Skill Level: Beginner
A general strike is the nuclear option of resistance. When workers refuse to work, spend, or comply, the entire machine seizes up. Add mass protests in the streets, and suddenly those who think they rule us can’t move a muscle. Strikes and protests aren’t side notes to democracy — they are democracy in action.
Example of Importance
In Puerto Rico in 2019, a general strike forced a corrupt governor out of office. In Poland, strikes paired with protests cracked open dictatorship. In the U.S., the 1934 San Francisco General Strike shut down ports and shifted labor power permanently. The lesson: petitions may be ignored, but empty factories, silent subways, and streets flooded with resisters are impossible to dismiss.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare Your Base – Link up with unions, neighborhood pods, and resistance orgs. Secure your comms with Signal or Matrix.
- Pick Pressure Points – Shut down transport, logistics, health care, education. Pair with visible protests.
- Sustain the Strike – Stockpile food, medicine, cash. Mutual aid must feed the fire.
- Coordinate the Message – Simple slogans win: “Shut it down to open it up.” Keep demands laser-focused.
- Hit the Streets – Occupy government buildings, corporate offices, and city centers. March, sit-in, blockade, create art that disrupts.
- Protect the People – Always bring medics, legal observers, and protest marshals. No lone wolves — buddy up, stay safe, stay fierce.
- Collaborate with General Strike – Join their servers and keep up with their events.
Kitty’s Final Scratch
Shutdowns are Trump’s weapon. Strikes and protests are ours. When we walk out, they shut up. When we march, they stumble. When we stop the machine, they lose their grip. Claws out, paws linked — we strike back together.
Source List
- Jacobin – The Power of General Strikes
- Labor Notes – Organizing Strikes
- NPR – Puerto Rico 2019 General Strike
