When federal immigration raids went from brutal to deadly in Minneapolis, the epicenter of Trump’s escalating war on immigrants and Blue cities, residents responded with coordinated “no work, no school, no shopping” shutdowns that drew tens of thousands into the streets there and around the country. It wasn’t technically a general strike — but it demonstrated how unions, clergy, and community networks could create the organizing infrastructure to transform outrage into collective power, building a movement and a new strike culture.
We explore how all this happened and what organizers believe comes next with labor journalist Luis Feliz Leon and President of Minneapolis CWA Local 7250 Kieran Knutson, who bring us stories of daily life under ICE occupation. Feliz Leon situates this Minneapolis moment in the history and theory of mass strikes. Knutson explains the role of mutual aid, the strategic targeting of corporations, and the push toward a worker assembly to shape the next steps. They show how ordinary people organized democratically to vanquish fear, turning moral shock into power.
Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.
