Northwoods Socialist Collective

Homeland Security investigators secretly recorded conversations, infiltrated Signal chats and obtained financial records for labor unions and progressive groups as part of a wide-ranging surveillance effort during Operation Metro Surge, according to court documents filed Thursday morning.  The documents , first reported by The New York Times, were filed by a defense attorney in the federal case against 15 Minnesotans accused of conspiracy to impede or injure a federal agent. The feds’ surveillance programs, dubbed “Operation Puppet Master” and “Operation Whipple Shield,” go far beyond the 15 people indicted.  Homeland Security agents used administrative subpoenas — subpoenas issued by the federal agency rather than a judge — to obtain financial records from organizations including the labor unions Service Employees International Union and Communications Workers of America; Voices for Racial Justice, a longstanding racial justice training organization; and Sun...

In recent decades, while country music has been homogenized and made safe for suburbanite consumption, Dolly Parton stood out. In a genre that’s rife with phony tough guys and bro country fantasies about “girls,” trucks, and beer, Dolly’s contribution to country is unparalleled. One of my first thoughts when I heard she was gone from this world was a lyric from the Ray Wylie Hubbard song, Conversation with the Devil , “What you won’t find up in Heaven are Christian Coalition right-wing conservatives, country program directors, and Nashville record executives.” Dolly Parton died of cancer on Aug. 25. She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Carl Dean, in March 2025. Dolly started writing songs in high school with her uncle and mentor, Bill Owens, himself a country music songwriter and performer. When Dolly was 10 years old, Owens arranged her first live radio performance on the “Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour” in Knoxville, Tenn. Shortly after her graduation, Dolly and...

 The City of Duluth has announced that it will not be renewing its contract with Flock when it expires on September 7.  Flock is a private corporation that installs surveillance cameras in communities and then sells the data.  The Duluth Police Department had been using its Flock contract for reading license plates. The announcement comes on the heals of a growing public backlash against increased government surveillance, and the abuse of this technology (for example, there have numerous documented instances of police around the country stalking their exes with these cameras).  Citizens have turned out at city council meetings, and some even took matters into their own hands and destroyed six of Flock's nine cameras in Duluth.  Similar waves of camera destruction have taken place in Winona MN and Milwaukee WI recently. Back in July, after a similar community outpouring of opposition, the Minneapolis City Council opted not to sign a contract with the Israeli comp...

A broad coalition of civil society groups responded with a call to unity in the face of reports that the Trump administration’s Department of Justice may have investigated without reason and engaged in surveillance of community and labor groups who helped organize tens of thousands of Minnesotans to peacefully defend their neighbors and constitutional rights during the lawless, chaotic ICE and CBP operation that terrorized countless Minnesotans. These organizations were engaged in the broad, peaceful civic response that brought hundreds of thousands of us together to protect our neighbors and our constitutional rights. Amid the continued weaponization of the Justice Department, we still have zero accountability for the ICE and CBP agents who terrorized countless Minnesotans and murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti in broad daylight. Even then, they tried to lie about what happened despite video evidence. Today, groups representing Minnesotans across parties and places, rac...

This past Wednesday, student and community activists came together to for a panel discussion on campus organizing.  This was the first in a series of online meetings designed for college and high school activists from the Northwoods to come together to network, talk about their experiences and share lessons from their organizing.  This first panel featured students from the Changemakers Club at Lake Superior College and from the LatinX Student Union at the College of St. Scholastica.  It was chaired by a student from the University of MN and questions and comments were shared from community activists from the Northwoods Socialist Collective (who hosted the event), Duluth UNIDIOS and Veterans for Peace. Sam from LSC Changemakers gave a how to guide on how they set up this new club, along with useful tips about how campus groups can make decisions and keep everyone informed.  He also summarized the groups work around raising funds and awareness about the WE Health Cent...

 On July 30, approximately 250 workers and community members picketed in front of Essentia Health's St. Mary Hospital in Duluth from 1 to 6pm.  The informational picket was organized by United Steelworkers Local 9460, and was held as part of their contract fight over Essentia on behalf of 850+ tech workers.  Below is a statement by the union's negotiating committee that summarizes where negotiations are at.  The union and company are slated to go back to the table in early August, with the assistance of a federal mediator. Union statement: Some of you will ask: if mediation is coming, why picket first? Here's the answer. A mediator has no authority to impose terms on anyone. What moves negotiations is both sides arriving ready to settle — and Essentia understanding that our members are united behind our proposals. We picket before mediation so that message arrives ahead of us. Where wages stand. We opened at 7% per year. We are now at 4.5% per year, with full ...