DULUTH — U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber was greeted with a sizable protest here last Wednesday evening when an estimated 250 to 300 demonstrators gathered outside a Teamsters union hall while he met with members inside.
The Hermantown Republican was at the Teamsters General Local 346 hall at 2802 W. First St. to discuss the Faster Labor Contracts Act, a bill he introduced in September designed to speed up first contracts between newly unionized workers and their employers. But the event was largely closed to media, with most news organizations denied entry or ejected after initially being allowed inside.
According to Tim McKenzie of Ely, who attended the protest, the crowd began gathering around 6:15 p.m., well before Stauber’s scheduled 7 p.m. arrival. Many protesters initially positioned themselves at the front of the building before word spread that Stauber would use the back entrance.
“My brother said, ‘I’ll bet he’s going to go in the back door,’” McKenzie said. “So, we went along the side of the building, and someone who had been back there said, ‘Yeah, he just snuck in the back.’”
McKenzie said he and others waited at the rear entrance for roughly an hour in temperatures around zero degrees.

Diverse crowd protests many issues
The demonstration drew protesters across all age groups, according to McKenzie. “It wasn’t all your beret-wearing gray hairs that have been going to most of the rallies around here lately.”
Protesters voiced opposition to several issues, including Stauber’s lack of response to recent fatal shootings by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis, his support for removing the mining ban on more than 200,000 acres of Superior National Forest near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and what many described as his general unwillingness to hold town hall meetings or meet with constituents.
“I was kind of thinking I was going to be the only one there,” McKenzie said. “And then I quickly found out that there wasn’t any parking anywhere near there because there were a lot of people showing up.”
Lynn Youngblom, a Duluth resident who attended the protest, told Northern News Now, “I can’t even think of the words I want to use. It’s so frustrating, and it’s so sad, and it’s not who we are, and this is not my Minnesota.”
Many protesters expressed particular concern about the recent deaths of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse shot and killed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on January 24, and Renee Macklin Good, who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent three weeks earlier.

Media access heavily restricted
While WDIO was invited to attend the meeting and allowed to remain, other news organizations faced significant obstacles to coverage.
Northern News Now reported that its photographer and reporter were initially allowed into the event but were called “unwanted guests,” and the meeting was paused until they left the building. The outlet alleged that a Teamster “shoved” the photographer out the door as they were trying to leave.
A Duluth News Tribune reporter and photographer were denied entry at the door, with staff told by a man wearing Teamsters apparel that he had been instructed by Local 346 Secretary Treasurer Zak Radzak not to let the Star Tribune or News Tribune inside.
A Minnesota Star Tribune photographer was kicked out after being initially allowed into the entryway.

Congressman departs through back door
When Stauber left the building around 7:30 p.m., he was surrounded by what McKenzie estimated as six to eight security personnel, including Duluth police officers and other individuals acting as security.
“When he came out of the building, the crowd, which had all gravitated to the back of the building knowing he would come out the back, it was quite a cacophony of chants and jeers,” McKenzie said.
As Stauber backed his truck out of the parking lot, protesters yelled and displayed their anger, according to multiple witnesses. 
Many protesters expressed long-standing frustration with what they described as Stauber’s unwillingness to engage with constituents who disagree with his positions.
McKenzie, who has lived in the district for decades under previous representative Jim Oberstar, noted the contrast. 
“Most of my life has been Oberstar, and he was responsive, you know? This guy, he doesn’t even try to communicate.”
Protesters repeatedly voiced a common refrain that as their elected representative, Stauber should be accountable to them.
“Everyone would get pretty wound up if he finally had a town hall meeting, because he’s got a lot of pent-up demand for it,” McKenzie said. “Why doesn’t he come talk to us? He’s our representative. He’s our employee representing us in Washington, but he doesn’t come to talk to us.”
The demonstration eventually dispersed after Stauber’s departure, with McKenzie describing the atmosphere as “festive” despite the frigid conditions.