Reflections on Organizing During and After Operation Metro Surge

The Work Continues

In spite of recent announcements of a drawdown, we know that ICE presence continues to be felt across the state. We know that our communities will need time, support, and resources to recover from all we’ve been through. And we know that our partners will continue to protect and organize in unprecedented ways. Here are few examples:

• Worker centers’ organizing is prompting employers in the construction, restaurant, and meatpacking industries to change their practices to protect their workers. 
• Local unions have not only raised their voices, but have organized a pioneering rapid-response effort to support workers within and outside of unions, again.

Emerging Insights

As a resource hub and strategy table whose mission is to build a strong worker justice ecosystem across sectors, the Workers Confluence Fund of MN has a unique bird’s-eye view. Looking ahead, these emerging insights from this crisis can inform a path to reimagine and restructure what is needed for a better future for workers.  

1. Building bridges between workers is essential. The past few months have shown the power of workers understanding that their fates are intertwined, no matter where they were born or what their status may be. What is clear across all our partners is that the work of educating workers on their rights and shared interests needs to deepen and widen. This is the most critical path to build durable worker power and strengthen unity.  Across industries and communities, education, organizing and engagement helped connect those dots for many workers by challenging divisive, dominant narratives and strengthening shared understanding. 
2. Minnesota and the Midwest remain a bellwether for worker power and democracy nationwide. It’s no coincidence that the events of the last three months unfolded in Minnesota. Worker organizations here built real power in a region that has long shaped the strength of the middle class and our democracy. Leaders across the Midwest coordinated strategy, shared learning and aligned their response in real time. Continued investment in regional infrastructure, cross-state organizing (in Milwaukee and Seattle) and long-term capacity will help sustain this progress. Confluence and the LIFT Fund recently launched the Midwest Worker Power Fund to advance this mission.
3. Corporate engagement is key to making change, and worker organizing is key to corporate engagement. During the enforcement surge, as we held Target and other corporations accountable for inaction and cowering, there were restaurant owners, landlords, and other employers who turned to worker centers and unions for guidance on how to protect workers and their families. This has opened the door to ongoing engagement not just on immigration, but around worker voice and labor standards. In a testament to the power of workers, over 1,000 businesses joined days of action and landlords reached out in support, revealing unexpected alliances and real trust that can be built upon for the future.

Stay Involved

The acute phase of this crisis may be over, but Workers Confluence is committed to supporting Minnesota organizing for the long haul. We will continue to respond, learn, and reimagine. We invite you to stay in relationship with us in the following ways:

• Sign up for our newsletters here.
• Contact us to learn more about our Reimagine and Restructure campaign to raise $1.5 million to support a power-building infrastructure that will advance an inclusive, working class agenda in the next three years. Reach out to Casey Hudek at casey@minneapolisunions.org or 612-913-6743
• Follow and support our grantees directly:
  • Awood Center
  • Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL)
  • Greater MN Worker Center
  • Kids Count on Us, a program of ISAIAH
  • New Justice Project
  • Restaurant Opportunities Center of MN