How would a "National Strike" be organized?

[Angela Shelley]

I recently posted a thread, asking for "some good news". There were only a few replies.

Threads asking "will we survive this presidency?" mainly attract "hopelessness".

In most of the discussions, people are stating "there´s nothing we can do", while other are asking "what can I do?"


There has been a mention of a "National Strike" or a "revolution" in recent threads, and now I´m curious.


Do you have an idea how a "National Strike" would be organized?

[sazemisery]

1. Like any action it would have to start in the communities

and spread from there.

[Angela Shelley]

3. Wow, that matches with my previous "grassroots" thread

about "grassroots democracy".

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2445250

[Jim__]

2. I imagine that the first step is asking that question.

Then ask all the interested people to try to get other people interested. But, for a true national level event, you probably need someone with that kind of organizing experience. Tom Hayden might be a good person to ask.

[Angela Shelley]

10. What are the chances of TH reading this post?

[Jim__]

12. I have no idea - but probably not very much - n/t

[jaksavage]

4. Get Martin Sheen and Oprah

To stand out and rally the people
Do a march from baltimore to DC
Then camp out and generate news about the event
call for unity
solidarity

Everyone across the country would
hold daily gatherings in public places
until critical mass is achieved

simple

[aikoaiko]

5. Didn't a National Strike just happen? I didn't really notice.

[readmoreoften]

9. No. It didn't. If it had, you'd've noticed it. /nt

[readmoreoften]

6. France seems to do it all the time.

You just don't go to work. People flood the streets in protest and solidarity. There are free teach-ins, etc. It's not just ONE DAY. That's called a holiday. You make a clear demand and you stay out of work until the demand is met.

But that's in other countries. I think in America now, a general strike would look like police brutality and mass firings.

I seriously doubt it will be done. We can't even organize a one-day strike "just ditch work" day. I was at the 1st World Can't Wait rally in NYC and there were only about a thousand people who left school--mostly highschoolers, almost no college students.

The apathy is palpable. That's why I get nervous about all this talk about youthful energy and fresh ideas and 'to hell with Baby Boomers.' College campuses are resoundingly apathetic. It seems like political resistance is most alive for fifty-somethings. My generation and the new generation of "passivists" are not going to save the world. We're going to brood and listen to our iPods.

[lovuian]

7. I think the Mexican strike last year was a great example

of how to get a protest going ...it had hundreds of thousands of people in it

Very Impressive

[LSparkle]

13. Or the immigration rallies in Los Angeles

It seems like we Americans just can't get fired up enough to go out in the streets about anything ... Immigrants to our country make us look like spineless cowards, as they march for their issues while we sit on our butts. :head shaking in disgust:

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

8. Through civic, spiritual and union groups.

Unfortunately, I reckon, we just haven't reached the 'critical mass' required to invest in the work required to create such a network. We are still too entrenched in the "me" rather than "we" obsessions to 'get the job done'.

x(

Even those with the resources to MOVE MOUNTAINS tend to STAY within boxes that cut-off greater possibilities.

:shrug: That's just the way it is.

[readmoreoften]

11. You can't even get unions to strike in support of one another let alone a political idea.

I was on a 6 month strike at a university and you can't even get a wildcat strike among unionized teachers because they're in different locals.

[cloudbase]

14. That's true, but so many union contracts

have a no work-stoppage clause during the life of that agreement. Engaging in a wildcat strike would subject the union to considerable liabilities. I've even seen my own contract go from "no work behind picket lines" to where the contract is now silent about picket lines.

[readmoreoften]

15. We had teamsters crossing our picket lines. Seriously.

After lengthy, teeth-pulling negotiations, my union got the Teamsters to agree to tell their members they were permitted to respect our picket line if they chose to. Unbelievable.

That's when I joined the Wobblies. I like the idea of one big union.