While labor organizing is well underway in response to the COVID-19 epidemic, the demands and parameters of a “general strike” remain undefined. Here’s what’s gone into the concept so far
Photo: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images This week, as the coronavirus pandemic rapidly spread across the country and the president suggested that people should soon start returning to work in a desperate bid to stabilize the economy, the hashtag #GeneralStrike — calling on workers everywhere to walk off the job — began trending on Twitter.
What is a general strike? While the form a general strike would take is very much up for debate, the concept has been around for a long time. A strike is a work stoppage tactic used to pressure management to fulfill certain demands. Its power is as a collective action. Workers create value for their bosses, and without workers, companies can’t be productive. Strikes tend to be undertaken by unionized workers who are protected by law, but the tactic can be used by nonunionized labor too.
The general strike could even be a single day of action like the series of global strikes that have recently helped the concept gain visibility in the United States. Last year’s Global Climate Strike compelled hundreds of thousands of people around the world to walk out of work and school to demand action against climate change.
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