From the Desk of the Vice President of CWA District 1

On January 23rd the first General Strike in the United States in more than 80 years was held across Minnesota, endorsed by many labor unions, including CWA Local 7250. The next day, we were confronted with devastating news that ICE agents in Minneapolis killed a peaceful protester, an act captured on video. The victim, Alex Pretti, was a VA nurse and a union member of AFGE Local 3669. He was serving as a legal observer, filming ICE agents—an activity that is fully protected under the Constitution and one our own members in District 1 have carried out.

This is a tense and frightening time, and such events understandably provoke strong and differing opinions within our diverse membership. Some may ask why our union should speak out at all. I respect the wide range of personal beliefs among us. At the same time, I firmly believe that our fight for workers—in the workplace, at the bargaining table, and as a labor movement—is inseparable from the fight for safe, healthy communities where people can live, work, raise families, and exercise their constitutional rights without fear, especially from government agencies. As a union, we believe in and fight for a strong democracy.

As healthcare costs rise, winter storms intensify, nurses continue to strike for safe staffing, and public dollars increasingly fund ICE operations, two Americans have now lost their lives while exercising their First Amendment rights—the same rights that make our collective action possible.

We may disagree on many issues, but we can agree that any loss of life is a tragedy. When a union sibling is killed while exercising protected rights, it hits close to home. I call on all of us to move forward in solidarity, grounded in compassion and shared purpose. When one of us is under attack, all of us are under attack—and together, we must stand up for one another.