“What Could We Win Together” Listening Session with Labor Journalist Hamilton Nolan

In March, thousands of Minnesota workers and community members came together around the question, What Could We Win Together? Unions and community groups showed their collective power through a week-long series of events ranging from forums and legislative hearings to rallies and pickets, including a civil disobedience action which briefly shut down traffic at Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport to call attention to airport workers’ demands for higher wages and a fair contract. This Week of Action resulted in many concrete wins for workers (details in this Minneapolis Labor Review recap). It also showed the world the power and potential of the kind of deep union/communty collaboration that we do so well here in Minnesota. 

In April, labor journalist Hamilton Nolan took time out from his book tour to hear from workers and organizers who were part of the Week of Action as well as the many months of planning and coordination beforehand. Nolan’s book, The Hammer, both praises and critiques the labor movement, and he calls on unions to be more engaged with workers and communities beyond their current membership. While Nolan’s agitations have ruffled some feathers in the labor movement, he has also won praise for shining a light on the kind of bold, inclusive worker organizing that Confluence also supports.

In a listening session co-hosted by Workers Confluence and Grassroots Power Project, participants in the Week of Action gathered at the offices of SEIU Local 26 to share their experiences of learning, connecting, and standing together. 

Organizers talked about the hard work of balancing so many organizations’ goals and expectations. More than one community group member said that their involvement with the Week of Action was their first real interaction with the labor movement, and they were eager for more. A union leader also shared how energizing participation has been for his members, who did not have a contract up for negotiation during the week. Standing in solidarity with other workers at the week’s various actions had them engaged and already fired up for their own looming contract fight next year. 

The 2024 Week of Action is the most recent outgrowth of a rich ecosystem of intersecting relationships. For more than 10 years, a growing list of Minnesota unions have been coming together with grassroots community organizations, in short-term and long-term configurations, to push for a Minnesota economy that works for everyone. Workers Confluence was developed as an ongoing piece of “connective tissue” to grow and maintain this ecosystem in between the major moments of escalation. Nolan’s visit provided a valuable opportunity to bring participants together to reflect on the recent Week of Action, and to explore where Minnesota fits into the broader landscape of worker justice movements nationwide.