St. Paul, MN – On May 25, Palestine solidarity activists gathered in the Minnesota state capitol for a press conference and rally to demand the State Board of Investment (SBI) divest public funds from a group of Israeli companies and bonds involved in the occupation of Palestine. The rally took place immediately before the SBI’s quarterly meeting, and was organized by Minnesota BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions) Community, a coalition of local organizations.
Tampa, FL – Over 50 Tampa community members attended their city council meeting May 26 to demand immediate action to address the housing crisis. People’s Council Tampa and Florida Rising mobilized to demand more funding for rental assistance, right to counsel for tenants, a landlord registry, and an office of tenant advocacy that would help tenants with legal issues around their leases or landlord.
St. Paul, MN – On May 26 at 9:45 a.m., more than 420 Planned Parenthood staff across the five-state North Central States Region of Planned Parenthood filed union cards with the NLRB signed by a majority of their coworkers seeking a union election to become members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa.
Los Angeles, CA – In a historic move, the Civilian Oversight Commission voted in favor of a resolution to support a charter amendment giving the LA Board of Supervisors, the Civilian Oversight Commission (COC) and Office of Inspector General stronger oversight of the LA County Sheriff's Department. The vote also included the ability of the Board of Supervisors to remove a Sheriff for misconduct. Members of Centro CSO, impacted families of police killings, Black Lives Matter-LA, the ACLU, and Check the Sheriffs Coalition joined the meeting and spoke in favor of the Board of Supervisors placing a November 2022 ballot measure to win community control over the LA County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Villanueva.
Los Angeles, CA – On May 21, over 50 people gathered in the city of Bellflower, in the southeastern region of LA county, to demand justice for Edgar Ortiz. Oritz, who was 32 years old, was shot and killed by a member of the LA County Lakewood Sheriff's Station on March 3, in front of his family, during a mental health crisis.
Baton Rouge, LA – On May 24 at 3 p.m., protesters held the floor of the Louisiana Capitol lobby to defend transgender youth. They demanded that Governor Edwards veto SB 44, a bill that would ban trans girls from playing sports. Republicans pushed the bill through the House and Senate with significant support from Democrats.
Appleton, WI – On May 14, Fox Valley Food Not Bombs, a coalition of progressive Appleton residents, and Appleton Students for Democratic Society (SDS) organized a rally to safeguard the reproductive rights of women and others capable of giving birth across the country. This event was held in response to a leaked Supreme Court majority draft, which concedes that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The event was attended by more than 20 people and it was directed by various speakers, all of whom are directly affected by the ongoing crisis.
Appleton, WI – On Saturday, May 21, the family of Jimmie Sanders – a man murdered by Appleton police in May 2017 – alongside Fox Valley Food Not Bombs, Appleton SDS, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and United Action Oshkosh organized a rally and march to bring attention to the case, and to crowdfund for the Jimmie Sanders legal team.
Minneapolis, MN – At 6 a.m. Tuesday, May 24, mental health workers at three Minneapolis area hospitals walked off the job and went on a one-day strike. All three groups of workers organized and formed unions with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa (SEIU HCMN&IA) since September of 2021. Now they are fighting for their first contracts. They decided to do a joint one-day strike to show management that they are serious and united and will fight to win real improvements in their first union contract.
Denver, CO – En jueves, el 19 de mayo se reunió una reunión de la Junta Directiva de las Escuelas Públicas de Denver con protestas de estudiantes y miembros de la comunidad que se indignaron por el reciente despido del querido profesor de inglés Chicano Tim Hernández.
