They probably didn’t teach you this in school, but in 1934 Minneapolis Teamster coal drivers went on strike over falling wages and other workers and farmers joined them on the picket lines. The company owners responded with the usual collection of armed thugs known as the “Citizens Alliance” and Minneapolis Police. As the strike grew, on July 20th these thugs attacked the strikers in the warehouse district, killing two and wounding sixty seven. The good citizens of Minnesota were so upset that the funeral precession was at least ten kilometers long, simple math tells us that given the 10 meter or so width of Minneapolis streets, at least 50,000 came out to protest that cold blooded murder and demand justice.
Two months ago ICE invaded Minnesota in retaliation for our simply welcoming our immigrant neighbors. Piling on the stupidity, they responded to massive non violent protests by murdering mother of three Renee Good, then denied her medical care while helping the murderer escape. The protests grew, and ICE thugs only became more violent, wounding innocent bystanders and kidnapping 5 year old and even 2 year old children.
As the 1934 Teamsters strike grew and became a general strike the thugs and their business owner bosses became even more repressive, occupying strike headquarters and imprisoning strikers at the state fairgrounds. But the strike fed on repression, and the company owners finally surrendered and signed union contracts, making Minnesota a union stronghold. Today’s ICE OUT march and rally filled 20,000 seat Target Center with thousands more outside, even conservative media estimated the crowd at 50,000. That’s enough bodies to lay siege on ICE, chase them outa Minnesota, and keep our immigrants safe and fed in the meantime. ICE and Trump will retaliate, but just like 1934 we will win.
May they Rest In Power: Teamsters Henry Ness and John Belor, Philandro Castile, George Floyd, and Renee Good
Sassy Democrat 