Teamsters strike Minnesota paper mill

Vol. 87/No. 29 - August 7, 2023

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — Teamsters Local 346 members and supporters rallied and picketed outside the UPM Blandin paper mill here July 21. The 180 union members went on strike July 15 over a divisive two-tier system for wages and benefits,…


Teamsters mount ‘practice’ pickets in fight for UPS contract

Vol. 87/No. 26 - July 17, 2023
Teamsters participate in “practice” picketing in Farmingville, New York, June 30. Similar actions took place in other states as union prepares for strike when contract expires July 31.

MINNEAPOLIS — Some 30 members of Teamsters Local 638 and their supporters rallied in a “practice” strike picket in front of the West Broadway Avenue UPS facility here June 30. UPS drivers joined in on their way to work, alongside…


Forum protests FBI attacks on constitutional freedoms

Vol. 87/No. 22 - June 5, 2023
Minneapolis Militant Labor Forum May 20 protests government, FBI attacks on political rights. From left, Kevin Dwire, SWP; Cynthia Wilson, Minneapolis NAACP president; chair Gabrielle Prosser, SWP candidate for City Council; Leah Fifield, Uhuru Solidarity Movement.

MINNEAPOLIS — Some 30 people attended a Militant Labor Forum here May 20, “Oppose Government Spying and Harassment; Defend Political Freedoms Under Assault.” The speakers were Leah Fifield, from the Uhuru Solidarity Movement; Cynthia Wilson, president of the Minneapolis NAACP;…


Derailment, evacuation in Minnesota

Vol. 87/No. 15 - April 17, 2023
Pile of burnt cars on BNSF Railway train hauling highly flammable ethanol that derailed in Raymond, Minnesota, March 30. Over 800 people live there, many are tied to farming.

RAYMOND, Minn. — In the early morning hours of March 30 a BNSF train derailed a mile south of here, putting 22 cars, including a number loaded with highly flammable ethanol, on the ground. Over 800 people live in the…



Striking Ingredion bakery workers fight boss threats

Vol. 86/No. 39 - October 24, 2022

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Twenty-five people, members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 100G, and strike supporters, walked the picket line in front of the Ingredion plant here Oct. 6. The local’s 200 members have been on…


Minnesota health care workers strike 3 days over wages, safety

Vol. 86/No. 39 - October 24, 2022

MINNEAPOLIS — Health care workers here carried out a three-day strike Oct. 3-5 aimed at pressuring bosses at Abbott Northwestern and Mercy Hospital-Unity Campus, both part of Allina Health, to meet their demands for higher wages, better benefits, and safety…


Ingredion workers rally, win wide support in Iowa strike

Vol. 86/No. 34 - September 19, 2022
Sept. 1 rally of Ingredion workers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on strike since Aug. 1. Some 122 members of Bakery Workers union Local 100G are fighting bosses to win contract gains.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Nearly 200 strikers, family members, fellow unionists and community supporters marched and rallied at the Ingredion plant here Sept. 1. The 122 members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 100G at Ingredion have…


Minneapolis Starbucks workers strike for hiring, union contract

Vol. 86/No. 30 - August 15, 2022
Workers picket Starbucks at Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis Aug. 1, second day of two-day strike over low wages and understaffing. Workers had recently voted to unionize the store.

MINNEAPOLIS — Some 25 workers in a south Minneapolis Starbucks went on strike, picketing on Cedar Avenue South here for two days starting July 31. The bosses were forced to close the store for both days as all the workers…


SWP candidates in Minneapolis speak out against antisemitic flyers

Vol. 86/No. 27 - July 25, 2022

Socialist Workers Party candidates in Minnesota issued a statement July 5 answering vile antisemitic leaflets distributed anonymously in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, near Talmud Torah’s Newman elementary school. The rightist leaflet was headlined “Every Single Aspect of…