Shawn Fain says UAW "stands in solidarity" with family of Alex Pretti
Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, noting that Alex Pretti was also a labor union member, said Pretti was following his constitutional rights when he was killed in Minneapolis.
Pretti, a 37-year-old man, was shot and killed in Minneapolis by Border Patrol agents on Jan. 24. He had worked as an intensive care nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
There were conflicting narratives of what led up to the fatal shooting, and authorities have concluded that two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fired their weapons that day. Two federal agents have been placed on administrative leave.
The incident has spurred further protests in Minneapolis, a city where tensions were already high in response to federal agent activity.
Fain issued the following statement on the situation on Wednesday:
"The UAW stands in solidarity with the family and loved ones of our fallen union brother Alex Pretti and all those standing up for justice in Minneapolis and beyond. Alex Pretti was an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital, and a member of AFGE Local 3669. He was a fellow union member doing what UAW members do all the time - heeding a call for solidarity and exercising his Constitutional rights. For that, he was killed in the street. Our union mourns his loss and our thoughts are with his family, his union, and his community.
"As proud trade unionists, we value our Constitutional freedoms. The right to free speech and the right to protest are core to who we are as Americans and as union members. The killing of peaceful protesters like Alex Pretti threatens our rights and our Constitution.
"In moments like these, the labor movement must not be silent. Unions in Minnesota took action last Friday, January 23, by participating in a general strike and protested across the state. If the right to protest or speak freely is under attack, then our rights as workers are not safe. Our freedom to strike, or to walk a picket line to win a better life, may be threatened next."
The above video originally aired on Jan. 25, 2026.
