Response to New York Times Story on Federal Investigations in Minnesota

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham made the following statement in response to a New York Times report naming the labor federation as part of the Justice Department’s unhinged conspiracy theory relating to the unjust prosecution of 15 Minnesotans and their actions during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota:

“Instead of holding federal agents accountable for shooting and killing Renée Good and our union brother Alex Pretti, or addressing the dangerous and deadly conditions within immigration detention facilities, the Trump administration continues to weaponize our federal government to intimidate our unions, our communities, and anyone who peacefully opposes their radical authoritarian agenda.

“The Minnesota AFL-CIO and several of our affiliated unions are being targeted simply because our state’s Labor Movement stood in solidarity with our immigrant union members and neighbors when our state was under siege this past winter.

“Minnesotans and most people across our country have rejected this administration’s attempts to demonize immigrants. They are now bringing back McCarthyism to paint unions and organizations that advocate for workers and families as threats to the nation.

“It didn’t work in the 1950s when Joseph McCarthy accused anyone he didn’t like of being unamerican and it won’t work for Donald Trump. The Labor Movement was instrumental in creating America’s middle class and we will not let any attack distract us from continuing our work to improve the lives of working people.”