NSLC Newsletter February 2026

"ICE Out Of Our Courts" Campaign

LUCE has launched a statewide campaign in an effort to halt ICE arrests at district courts. Our legal system become a focal point for ICE activity, often with the encouragement or collaboration with the court itself, causing courts to become deportation traps. Often times these arrests occur during routine appearances or when accompanying family members. Since the beginning of 2025, across multiple sites such as Waltham, Lynn, and Boston, arrests nearly doubled or more within less than a year. Many of these arrests are violent and disruptive, endangering all other people in the court and interrupting its normal proceedings.

Now, our communities are demanding "ICE Out Of Our Courts." Our demands, in brief, are:

1. Pass legislation to ban ICE courthouse arrests
2. Mandate virtual access to all Massachusetts courts
3. Stop court and law enforcement cooperation with ICE
4. Stop those across the legal system, including district attorneys, sheriffs, and police chiefs, from communicating or collaborating with ICE about noncitizens’ presence in jails or courtrooms
5. Ensure transparency, accountability, and mandatory public reporting on ICE activities in Massachusetts courts
6. Support community-led court observer programs

Already these demands have been won by communities in New York, Illinois, and elsewhere. We're asking that Massachusetts take the same steps to ensure the safety and accessibility of our legal system.

Please read and sign our petition, as well share it with others. Click this link to access the petition.

Also, if you're union, community group, non-profit, or any other organization would like to endorse this campaign, please click this link to access the organization sign-on page. If you're organization has any questions about the endorsement process or the campaign, please email us northshorelaborcouncil@gmail.com and we'd be happy to help you.

More info to come on this campaign and ways to get involved!

"Out of the Union Halls & Into the Streets" Conference

There's still time to register for our upcoming education conference! Join the Merrimack Valley Central Labor Council and The North Shore Labor Council of Massachusetts for a one-day conference uniting organizers, workers, and allies to build solidarity, share strategies, and strengthen networks to push back against rising authoritarianism—together.

The conference will be on March 7th from 8:30am - 2pm at the Greater Lawrence Technical School (57 River Rd. Andover). Food, childcare, and Spanish interpretation will be available!

Please click this link to register for the conference.

"ICE out of Lynn" Rally on 3/21

Leaders in Lynn are calling for a day of action against the mass deportations on March 21st. More details will come soon regarding demands, time, and location, but for now please mark your calendars!

For Lynn, just like many cities on the North Shore, in Massachusetts, and in the country, this past year has been very difficult for immigrants. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of our neighbors have been taken from us, sometimes very violently. We have learned some very hard lessons:

1. We are all in this together. No matter what country you were born in, what your legal status is, what you do for work, where you go to Church or what languages you speak, our enemy views us the same. We must be together.
2. It is okay to be afraid, but we must fight anyway. Fear is natural, it is a part of our enemy's plan. But we can feel fear and continue to act. We need DISCIPLINED NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE across Lynn.
3. We have seen this before. Maybe in other countries, maybe in this one. This evil is no stranger. We have been here before and we know how to win.

We are calling on everyone in Lynn to join us on March 21 at 2pm at the Lynn Commons to celebrate our unity and demonstrate our power.

Justice for Migrant Fishers

Migrant fishers in Taiwan's distant-water fishing industry, who catch the tuna that ends up in the cans we buy, face routine labor rights violations, including injuries and even death. Fishers are at sea for 6 months or longer without a way to communicate with their families, unions, or regulators, unable to report injury and abuse. Despite the known labor risks in Taiwan’s tuna industry, U.S. companies continue to purchase tuna from the Taiwanese fleet without investing in real protections for workers, putting their own profits ahead of workers’ rights, health, and safety.

The fishers need our support more than ever! Join us on March 16th to stand up for the rights of migrant fishers! At the annual gathering of corporate executives for the "Seafood Expo" we want to center the demands of workers in their industry and highlight the unjust conditions that most migrant fishers face. The labor movement has always been an international movement, so we hope to see you there!

Peabody PLA

On Tuesday the 3rd there will be an informational meeting hosted by the North Shore Building Trades Council to explore the idea of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the new high school being built in Peabody. PLA's promote strong safety standards, diverse hiring for women and people of color, and locally sourced labor to benefit the local economy. Attaining a strong PLA for the new Peabody high school would be a victory for the community. If you're a Peabody resident, we highly encourage you attend this informational meeting. The details are below. Food will be provided.

SAG AFTRA Letter

The NSLC has endorsed the effort from SAG-AFTRA to encourage banks to use union labor when producing advertisements. As such, we will be sending a letter to our organization's bank encouraging the use of union labor. Any union or union member can take part in these effort! Below is a sample letter explaining the benefits of union labor that people can use as a model. When you do send the letters out, please CC SAG-AFTRA Senior Business Representative Ben Shallop on the message at Benjamin.Shallop@sagaftra.org. Together we can make a difference!

Sample Letter

Dear _______

___[UNION Name and LOCAL Number]__ has been proudly banking with __[Bank Name]__ for several years. We, like you, believe strongly in investing in our local communities and building opportunities for local businesses and working families here in Massachusetts.

One of the most effective ways to help support working artists here in Massachusetts is to make sure that your commercial work is done under a union contract. Massachusetts is home to thousands of professional actors and voice over artists who rely on union job opportunities in our local film and advertising industries to earn pension and health benefits. These good union creative jobs help sustain our local creative economy and ensure that Massachusetts remains a hub for the arts and a liveable state for working artists.

Hiring professional local union talent for your commercial work is easy and affordable. We, as customers of your bank, are asking you to please commit to doing all of your commercial work under a union contract and hiring local professional union performers and voice over artists for all your commercial needs.

Please send your response to __[Union treasurer/official]__ and to Benjamin Shallop, Senior Business Representative for SAG-AFTRA New England

Thank you

Sincerely,

End of Sample Letter

Join NSLC

Looking for ways to get involved in the labor movement? The NSLC is always looking for volunteers or for people to join campaigns. If you're interested or have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at northshorelaborcouncil@gmail.com.