December 11, 2025

SEIU Local 26 and UNITE HERE Local 17 organized the protest, joined by airport workers wearing Airport Workers United hats and community supporters. Additional co-sponsors included Jewish Community Action, Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance, the interfaith group ISAIAH, SEIU MN State Council, Indivisible Twin Cities, Women’s March Minnesota, Minnesota AFL-CIO, Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, and 50501: Minnesota.

The crowd marched from the terminal to the offices of Signature Aviation — a private aviation terminal used by some private charter planes for deportation flights.

Geof Paquette, lead internal organizer for UNITE HERE Local 17, opened a short rally, saying, “The labor movement is proud to be here today with members of our community to fight for immigrant rights.” He noted that both his union and SEIU Local 26 are largely composed of immigrant workers who “make the airport run” and generate millions in profits for airline companies. Food-service workers in the terminal, he added, recently voted to strike ahead of the busiest travel days of the year; their action prompted the Metropolitan Airports Commission to grant the largest pay increases ever won at the airport.