As Minnesota general strike looms, employers prepare

On Friday the state of Minnesota will be closed.

Protestors in the North Star State are gearing up for a general strike that day, asking residents to forgo attending school, work aside from emergency services, and shopping in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the state, particularly the Twin Cities region.

The strike, called “ICE Out of Minnesota,” comes amid a surge of ICE detainments in the area—including a five-year-old boy returning home from school and a US citizen who was taken from his home shirtless after agents broke into it—as well as increased clashes between federal agents and protestors following the shooting and killing of 37-year-old mother Renee Good by an ICE agent. Protestors have made several demands, including that ICE leave the state and be cut off from federal funding, that the officer who killed Good be “held legally accountable,” and that businesses cease cooperation with the agency.

Mike Logan, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber, told HR Brew he has heard a mix of opinions on the strike from business owners, including those who are concerned about the disruptions from absences, and those who are planning to close in solidarity.

More than 500 businesses, primarily small- to medium-sized organizations, in the area plan to close on Friday in support of the strike, according to local outlet Bring Me The News, while others pledged to take alternative actions in solidarity that day. HR Brew contacted several large employers in the state, including Target, UnitedHealth, and 3M, inquiring about their plans should they see employee absences on Friday, but did not receive a response ahead of publication.

Logan said the Chamber itself doesn’t “particularly love the idea” of the strike and “find it somewhat ironic that there will be this act of solidarity that in real terms and real impact, actually hurts the economy more and potentially hurts small- and mid-sized employers at a time when they can least afford it.” But he also acknowledged that the surge of ICE activity in the area, which has left many on high alert and even afraid to leave their homes, has also hurt the region’s economy.

“There is agreement on the part of whether you’re labor or business trade group organizations, that the ICE surge has not been good for the economy, ergo not good for small business, ergo not good for employees,” Logan said.

Beyond tomorrow’s strike, business organizations in the area are providing resources to employers that are navigating increased ICE activity in the region. For example, ahead of the strike, the Minneapolis Regional Chamber hosted a webinar with American Business Immigration Council providing guidance to employers on their rights with their employees and customers should they have an encounter with ICE or Border Patrol agents. Business organizations, including the Chamber and Minneapolis Downtown Council, also told HR Brew that more resources will be available on their websites in the coming days.