We Stand in Solidarity with the Michigan 12: A Pledge of Support by Workers, Labor Unions, and Community Organizations

We Stand in Solidarity with the Michigan 12
A Pledge of Support by Workers, Labor Unions, and Community Organizations

Sign pledge here: https://tinyurl.com/SignM8LaborPledge

We, the undersigned workers, labor unions, and community organizations, stand in solidarity with the Michigan 12: Palestine solidarity activists connected to activism at the University of Michigan who have been indicted by the Justice Department on ludicrous charges, including “conspiracy to transmit a threat” and “conspiracy to tamper with a witness.” The actions alleged in the indictment amount to property damage, directed at entities complicit in the genocide in Palestine or the repression of the Palestine solidarity movement, which the Justice Department portrays as terrorism. The defendants now potentially face decades in prison even though they haven’t been charged with either “terrorism” or even property damage, but “conspiracy” charges that boil down to “communication” (sending messages). We reject the federal government’s narrative, and understand this case to be part of a broader wave of repression against protest and free speech.

This attack is also an attack on workers. The federal government is currently targeting the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO), a pro-Palestinian labor union at the University of Michigan involved in defending the Michigan 12. On August 11, 2026, the federal government served a grand jury subpoena to GEO requesting lists of current and former union members, meeting minutes, and other union records dating back to 2023. This came shortly after the University of Michigan Police Department and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit unsuccessfully attempted to prosecute the president of GEO on spurious charges of “embezzlement” and “false pretenses.” The original subpoena was dated August 6, 2026, the same day the charges against GEO’s president were dismissed by the court.

The federal government’s current offensive against GEO resembles their attacks against the anti-ICE movement in Minnesota, following the killing of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in January 2026. In Minnesota, the Department of Homeland Security infiltrated, surveilled, and used subpoenas to obtain several years’ worth of financial records of the Service Employees International Union and the Communications Workers of America. The individuals who so far have been singled out by the government, the Minnesota 15, face potentially decades in prison just like the Michigan 12.

Because an injury to one is an injury to all, we recognize that all our struggles as workers are connected. We are therefore proud to stand in solidarity with the Michigan 12 and pledge to contribute towards their legal defense fund to the best of our ability.

Signed,

[11/9/2026: letter updated to reflect that Michigan 8 are now Michigan 12. Signatories will be updated in the next week]

Organizations

City Colleges of Chicago Anti-Fascist Committee

UIC GEO Local 6297

New Labor Organizing Committee

NYU GSOC-UAW 7902

Partisan Defense Committee

Michigan General Defense Committee

Ypsilanti Industrial Workers of the World

GEO AFT-MI Local 3550 Solidarity & Political Action Committee