St. Paul, MN – On Friday, March 21, the otherwise obscure Minnesota Retirement Systems building was guarded by dozens of state troopers who blocked entrances to the parking lot. More troopers manned the building entrance, screening bags and limiting entry to only a few dozen members of the public. Inside the small conference room where the State Board of Investment (SBI)’s quarterly meeting was to be held, more troopers along with plainclothes security lined the entire perimeter.

These extraordinary measures were the SBI’s latest attempt to demoralize and discourage members of the public from calling on it to divest the billions of state funds it manages from Israel and companies enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The attempted intimidation failed. Despite the show of force by law enforcement and arbitrary new restrictions on public comments, dozens of Palestine supporters showed up to deliver testimony and show support for divestment.

The SBI’s decision to limit the number of people in the meeting room backfired spectacularly. Most of the divestment advocates found themselves shut out of the building, but just steps away from the windows of the ground-floor room where the meeting was held. The crowd quickly morphed into an impromptu protest, with chants of “Free free Palestine” and “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest!” clearly audible through the entire meeting.

The SBI is composed of its chair, Governor Tim Walz, along with Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Auditor Julie Blaha and Secretary of State Steve Simon. According to the watchdog site DivestMN.com, out of $146 billion total in managed assets, the SBI invests approximately $5.4 billion in entities complicit in Israel’s apartheid regime. That figure includes investments in weapons manufacturers, Israeli banks that fund illegal settlement construction in occupied Palestine, and even Israel Bonds, which directly fund the state of Israel.

Abir Ismael is a Minneapolis public school teacher and member of Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59. “My pension was part of the demolition of almost every educational institution in Gaza. My pension was used to burn children alive,” she told the SBI. “I demand that my pension be divested from companies complicit in the murder of children.”

Several members of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), a labor union representing state workers, also testified.

“We’re here to remind you that we, the state workers of Minnesota, will not tolerate the investment of our pension funds in these violations of human rights,” said Tracy Waterman, a state Department of Natural Resources employee represented by MAPE. “We haven’t forgotten that Governor Walz once said the situation in Gaza is intolerable, and he was right. It was intolerable then, and it’s intolerable now, this week, as we’re hearing news that Israel has broken its ceasefire and launched new airstrikes on Gaza.”

“Our pension funds were divested from apartheid in 1985; we can, and we must do it again, now,” Waterman added. In 1985, the SBI passed a resolution initiating broad divestment from any corporations deemed to be supporting the apartheid system in South Africa.

Naveen Borojerdi, another state employee and MAPE member, asked the SBI, “With the investments that we have in Israel, and arms manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Israeli weapons companies like Elbit systems, in the case that what we’re seeing in the Middle East turns into a global energy war, how much of the portfolio potentially becomes affected by that?”

In a powerful moment, city of Minneapolis worker and Minneapolis Professional Employees Association union member Alison Thorson yielded her remaining time for a moment of silence. The SBI was forced to sit through minutes of nothing but the sound of protesters chanting outside the building.

The SBI meeting adjourned immediately after the public comments, with no response from the board members. Afterwards, the testifiers joined with the protesters outside for a press conference and rally.

“Within the structure of settler-colonialism, indigenous people are seen as a demographic problem. Therefore Israel is engaged in an extermination campaign,” Kalani Matus, indigenous Hawaiian and member of the Twin Cities-based Climate Justice Committee, told the crowd.

Many speakers highlighted the Trump administration’s recent attacks on pro-Palestine immigrants, making divestment from Israel a potential route for Minnesota leaders to fight for civil rights. “Palestine is a civil rights cause,” said Matus. “It’s becoming more and more apparent to everybody that anti-Palestinian repression is the tip of the spear when it comes to removing our freedom of speech.”

On March 8, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents abducted and initiated deportation proceedings against Mahmoud Khalil, an activist involved in the Palestine protests at Columbia University in New York, despite him being a lawful permanent resident of the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleged that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,” without providing evidence.

Speakers underscored that the growing tactics of intimidation and repression could not stop the divest movement. “This is going to be a long fight,” said Barry Kleider of Jewish Voice for Peace. “But I’ve learned a lesson from my sisters and brothers fighting for gay marriage. What we’re asking for, what we’re fighting for, is going to be impossible – until it’s inevitable.”

The next SBI meeting, as of press time, is scheduled for May 22 at 10 a.m., with the location yet to be announced. In the meantime, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee has called for a community march to say no to Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan for Gaza, on Saturday, March 29 at 1 p.m., beginning at the northwest corner of Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis.

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #MFT #MAPE #MNAWC

Saint Paul, MN – 110 members of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators Local 28 (SPFE) gathered on Monday, November 25 for a member meeting in which a vote was held for the union local to sign on to a letter urging President Biden to enact an arms embargo on Israel and work towards a ceasefire in Gaza, and to put pressure on their national union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to do the same.

SPFE’s Progressive Caucus first introduced this resolution in October. With 55% voting in favor, the resolution passed.

Seven national unions, including the National Education Association (NEA) and the United Auto Workers (UAW), and locals including the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59 (MFT) and the MN Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), have signed onto the public letter named in the SPFE resolution.

During the meeting SPFE members highlighted how the United States government is using tax dollars to help carry out a genocide while schools remain critically underfunded. Members brought attention to the government funding of Lockheed Martin which is assisting the genocide in Gaza as well as the anti-immigrant violence on the U.S./Mexico border.

One member shared, “We have a responsibility to use the power our union holds to push our lawmakers to stop arming a genocide and stop funding companies like Lockheed Martin who profit from suffering.”

Another member noted that they advocate for an arms embargo to interrupt a cycle of violence and “to show students in our district that when leaders break promises, other adults will stand up for them.”

Some members suggested that the Progressive Caucus and supporters of the resolution only cared about the genocide in Palestine because it is “trendy” to do so. Others speaking out against the resolution criticized the newly-formed caucus for not bringing resolutions forth on other international issues. Some argued against the resolution on the grounds that LGBTQ+ Palestinians are persecuted in Gaza, to which members responded by sharing the experiences of queer Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

Members speaking against the resolution also suggested that the resolution would cause Jewish students and teachers to feel unsafe in Saint Paul Public Schools, falsely equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism and suggesting that a critique of a state government is the same as hatred towards a national or ethnic group.

Elowyn Pfeiffer, a social studies teacher, shared, “Our union is our source of power as working people. Through our solidarity, we fight injustice.”

As unions have proven throughout history, working class solidarity with oppressed people across the world furthers the power that a union has to fight for change locally. SPFE’s solidarity with the people of Palestine is a lever for change in Saint Paul schools.

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Teachers #MFT #MAPE

St. Paul, MN – MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, is an independent union representing approximately 15,000 employees of the State of Minnesota. At their October 26 delegate assembly, MAPE approved a resolution titled “Supporting a Ceasefire and Divestment in Israel-Palestine.” It included strong steps towards divesting both MAPE and Minnesota’s State Board of Investments (SBI) from apartheid Israel. The MAPE Ceasefire Caucus organizing team had conversations with nearly every delegate over the last six weeks in preparation for the vote, which ended up with 82 for, 49 against, with 17 abstaining.

The text calls for the creation of a Pension Divestment task force within MAPE to research the best ways to get the SBI to divest – looking at legislative avenues as well as through connecting to other public sector unions. The task force plans to “...support legislation requiring the SBI to divest MAPE pension contributions from such entities, including drafting model legislation, identifying potential legislative sponsors, and including such legislation in any lobbying efforts, such as MAPE Lobby Day.”

The resolution also calls for MAPE’s board of directors and executive committee to “...issue a statement in favor of a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine, and call upon the SBI to divest MAPE pension contributions from foreign governments, institutions, weapons manufacturers, firms, corporations and other similar entities which commission, provide material assistance to, or profit from, the commission or maintenance of violations of international law and human rights.” As far as MAPE itself, it must “...immediately divest any of its own funds from such entities.”

These steps towards divestment align with a growing movement among labor groups advocating for the cessation of all U.S. aid to Israel and supporting the liberation of Palestine. Notably, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), International Union of Painters (IUPAT), National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Auto Workers (UAW), United Electrical Workers (UE), and Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) have signed a letter to President Biden calling for an arms embargo against apartheid Israel. These unions represent a combined 6 million members, almost half of the United States’ 14 million unionized workers.

This demand is being made with historical precedent, as the Minnesota State Board of Investment voted in 1985 to divest from the apartheid state of South Africa.

#StPaulMN #MN #Labor #AntiWarMovement #MAPE #Palestine

St Paul, MN – On Oct.1, 28,000 members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) started striking for better health benefits and wage increases. This is the largest public employee strike in MN state history, and one of the most prolonged strikes of public workers in U.S. history.

Melinda McGowan, AFSCME revenue examiner worker for 4 years, states, “The workers are tired of not being respected by the state. AFSCME wanted a 5% wage increase while the state offered 3%. Even if they gave a 10% raise, the health benefit package that the workers would have to pay into would just eat the raise away. MN used to be the employer of choice, but not anymore. We took a wage freeze in the early 90's; knowing when the economy rebounds, we would be compensated. Now it's our turn. As for the state claiming they have no money, I watched as the state surplus checks were being mailed out, yet now they can't even give us a raise that equals inflation.”

A statement from AFSCME Council 6 and MAPE reads, “State government is in the best financial situation in a generation. The Governor proudly talks about making state government an 'employer of choice'. The Department of Economic Security proudly reports that Minnesotans in general have had a wage and salary gain of over 50% in the last 10 years.”

The story was different in the early 1990's. Governor Carlson came into office in the midst of a recession. Negotiations in both 1991 and 1993 were difficult. In the 1991 contract, state employees took pay increases that trailed inflation. In the 1993 contract, state employees took a one-year wage freeze. At the same time, agencies saw their staffing levels reduced because of systematic underfunding. In those tough times, state employees took their fair share and more of the pain. Deborah Bloom a 13-year claims examiner, said, “In 1993, we took a wage freeze, because Minnesota's economy wasn't doing well. Now that our economy is fine, we need to be compensated for our sacrifice.”

Now, in agency after agency, the state cannot fill positions because it is no longer a competitive employer. MN Department of Transportation (MNDOT) snowplows sat in their truck stations because the state could not hire drivers to take them on the road. Veterans' homes and Department of Human Services group homes are seeing a constant turnover of direct care workers because the state cannot recruit or retain workers to care for the state's most needy citizens.

This strike will be hard fought. The state is hiring 'temporary workers' and bringing out the National Guard to try to keep the work of the state government going. Christine Lanphear, a Minnesota Zoo naturalist for 15 years, said, “At the zoo, they are hiring some replacement workers and we aren't happy about it.”

Healthcare

Minnesota state government got on top of health insurance costs in the 1990's. AFSCME was a partner in driving down health care increases, some years actually reducing premiums. In the last two years, all those gains have evaporated, as we see runaway health care inflation. The unions see no proposals from the state to address underlying cost problems – only proposals to shift costs onto people.

Jan Carlson, director of Region 8 of MAPE, explains the health proposal, “The State is trying to control costs of health care. The new proposal has three levels of care, and the State wants employees to pick the cheapest plan. However, if you want better clinics and care, then they have to pay more of the cost. The principal reason for insurance is sharing the risk and the cost for all, especially when some people get really sick. The unions are willing to accept some co-pays, but they are uncomfortable with the doubling of prescriptions drugs.”

Victoria Sharoyer, worker for 7 years in the Department of Transportation, states, “Jesse [Ventura]'s idea of being a big man is hitting sick people. With the proposed health care plan that the state is offering, people will pay up to $4,000 more per year for their benefits.”

Privatization

Privatization remains a constant threat. The legislature agreed to place limits on the ability of state agencies to contract out, but the administration is ignoring them. The MN Department of Transportation proposes major expansions in 'design and build' – a fancy word for contracting out the work done by AFSCME members in Design, Surveys, and Inspection. MN State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU) colleges continue efforts to contract out childcare and food service operations – even though the AFSCME workers already barely have a living wage.

Wages

State and university employees have lost over 4% in real wages since 1987. The Governor's budget contains less than 3% each year to cover all the costs of negotiated agreements. The Governor's budget estimates that half of the new money will be eaten away by health insurance increases. According to Christine Lanphear, “The issues are benefits and needing cost of living adjustments. These issues have been a long-term problem. For ten years, we had just the minimal increases in wages.”

Deborah Bloom, who works as a claims examiner, says that those who process social security, disability, and medical claims have seen their caseloads go up without the hiring of adequate numbers of staff. “We just had a training class of 6 new people. Knowing about all the work that is involved with claims and with a starting salary about $20,000 a year, it's hard to keep people.”

State workers are upset and dismayed in the way Governor Jesse Ventura is handling the strike – especially the people who voted for him. They describe Ventura's new and 'final offer' of a proposed contract, which has the possibility of layoffs in the future, as a “scare tactic.”

“Even though Jesse wasn't the governor with the last strike in 1987, he now can't come in here and say 'That was in the past-I have nothing to do with that.' Well, he inherited the history of our struggle and it's his job now to negotiate with us,” said Chris Kline, a zoologist 15 years. “We don't have a vendetta against the zoo but we need to take care of our families. We are here to support our co-workers who don't make as much as I do. My issue is about the health benefits.”

A striker at the Department of Revenue echoed this sentiment, “Tell me when was the last time Jesse ever made a sacrifice or had to bite the bullet?”

Gene Fish, Department of Revenue worker, stated “Insurance. People need insurance. This issue has been around forever. Ten years ago, we fought for this issue. People need to be paid a living wage and able to get insurance. I'll be here striking for as long as it takes.”

The timing of the strike

The strikers say that this administration is using the tragedy at the World Trade Center to their advantage, by not paying the workers what they are worth. Michael Jackson, an 11-year electrician at the zoo, said, “The airplane industry is capitalizing on the tragedy in New York and Washington by getting money from the federal government to save their business. Now the state of Minnesota is doing the same thing in not giving us what we deserve. If the state wants to retain good and loyal workers, they need to compensate us.” The unions already delayed their strike date once, from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1.

#Minnesota #MN #News #AFSCMECouncil6 #MAPE