4mo ago

General Strike US

The General Strike

We’ve voted, we’ve protested, and still, they ignore us. Our government refuses to meet our basic needs while the billionaire class hoards wealth and power. The General Strike is a grassroots network of regular people who know our greatest power is our labor and our right to refuse it. We aim to unite every person and organization fighting for racial, economic, and environmental justice so that together, we can see real change in our lifetimes.

For transparency, I'm Canadian, but I figured I'd share.

Politics @beehaw.org

krewllobster @beehaw.org

6mo ago

The General Strike

generalstrikeus.com

31 comments

I would like to know more about their demands and leadership. A strike requires strong leadership to negotiate, and to keep the strikers from getting cold feet. A website with a form isn’t leadership.
I say this as someone who is building a cushion so my family and I can ride out a general strike. I want change, and I’m willing to strike for it.
- The general strike is scheduled to begin April 30th, 2028. The big three auto worker unions scheduled their contracts to expire simultaneously on that date, and called for other unions to demand the same expiration date in their own contracts.
- They aren't talking about demands until they've had 8 to 11 million commit to the strike. LOL - good luck with that...
  
  Tell that to Seattle.
  General strikes can be localized, too. They don't need nationwide adoption.
  I think I'll take my activism advice from someone who doesn't actively despise homeless people, but thanks, Jordan.
  
  Yeah, everyone should just give up to the fascist dictator, amiright?
  This is such a blind, defeatist attitude to take. Every protest, every strike started with a small group of strong-willed people and grew into something capable of tearing down empires. Don't join it if you're so pessimistic, but leave those willing to fight alone. At the end, they'll have done more than you ever did.
  
  If they wont share the demands then its because they are DNC centrists/zionists trying to get people to sign up for an atsroturfed protest to get their donor-only representation scheme going again.
- They claim to follow a decentralized ("starfish") model for organizing. The Learn More button in their About Us section links to a "GSUS Welcome Packet" hosted on Google Slides with more information:
  Organizing a movement as such requires online activism but also boots on the ground listening and connecting with their community. Our chapters not only help spread awareness about GSUS but by being involved in community empowerment initiatives or organizing their own.
  In order to stay true to decentralization, In order to prevent this movement from being stopped, Or a "Leader" being targeted. We seek to explode into many interconneced nodes. State to State, this interconnected system of collaboration will ensure our basic needs are met before and after the strike.
  The presentation doesn't have too much information. A lot of their organization seems to occur over regular Discord meetings, and partnering with other grassroots movements & groups.
  So there's clearly lots to be improved, but I respect that it's something. Best of luck to you and your family. I also want change!
This is a total info-gathering op... Only a removed would list their name and phone number
You don't need a card to strike
- Strike cards have a historic precedent, and it's useful from an organizer perspective to hold people to the commitment
  
  OK but you don't need one and you sure as shit don't need to give your name and phone number. This isn't being organized by a union.
- Absolutely fair, thank you for mentioning the privacy concerns. A reply on another crosspost brought up something similar.
  There hasn't been much protest coverage in the news I'm regularly exposed to - I hoped people might find other resources on the website useful, particularly for organizing their own demonstrations or otherwise staying informed.
  
  This is why a general strike won't work. There are just too many people trying to go big when you need to go local.
  I can't get people at my company to even discuss a union let alone a strike. This type of action only works when people feel that they have solidarity behind them. If you're the only one in your company striking, you're getting fired, regardless of how illegal it is. Even if you have 3% of the population with you, you've singled yourself out.
  You just can't do this kind of stuff virtually. It needs to be highly localized and highly visible.
  I'm pouring my resources into local acts of resistance. You want to make an impact? Talk to your local food bank or homeless shelter. Want to do more? Call a probono law firm or immigration attorney and volunteer.
Can I be Canadian too?
- Of course!
We voted? What did we vote for?
- You mean there's no evidence it was more rigged than usual... There's evidence of voter suppression, gerrymandering, and sketchiness without real evidence
  But ultimately, I think they're talking about the Democrats - even now they're talking about moving further right and working with Republicans, they actively oppose the change the people are demanding. They want to fight harder against the left, to ignore their supporters more, to get more in bed with the oligarchs
  What about free healthcare? What about fixing housing? What about breaking up monopolies? What about our rights? It's like everything that matters is totally off the table
I really should remove this as it's not an article, but it goes a long way to show just how ineffective a general strike is.
They need 11 million people to commit, they have less than 300,000. 2.7% of their goal.
Good luck with that!
- It'd be a lot different if they were making moves to get as many as those 300k to the capital as possible. Its much harder to ignore when the protesting and striking is on your front lawn.
  
  Oh, Trump wouldn't care. Congress arguably would if the protest shut down the city.
  Trump would fuck off to Mar A Lago.
- Thank you for allowing it! I tried to find an article covering this group, but as I've mentioned, it's been difficult. With ongoing censorship on other platforms, I hoped the webpage as a primary source would be good enough (or even better than a poorly written article full of ads).

31 comments