> Our broad list of demands includes, but is not limited to: Climate action. Universal healthcare. Racial justice. Reproductive rights. LGBTQIA+ rights. Living wage / raise the minimum wage. Immigration reform. Education reform. Gun safety. Tax the rich. Affordable housing. Disability rights. Welfare and child support reform. Voters rights. Constitutional convention. Paid family and medical leave. Criminal justice system reform. Workers’ rights. Permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
> Specific demands will come from leaders and experts of existing fights for racial, economic, gender and environmental justice.
I don't want to disparage any of these specific demands, I agree with a lot (not all) of them, but put together they're so overly broad as to be a pipe dream. They might as well say they want to start a new political party that's slightly to the left of the Democrats.
The one thing that does stick out to me though is the Constitutional Convention. This is a bizarre ask, and it must be how they see their demands being passed into, not only law, but an amendment to the Constitution. The problem is calling a convention is so difficult† that their strike will last, essentially, forever. The last and only time we had a convention was in 1787.
"> Our broad list of demands includes, but is not limited to: Climate action. Universal healthcare. Racial justice. Reproductive rights. LGBTQIA+ rights. Living wage / raise the minimum wage. Immigration reform. Education reform. Gun safety. Tax the rich. Affordable housing. Disability rights. Welfare and child support reform. Voters rights. Constitutional convention. Paid family and medical leave. Criminal justice system reform. Workers’ rights. Permanent ceasefire in Gaza."
It started off as a general strike in opposition to US support of Israel during the Israel-Hamas War.
Their social media aspect (at least their IG) is definetly sketchy, because a lot of it veers away from standard economic demands to only Israel-Gaza related topics.
DSA and most mainstream unions do not appear to be affiliated with this either, and some of their advice around the NRLA seems wrong and could leave strikers open to dismissal for cause.
I definetly think it's being partially promoted by unauthentic accounts, because it just doesn't feel organic. My hunch is probably Iran, as Iran has been instigating Israel-Gaza protests and discourse for the past 1-2 years now [0] in retaliation for the 2022-23 Iranian protests.
> As we near our critical goal of 11M strikers we will finalize our demands and prepare for Strike Day.
If you're going to ask 11 million people to commit to striking, shouldn't they know what they're striking for? Committing to a strike is an enormous commitment and risk - how can I possibly sign this if, when push comes to shove, the demands end up being like "coal workers will get a $0.10 raise through additional subsidies" or something. They don't seem to even have a hint of what they will demand.
The idea of a general strike has enormous power, but this in particular seems like a recipe for disappointment.
I think this funimendimentally misunderstands what a strike is and how it works. When collective bargaining works, it's because you can force a negotiation with an owner or boss. A group can prevent the business from making money until the owners come to the table.
Having a bunch of people walk off the job for a day might make some kind of statement, calling it a general strike is a bit embarrassing from my perspective. This is a protest of a sort, but with no clear message or goal
IF all you have to offer is your labor, you are completely fungible. You have almost no power as there is almost always someone else who can do what you do.
You need to find ways to deliver more value if you want more control.
> IF all you have to offer is your labor, you are completely fungible
Historically this hasn’t been the case, strikes and unions have given us the modern workers rights we all enjoy today. What’s changed that makes you feel this way?
A strike of skilled workers against a specific employer can be effective.
A "general strike" of "laborers" is unlikely to have any effect. It's too diffuse, and there are too many other people who can step in as replacements.
You can't just demand a general strike, you have to work for years with actual labor unions. Tech workers largely aren't unionized (and have no incentive to do so)
so good luck, but unless you do the sustained ground work it'll be the same call i've seen for the past decade with no meat behind it
We should be mindful that HN doesn't have an unflag button. The post shouldn't be flagged, so flagging it acts on behalf of the status quo. Let the flagging stand as a testament to collaboration.
We already experienced a general strike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than breaking billionaires and multinational corporations, it made them stronger. So withholding our labor is part of the equation, but not all of it.
Within a corporation, one person at the top dictates all behavior in exchange for monetary compensation, meaning that it's the job of each subordinate to shield superiors from work or anything that's against the interests of the corporation. Yes-men are rewarded handsomely while objectors are laid off.
Over time, corporations become akin to feudal states, vying for control of the kingdom. The wealthiest/most powerful person performs the role of king and dictates each corporation's behavior in exchange for that corporation's right to exist.
What this means is that corporate strategies such as running government like a business are eroding democracy globally.
Where is this all going? Labor compensation diverged from productivity in the 1970s when global industrial capacity and energy production could no longer keep pace with the rising cost of the Cold War - aka the guns vs butter model. The Reagan administration began dismantling the US social safety net in the 1980s with the rise of neoliberalism, cemented by the George HW administration when it fell on its sword rather than dismantle trickle-down economics aka voodoo economics as named by Bush himself. The Clinton administration continued this trend in the 1990s by undermining welfare in exchange for support from Wall Street to gain the moderate vote, which ended the Democratic Party's committment to labor. The George W Bush administration brought The Big Lie and Truthiness mainstream, taking advantage of patriotism on the right to mire the US in the security theater of a quarter century Global War on Terror under false pretenses, which ended the Republican Party's commitment to shared prosperity. Obama, Trump and Biden so conflated government operations with corporate interests and packing the courts to minimize antitrust enforcement, that we've reached a point where we're staring the full regulatory capture of the US Federal Government in the face.
Without consequences for their actions, our elected officials act against our best interests with impunity. Which creates sentiment that the greatest clear and present danger to the US is the state itself. Or more precisely, the merger of the state with corporate interests, aka fascism.
Even if Trump is used as a patsy to dismantle the remaining government agencies that support workers' families and then is removed from office, JD Vance (much like George HW Bush) will do nothing to reinstate those agencies. The end of term limits as well as free and fair elections may finally end both parties' committment to the US Constitution and the American way of life.
Now with the rise of AI and unprecidented wealth inequality, it may not be possible to stop this process. We might have been able to transition to a tech utopia like Star Trek before the Dot Bomb and 9/11, but now will almost certainly fall into a wild west free-for-all of empire and rebel resistance like Star Wars.
This reads like a tragic LLM summary of the last 50 years. But it's the most concise analysis that I can come up with. After the optimism of the 1990s after the inter...
34 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 90.3 ms ] threadhttps://generalstrikeus.com/aboutus
> What are your demands?
> Our broad list of demands includes, but is not limited to: Climate action. Universal healthcare. Racial justice. Reproductive rights. LGBTQIA+ rights. Living wage / raise the minimum wage. Immigration reform. Education reform. Gun safety. Tax the rich. Affordable housing. Disability rights. Welfare and child support reform. Voters rights. Constitutional convention. Paid family and medical leave. Criminal justice system reform. Workers’ rights. Permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
> Specific demands will come from leaders and experts of existing fights for racial, economic, gender and environmental justice.
The one thing that does stick out to me though is the Constitutional Convention. This is a bizarre ask, and it must be how they see their demands being passed into, not only law, but an amendment to the Constitution. The problem is calling a convention is so difficult† that their strike will last, essentially, forever. The last and only time we had a convention was in 1787.
† This graphic illustrates the difficulty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_to_propose_amendmen...
Lol.
"Hey, Johnny, what are you striking against?"
"What've you got?"
https://www.nssf.org/articles/4-primary-rules-of-firearm-saf...
And there is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza since 01/19, which will last until someone decides to start firing again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Gaza_war_ceasefire
So they're already 2 for 19 on their demands. Impressive progress, and they didn't even have to actually strike!
A general strike is potentially useful tool in the US but the sketchiness factor here is high.
Their social media aspect (at least their IG) is definetly sketchy, because a lot of it veers away from standard economic demands to only Israel-Gaza related topics.
DSA and most mainstream unions do not appear to be affiliated with this either, and some of their advice around the NRLA seems wrong and could leave strikers open to dismissal for cause.
I definetly think it's being partially promoted by unauthentic accounts, because it just doesn't feel organic. My hunch is probably Iran, as Iran has been instigating Israel-Gaza protests and discourse for the past 1-2 years now [0] in retaliation for the 2022-23 Iranian protests.
[0] - https://apnews.com/article/gaza-war-protests-iran-foreign-in...
If you're going to ask 11 million people to commit to striking, shouldn't they know what they're striking for? Committing to a strike is an enormous commitment and risk - how can I possibly sign this if, when push comes to shove, the demands end up being like "coal workers will get a $0.10 raise through additional subsidies" or something. They don't seem to even have a hint of what they will demand.
The idea of a general strike has enormous power, but this in particular seems like a recipe for disappointment.
Not sure how a general strike fits in that framework but to each their own...
What I mean is this idea you get 11M to commit then they'll do it and not chicken out.
"50$ I can."
I think this funimendimentally misunderstands what a strike is and how it works. When collective bargaining works, it's because you can force a negotiation with an owner or boss. A group can prevent the business from making money until the owners come to the table.
Having a bunch of people walk off the job for a day might make some kind of statement, calling it a general strike is a bit embarrassing from my perspective. This is a protest of a sort, but with no clear message or goal
IF all you have to offer is your labor, you are completely fungible. You have almost no power as there is almost always someone else who can do what you do.
You need to find ways to deliver more value if you want more control.
Historically this hasn’t been the case, strikes and unions have given us the modern workers rights we all enjoy today. What’s changed that makes you feel this way?
A "general strike" of "laborers" is unlikely to have any effect. It's too diffuse, and there are too many other people who can step in as replacements.
I mean I can guess, but the site doesn't make it clear.
I would gently suggest that you need to focus on your messaging more. You need, like MAGA a key goal.
Let me know when the strike is supposed to happen so I can laugh when nothing happens.
so good luck, but unless you do the sustained ground work it'll be the same call i've seen for the past decade with no meat behind it
We already experienced a general strike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than breaking billionaires and multinational corporations, it made them stronger. So withholding our labor is part of the equation, but not all of it.
We're moving into hypernormalization:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperNormalisation
I only learned of this documentary this morning, so have yet to watch it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr7T07WfIhM Hypernormalisation | Full Documentary | Adam Curtis
Within a corporation, one person at the top dictates all behavior in exchange for monetary compensation, meaning that it's the job of each subordinate to shield superiors from work or anything that's against the interests of the corporation. Yes-men are rewarded handsomely while objectors are laid off.
Over time, corporations become akin to feudal states, vying for control of the kingdom. The wealthiest/most powerful person performs the role of king and dictates each corporation's behavior in exchange for that corporation's right to exist.
What this means is that corporate strategies such as running government like a business are eroding democracy globally.
Where is this all going? Labor compensation diverged from productivity in the 1970s when global industrial capacity and energy production could no longer keep pace with the rising cost of the Cold War - aka the guns vs butter model. The Reagan administration began dismantling the US social safety net in the 1980s with the rise of neoliberalism, cemented by the George HW administration when it fell on its sword rather than dismantle trickle-down economics aka voodoo economics as named by Bush himself. The Clinton administration continued this trend in the 1990s by undermining welfare in exchange for support from Wall Street to gain the moderate vote, which ended the Democratic Party's committment to labor. The George W Bush administration brought The Big Lie and Truthiness mainstream, taking advantage of patriotism on the right to mire the US in the security theater of a quarter century Global War on Terror under false pretenses, which ended the Republican Party's commitment to shared prosperity. Obama, Trump and Biden so conflated government operations with corporate interests and packing the courts to minimize antitrust enforcement, that we've reached a point where we're staring the full regulatory capture of the US Federal Government in the face.
Without consequences for their actions, our elected officials act against our best interests with impunity. Which creates sentiment that the greatest clear and present danger to the US is the state itself. Or more precisely, the merger of the state with corporate interests, aka fascism.
Even if Trump is used as a patsy to dismantle the remaining government agencies that support workers' families and then is removed from office, JD Vance (much like George HW Bush) will do nothing to reinstate those agencies. The end of term limits as well as free and fair elections may finally end both parties' committment to the US Constitution and the American way of life.
Now with the rise of AI and unprecidented wealth inequality, it may not be possible to stop this process. We might have been able to transition to a tech utopia like Star Trek before the Dot Bomb and 9/11, but now will almost certainly fall into a wild west free-for-all of empire and rebel resistance like Star Wars.
This reads like a tragic LLM summary of the last 50 years. But it's the most concise analysis that I can come up with. After the optimism of the 1990s after the inter...