MN protest at Howmet Aerospace: Weapons makers out of our communities!

New Brighton, MN – On October 16, about 50 Minnesotans gathered outside a Howmet Aerospace facility in New Brighton as a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s nationwide call-to-action targeting weapons manufacturers.

The rally, organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, put a spotlight on Howmet’s ties to the U.S. military industrial complex. The Howmet facility, like many other weapons manufacturers hidden among suburban residential streets, postures itself inconspicuously. A Minnesotan driving past the facility would have no reason to assume the scale of Howmet’s connections to the U.S. war machine or the genocide in Palestine.

But in fact, one of Howmet’s top brags is its role in manufacturing parts for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II. For this fighter jet, Howmet produces pieces ranging from the titanium bulkheads to the fasteners, or as Howmet itself puts it, “From nose to tail.” Lockheed Martin has been supplying the Israeli Air Force with F-35 fighter jets for nearly a decade. Israel, in turn, has been using them to carry out extensive airstrikes across Gaza.

Howmet does not limit its war profiteering to business with Lockheed, but is subcontracted by several of the weapons manufacturers actively selling weapons to Israel. In 2024, 16% of Howmet’s total revenue came from the defense aerospace market sector. Howmet has been subcontracted by all the major players – some include RTX Corporation, Boeing Company and General Electric – ensuring Israel can conduct its genocide in Palestine.

Nadiyah Salawdeh with the Twin Cities branch of the US Palestinian Community Network stated, “When we protest corporations like Howmet, we aren’t only saying that what they create leads to the death of millions. We are saying that they have an interest in and actively do ensure that these imperialist wars and genocides are never ending.”

Salawdeh continued, “When a child in Gaza reads ‘made in the USA’ on the bomb that murdered their entire family, it is because corporations like Howmet want the genocide in Palestine to continue.”

Maddy Schwartz, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee and a public employee in AFSCME Local 668 closed out the program by highlighting another angle of Minnesota’s complicity with Howmet.

The Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI), chaired by Governor Tim Walz, has $11.5 million invested in Howmet. Schwartz underlined the necessity of continuing to demand the SBI divests from Israel, and reminded the crowd that despite a ceasefire agreement, Israel’s violence has yet to end. “Palestine is still occupied. Apartheid still exists.”

Schwartz continued, “This ceasefire agreement is not justice and this ceasefire does not change our calls for a Free Palestine. We will continue to stand against the Israeli occupation, apartheid, imprisonment of Palestinians and genocide as long as these exist.”

Before the rally ended, emcees encouraged the crowd to attend the MN Anti-War Committee’s upcoming rally calling for the SBI to Divest MN from apartheid Israel. The rally will be held on Tuesday, October 21 at 10 a.m. outside the Retirement Systems Building located at 60 Empire Drive, Saint Paul.

#NewBrightonMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #WeaponsIndustry #MNAWC #AWAN #MNPA #DMN