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General Strike

We Don’t Have To Choose Between Our Health And The Economy

May 17, 2020 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
The United States is at a critical moment in the COVID-crisis. This week, the nation is likely to surpass 100,000 deaths and new hotspots in the south and midwest are developing. Forty-two states have either started “reopening” their economies or imminently plan to do so without putting in place essential public health measures to prevent the spread of the virus. As of May 7, more than half of the states that had either reopened or planned to do so (30 at the time) have seen an increase in case counts or positive tests. Public health experts are predicting another round of mass illness and deaths. President Trump, whose political future is tied to the pandemic and economic collapse, has been encouraging protests demanding the reopening of the economy.

#GeneralStrike2020: How To Participate

May 13, 2020 Popular Resistance. , , ,
This prolonged and broad campaign will organize around a list of basic demands, as outlined here. Not on the list, but included is the demand to save the US Postal Service. The campaign will follow a three-prong strategy - resistance through noncompliance, mutual aid and building alternative systems in our communities rooted in cooperation, solidarity and participatory democracy. On the next national day of action, June 1, there will be many activities. Read through and decide how you can best participate in the actions. There is something for everyone to do. Be creative!

Rent Strike 2020 A Historical Perspective

May 10, 2020 Rob Rooke, Socialist Alternative. , , ,
This country has been catapulted into the biggest health care, economic, and social crisis in generations. One-third of apartment renters were unable to pay their full rent in April and millions more will be in the same position in May. The three million people who signed on to the RentStrike2020 petition signals the outline of an organized response to this current crisis.  To help us navigate the coming period where the inability to pay rent will likely become ever more widespread, it may be useful to get a perspective on the historical and international experiences of rent strikes. In this article we look at a few rent strikes spread out around the globe from the 1800s to today. The vast majority of rent strikes are triggered by one of two things: inability to pay due to a rent hike, or protesting landlord neglect of buildings.

Build The General Strike Movement To Change The World

May 3, 2020 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance. , , ,
Now that May Day is behind us, we must build the General Strike campaign. The next strike day, June 1, should be the culmination of a month of working toward the day of action.  This is the responsibility of everyone involved in the General Strike movement. This is an ongoing campaign. We emphasize it is a campaign as campaigns provide ongoing opportunities to build the movement. The goal is to ensure that those running for office, those in office and those who make policy -- including non-profits, corporations, and the media -- cannot ignore the movement as we demonstrate our ability to make the country ungovernable. To do this we need to build a movement that: (1) Creates national consensus for our demands, and (2) Involves enough people to be a mass movement that cannot be ignored. This requires people to act at local and national levels to build the movement as described below.

Fighting COVID-19 With Mass Action And A People’s Strike

May 3, 2020 Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
The passionate debates surrounding the response to the COVID-19 pandemic are useless if they don’t lead to a larger fight against capitalism. The shut downs of business and schools intended to stop the spread of corona virus have created 22 million newly unemployed people. That means those workers have lost their health care. They may not be able to pay rent or mortgages or buy food. All efforts must be directed towards addressing their needs and working towards transformational change.  COVID-19 has exposed the fraudulence of American democracy. The neo-liberal austerity regime even targets unemployment benefits , the one program which is thought of as being untouched by the relentless race to the bottom. There is no right to housing or health care or work place safety in this country and millions of people are suffering. The safety net is thread bare.

May Day General Strike, A Strong Beginning To An Ongoing Campaign

May 1, 2020 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance , , , ,
On May Day, the first day of an ongoing day of General Strike, there were actions all over the country supporting workers at  Amazon, Walmart, Target, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Fedex, Shipt and Instacart calling protective gear and hazard payfor essential workers. There were also demands for systemic changes like national improved Medicare for all, a universal basic income and a green new deal (see the graphics of the demands of the General Strike below). The strike required creativity on the part of participants because of the coronavirus pandemic and the physical distancing and stay at home orders but people found ways to get their messages out using a variety of tactics. There will be a General Strike national day of action on the first of every month so we need to learn from each other's creativity and find new ways to protest.

The Red Nation Endorses May Day 2020 General Strike

May 1, 2020 The Editorial Council, Red Nation. , , ,
The Red Nation joins the call by Cooperation Jackson for a national and international convergence toward a May 1st 2020 General Strike to End the COVID-19 Crisis and Create a New World. We unite with workers and social justice organizations from across occupied Turtle Island in this call for a general strike to support frontline and unemployed workers, Indigenous peoples, oppressed peoples, and women to free the planet from the current colonial, racial, imperial, patriarchal, and capitalist order. The COVID-19 pandemic is a symptom of this capitalist order in its death throes. The reality is that essential workers on the frontlines, confronting and providing critical health care services and sustaining and feeding entire communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, are already leading the struggle at great risk to their health and families.

Mass Strikes Across The US This May Day

May 1, 2020 Christopher D. Cook, In These Times. , , ,
Toiling amid a pandemic and a callous response from corporate America and the federal government that is exposing millions to deadly hazards and deepening poverty, workers across the country are rising up, planning hundreds of strikes and sickouts for International Workers’ Day on May 1. At a time when worker organizing could be stifled by physical distancing rules and the Trump administration’s disabling of the National Labor Relations Board, workers are walking off the job in massive coordinated walk-outs and sick-outs targeting major employers such as Amazon, Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, FedEx, and Instacart, demanding hazard pay, personal protective equipment and other basic protections.

#GeneralStrike2020: How To Participate On The May Day Launch

April 30, 2020 Popular Resistance. , , ,
On May Day, the first of May, the #GeneralStrike2020 (and beyond) campaign launches across the country. Learn more about the overall campaign in our most recent newsletter, "The Era of Mass Strikes Begins On May 1; First Day of General Strike Campaign." This prolonged and broad campaign will organize around a list of basic demands, as outlined here. Not on the list, but included is the demand to save the US Postal Service. The campaign will follow a three-prong strategy - resistance through noncompliance, mutual aid and building alternative systems in our communities rooted in cooperation, solidarity and participatory democracy. On May Day and extending through the weekend, there will be many activities. Read through and decide how you can best participate in the actions. There is something for everyone to do. Be creative!

Defying Trump’s Order, Nebraska Meatpackers Strike And More Strike News

April 30, 2020 Mike Elk, Pay Day Report. , , ,
Earlier today, Trump announced that he intended to use the power of the federal government and the Defense Production Act to keep meat processing plants open throughout the United States.  The move comes as massive outbreaks with hundreds of workers have hit meatpacking plants throughout the U.S. As a result, scores of meatpacking plants have closed because of outbreaks.  Strikes and mass sickouts at a dozen meatpacking plants throughout the U.S. have led to the closure of additional plants.  It’s unclear how Trump intends to use the Defense Production Act to force meat packing processing workers back into the assembly line.  Organized labor immediately denounced the move. “We only wish that this administration cared as much about the lives of working people as it does about meat, pork, and poultry products."

Amazon, Walmart, FedEx Workers Plan Walkout On Friday

April 30, 2020 Kaelan Deese, The Hill. , , ,
The Friday demonstrations will also request protective and cleaning equipment and full disclosure on the number of infected cases in company facilities. The protest would result in employees of the listed businesses calling in sick from work or stepping out during their lunch break. At the same time, some union members will reportedly join workers outside warehouses and storefronts in support of the strikes. "We are acting in conjunction with workers at Amazon, Target, Instacart, and other companies for International Worker's Day [May 1] to show solidarity with other essential workers," said Daniel Steinbrook, a Whole Foods employee and strike organizer. Smalls was fired by Amazon in March after organizing a walkout and has said he will take legal action against the company. 

Fired Amazon Worker Chris Smalls: Support May Day Strikers

April 29, 2020 Jaisal Noor, The Real News. , , ,
Another reason why we out here tonight is because Amazon is targeting specific people. We are being told to stay six feet apart. However, that rule does not apply for everyone. We’ve seen management do it right in front of us. We’ve seen safety that are supposed to keep us safe, do it. Yet we as associates are being targeted. Jaisal Noor: That’s Hofsa Hassan, one of the dozens of Amazon workers who staged a walkout to protest unsafe working conditions and the loss of hazard pay at an Amazon warehouse in Shakopee, Minnesota on April 26th. We can expect to see more walkouts and protests leading up to big actions on Mayday or International Workers Day, which is observed in most countries except the United States. Despite its rich militant often bloody history of working class struggle that’s secured major victories like the eight hour workday.

The Era Of Mass Strikes Begins On May 1, First Day Of General Strike Campaign

April 26, 2020 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance , , ,
On Friday, May 1, an ongoing General Strike campaign begins. This campaign could become the most powerful movement in the United States and reset the national agenda. It comes when the failures of the US political system have been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered an economic collapse in a presidential election year.  The General Strike campaign will be ongoing with actions on the first of every month. Strategic strikes of workers, students, consumers, prisoners, and renters will also continue. This new era of mass strikes builds on successful strikes by teachers, healthcare workers, hotel workers, and others.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the last two years, there has been the largest number of major work stoppages in 35 years with more than 400,000 workers involved in strikes in both 2018 and 2019.

General Strike Campaign Growing In The United States; Begins On May Day

April 20, 2020 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Clearing the FOG. , , ,
Over the last two years, there have been record numbers of worker strikes in the United States not seen since the depression. Since the recession and COVID-19 pandemic started this winter, there have been many wildcat strikes in response to workers having their pay cut and being required to work in hazardous conditions even though they are deemed essential. Now, as the government demonstrates its unwillingness to provide basic protection for the population even as it injects billions of dollars to big industries and banks, support for a general strike is here. We speak with Kali Akuno of Cooperation Jackson about the plans being made for the first general strike on May Day, what that will look like and how the campaign will be sustained over time.

2020 Election Year Is An Opportunity For Transformational Change If We Embrace Our Power

April 19, 2020 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance , , , ,
Although we do not tie our organizing to the election cycle, the 2020 election is an opportunity for the people to set the agenda for the 2020s. We need to show that whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden are elected, the people will rule from below. We need to build our power to demand the transformation we need. As Kali Akuno of Cooperation Jackson said in our recent Clearing the FOG interview, the right-wing is using this time to push through their agenda of corporate bailouts, deregulation, and worker exploitation. If the left doesn't organize and counter this, the country will continue on its current destructive path. The changes we want won't come from the top. Both corporate duopoly candidate's priorities are the wealthy investor class and big business. We are going to have to organize and mobilize for the necessities of the people from below.
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