporters to participate in and promote a labor action planned for this Friday by a group of Minneapolis-area unions, touting the effort as a turning point for the working class and publishing a list of ways members can assist.
On January 16, the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, along with several other regional labor groups, issued a statement endorsing a January 23 action they are calling the “Day of Truth and Freedom.” In their joint letter, organizers called for a statewide halt to work, school, and shopping in response to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota.
Federal immigration enforcement activity in the state has increased in recent weeks as part of the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge, which it launched in December. The letter states that such ICE activity has affected union members, workplaces, and families through detentions and disruptions to work and school routines.
The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, which says it represents more than 175 affiliated unions and over 80,000 workers across seven counties in the Minneapolis area, along with other participating labor groups, is demanding that ICE leave Minnesota. The demands also call for the agent responsible for the January 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good to be held legally accountable, for ICE to lose future federal funding and be investigated for human and constitutional rights violations, and for Minnesotan businesses to cease economic cooperation with the agency.
In its own January 21 statement, the Freedom Socialist Party called on its members and supporters to back the planned action, referring to it as a “general strike.” The party said the action was gaining momentum across Minnesota since its announcement, including plans for a mass march scheduled for the afternoon.
“That Minnesota unions are acting with such commitment on the principle that ‘an injury to one is an injury to all’ is a welcome and heartening development,” the party stated. “Let’s do what we can to support what has the potential to be a turning point for the multinational U.S. working class.”
The party also produced a list of ways supporters could participate in the effort, regardless of whether they belong to a union. It encouraged union members to push their central labor councils to endorse stop-work actions, even as brief as ten minutes, where participants could wave signs and blow whistles. It further urged labor councils to hold press conferences publicizing their support.
For supporters outside organized labor, the party suggested coordinated workplace actions, letters of solidarity sent to Minneapolis and local media outlets, outreach to students and campus groups, and public demonstrations such as sign-waving.
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