type: timeline_event
Minnesota witnessed its largest general strike in nearly a century as tens of thousands of workers walked off the job and took to the streets to protest Trump administration immigration enforcement and the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent. The strike, organized by a coalition of 90 organizations including the Minnesota AFL-CIO, major unions, and community groups, saw over 700 businesses close across the state despite temperatures of minus 20°F with wind chills reaching minus 35°F.
The strike featured major actions across the Twin Cities: over 1,000 people picketed Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport with approximately 100 arrests; protesters barricaded the Whipple Detention Center (ICE's Minneapolis headquarters) for over two hours; and community defense networks coordinated rapid-response support throughout neighborhoods. The action built upon organizing infrastructure established during the 2020 George Floyd uprising.
Solidarity actions spread to at least 300 cities across the United States and Ireland, making this the largest coordinated labor action in response to federal immigration enforcement in American history. Payday Report tracked solidarity events nationwide on an interactive map as the movement spread. Labor organizers announced plans for a nationwide general strike on May Day 2026.
Key participating unions included Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, SEIU Local 26, UNITE HERE Local 17, Communications Workers of America Local 7250, Minneapolis Federation of Educators, and Saint Paul Federation of Educators. CWA Local 7250 president Kieran Knutson served as a key spokesperson. The strike represented a watershed moment in American labor history, demonstrating that mass coordinated action against federal enforcement remains possible despite decades of declining union density.