Future Forward: How Collective Pressure on Corporations Works

On January 26, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) introduced the “Defund the Oligarchs, Fund the People Resolution” legislation, calling on Congress to end corporate tax breaks, subsidies, and federal contracts for billionaires and instead invest in the working class.

A few days later, I attended a national organizing call, hosted by Our Revolution — an independent organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders — which is backing the resolution, to explain its demands, its supporting research, and how it informs 2026 electoral strategy.

During the last election cycle, Donald Trump’s top donors in the crypto, oil and gas, and deportation industries collectively spent $700 million dollars supporting MAGA candidate campaigns, according to research published in The Guardian. In exchange, they received over $170 billion in policies and tax breaks — an 18,000 percent return on investment.

Included in those donations, GEO Group, CoreCivic, and CSI Aviation — some of the country’s largest private prison and deportation contractors — gave Trump close to $5 million and received over $5 billion in revenue. That corruption is directly tied to the increase in federal immigration operations across the country and what we have experienced in Minnesota, says Our Revolution executive director Joseph Geevarghese.

“The murders of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis are a direct result of an oligarchic system that is growing more violent, more secretive, and more unaccountable,” Geevarghese says. “Why? Because powerful people want to profit off of human suffering.”

 

 

Dieu Do, the Minnesota organizer for Our Revolution, provided an update of the work that she and fellow organizers have been doing in Minnesota under the federal occupation by ICE. On the front lines, she detailed the cruelty shown by ICE agents, which is increasingly visible across the country. She also indicated that the solidarity among community members — patrolling their neighborhoods, reporting ICE activity in neighborhood groups, and contributing to mutual aid networks — has pushed us in the direction of change.

“This is a watershed moment for our movement. More folks now than ever are seeing the corruption of ICE and the corruption of the federal administration and are calling to question ‘Why are my tax dollars going to fund this and terrorizing our neighbors, when it should be going to education, healthcare, and housing for our neighbors and for ourselves?’” Do says.

As a young adult myself, I also see a major shift in how Minnesotans and people across the U.S. are seeing the complicity of corporations in enabling ICE operations. A nationwide boycott against Target has ramped up, as more people demand that it publicly call for an immediate end to the federal occupation in Minnesota. On January 23, as an extension of the statewide general strike, a group of clergy members and community activists gathered outside Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport calling for airline companies like Delta to take a stand. In St. Louis, Missouri, local residents and activists have been pushing for Enterprise to cut ties with ICE.

While corporate accountability doesn’t come immediately, wins are happening. Avelo Airlines, for example, recently terminated its contract with ICE, announcing that it would no longer make deportation flights, following a months-long national campaign.

As an individual, I sometimes feel as though my impact is limited, but what we see from Avelo’s decision, and the work that Minnesotans have been doing, is that people have power. It’s tiring work — and it is easy to get bogged down as the federal government’s response continues to escalate — but that’s why organizing and putting pressure on corporate collaborators is key. Consumers can reach them.

The responsibility to take action doesn’t fall solely on individuals either. Tlaib spoke during the call on Monday about how the resolution isn’t simply about exposing the role of corporations in the corruption of U.S. politics, but it also calls on members of Congress to commit to taking on the billionaire class.

For me, this was a necessary reminder that our elected officials should be joining communities in their fight. It is  imperative that we rally behind those who will help us stand up to corporations and those in power.

I’ve never been more proud to call Minnesota my home than I have been over these past few months as I watch people show up for one another in every way. It is wrong to think we need some one centralized entity to take charge for us, when we’ve shown that we know how to fight. But we do need policy-oriented people whose voices will echo our demands and whose advocacy will add to our collective pressure.

This is how we get corporations to do the right thing and start investing in the people.

 

Amanda Week is a reporter based in Minneapolis. Originally from Rochester, MN, she is a recent graduate of Macalester College where she majored in philosophy with minors in Spanish, media studies, and linguistics. She has previously written for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and The Mac Weekly.

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