The term “General Strike” is relatively new. The first known General Strike occurred in 19th century Great Britain, but they have been used since to demand better working conditions, fair pay and benefits, and even changes in government and laws.
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson called for a General Strike last Saturday. But many Americans either don’t know what a General Strike is, or they pivot to We can’t do that or That won’t ever work.
In my 2024 series on Purposeful Disengagement, I essentially recommended a General Strike (but these newsletters contain a lot of useful, relevant things Americans can do to resist this regime.)
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What is a General Strike? A general strike is a coordinated work stoppage involving a substantial proportion of workers across multiple industries, sectors, or even an entire city, region, or country, aimed at achieving economic, political, or social objectives. (SOURCE: Museum of Protest)
Essentially, a General Strike means MILLIONS OF PEOPLE STOP GOING TO WORK ON A COORDINATED DATE and refuse to return to work until stated demands are met.
When unions organize strikes, the union exists to backstop salaries while its members are on strike. In a General Strike, multiple unions strike in solidarity to hobble the economy or otherwise create enough pain to force corporate or government negotiators to heed worker demands.
Iceland’s National Women’s Strike is an example of how a General Strike can rapidly change a country and its attitudes:
General Strikes require deep planning and laser-focused organization. If common goals aren’t outlined and embraced and objectives aren’t communicated, a General Strike will fall apart before it starts.
The General Strike is already putting these systems in place. It’s easy to sign a strike card and commit to participate. GO HERE to sign your strike card.
But what about the vast majority of American workers who aren’t unionized? How do they pay their bills if they aren’t going to work?
Community-building is VITAL.
For a General Strike to be effective, as many people as possible must participate. That means making sure your communities have fully stocked food banks, funds to help vulnerable people pay their bills, dedicated shelter for anyone with insecure housing, and more.
It means those with more support those with less so that everyone in a community can participate in the General Strike.
Americans cannot know these particulars without dedicated organizing. The General Strike has resources for communities, but other groups like Indivisible have tools to nail down these critical details. GO HERE to access Indivisible’s Resource Library.
General Strikes require sacrifice.
A General Strike’s goal is to inconvenience enough people to force changes we want. General Strikes hurt. They cost money. They cause scarcity. They are a prolonged peaceful war against the people in power.
A General Strike will grind the economy to a halt. It will break supply chains and cause empty shelves. Maybe it will even mean blackouts and brown-outs.
More Americans must embrace being inconvenienced and willingly sacrifice for a General Strike to be effective.
Effective communication is KEY.
For a General Strike to be successful, it must have popular goals that are clearly communicated. We are striking for these reasons. We will return to work when these demands are met.
General Strikes require LEADERSHIP.
I think a lack of leadership is the key reason more Americans haven’t yet signed a General Strike card. No face or high-profile group has taken ownership of this movement. The Democratic Party certainly won’t fill that void.
So it is up to us to anoint a leader. Who do YOU think is best positioned to lead a General Strike? Why are you nominating them? Share your ideas in a comment.
If you still aren’t convinced a General Strike can work, go to the Museum of Protest and read about the many effective General Strikes throughout recent history. (GO HERE.)
And again, General Strikes mean MILLIONS OF PEOPLE STOP GOING TO WORK on a coordinated date and refuse to return to work until stated demands are met.
General Strikes are POWERFUL. They are EFFECTIVE. They force billionaire overlords and their bought-and-paid-for politicians to yield to WE THE PEOPLE.
General Strikes require participants. Share this newsletter with your connections to embed the idea of a General Strike in more American minds and households. WE THE PEOPLE CAN DO THIS, AMERICANS!