Someone in my networks was asking about a social media call they saw for a ā30 day general strikeā where people make no purchases and donāt go to work. They asked, āthis would make me homeless but is it worth it as a tactic?ā As a union organizer, I had this to say and I think itās important enough to share with you all:
As a trade unionist, I would like to know what is being meant by āgeneral strikeā here because a lot of people are using that term but for things that have nothing to do with strikes or what a general strike has historically meant.
Itās not a boycott, itās not a sick out, itās a *strike* by workers at their workplaces aka refusals to work collectively as a unionized body of workers. A general strike would require dozens of unions to not merely tell some workers they gotta work anyways and tell others to call in sick - it requires a prolonged, structured, financially supportive struggle by unionized labor.
A 30 day general strike would achieve a lot but Iām not hearing any trade unions say they are directing their members to do this (which under current labor law and many of our union contracts, would be illegal but thatās not my issue, just a barrier towards success). Iāve not heard of any strike funds put into place so workers donāt lose their housing and can afford groceries. Factually it just isnāt a strike let alone a general strike. Itās a consumer boycott meets individual sick outs and while you can do that tactic in short bursts, you canāt do it for a month without a strike fund and unions actually declaring strikes.
I fear āgeneral strikeā is becoming hallowed out of meaning by liberals. Itās a powerful tactic and that just isnāt what weāre seeing. Itās gonna leave people with a bad taste in their mouth about the prospect of an actual general strike when these fake āgeneral strikesā donāt pan out because they arenāt leveraging our power as the people who actually run society with our labor but asking individuals to call out alone or as individuals not purchase goods.
Kinda reminds me of when people tried to define āmutual aidā as giving donations to nonprofits instead of building community networks of resiliency and support outside of capitalism and its charity arms. Pretty much every time thereās a big upswing in radicalism, terms get immediately bastardized by people outside of the work to describe tactics that donāt even share the same goals. Itās a deradicalization tactic.
You canāt just say āgeneral strike!ā and then it happens. General strikes in the past have been because unionized workers across different industries solidarity strike, which since the heyday of general strikes has been made illegal so if we want to actually do that as organized labor then we have to be prepared to have no legal protections around such a strike. Thatās not the level of preparation or thought weāre seeing.
If you want to see what an actual general strike in Portland looks like, this PBS documentary on the founding of the ILWU and the 1934 Waterfront Strike which was attacked by police and vigilantes leading to the entire towns workers joining the strike, is important. These were very organized, structured affairs that didnāt rely on individualist volunteerism.
United Auto Workers declared May 1st, 2028 to be a national general strike. He (Shaun Fein) wants unions to align the end of their contracts with May Day so we are not beholden to no strike clauses. Theyāre building a strike fund. Thatās actually a plan and that gives us enough time to energize our coworkers about it.
This āgeneral strikeā stuff coming out of Minneapolis will just get you fired and because youāre not doing it with a union, youāll have zero protections and no strike fund to rely on.
Itās a bad idea. Donāt leverage your purchasing power, youāre poor. Leverage your labor, because thatās what makes them rich. And donāt do it alone, youāll suffer alone.
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