(tl;dr on the bottom)
Organizing a general strike is hard. Normally it takes a lot of planning, well-organized counter institutions, discipline, and an extensive mutual aid network. However, here in the US, we don't really have all that time and resources to act. Different conditions calls for different actions and strategies, so here I will share what I believe to be a good approach to take when it comes to helping enact the general strike:
- The strike will be decentralized. There will be no centrally-coordination national strike.
By this, I mean there isn't going to be a central committee by some organization like the AFL-CIO that's going to call for it and organize it from the top-down. Don't expect it, but moreover, don't even try to take that approach and make it happen yourself. Something of that scale requires far too many resources and preparation that we don't have. Focus locally. Organize locally. Work with other local groups and branch out from there after establishing yourself.
- Start by focusing on your personal circles & spreading ideas.
Talk with your coworkers and see about working with them first. Spread the idea to your neighbors, your family members, your D&D group, your church, to whatever group you are a part of. Talk with activist groups you belong to, unions you pay dues to; if you can get any already-existing institution to join in, that's great! But just spreading the idea of the general strike isn't enough; try to get people who are dedicated to actually taking action and organizing in their own work circles. Create communication circles to follow up on peoples' efforts, share tips, & coordinate efforts. Let them bring more people into those communication circles. And don't forget, to ensure privacy in communications:
- Use Signal or some other encrypted messaging service!
Employers will try to crack down on efforts. Cops will try to crack down on efforts. Fascists will try to crack down on efforts. Encrypted messaging platforms like Signal can make it harder for that to happen.
- Group organization is key! Make sure your decentralized organization is structured for effectiveness & efficiency to ensure greater chances of success.
Consensus democracy is great, but it is also slow and works well only in small groups. For organizing a block, a multi-street neighborhood, even small towns & districts, consensus will be too slow to make things work. Instead of relying on consensus, majoritarian, or hierarchical systems for local planning in medium to large-sized groups, a more efficient & effective way of structuring your groups is to use dynamic governance systems. Dynamic governance is just another way of saying a “consentsus” form, like Sociocracy or Holocracy.
These forms emphasize the importance of interchangeable, clearly-defined roles within action circles, and the use of “consent” when voting. By consent, I mean that when an item comes up to be enacted, people vote on whether or not they are “ok” with the proposal, or that they find it acceptable. Only when someone finds a proposal unconscionable or harmful to the purpose would they revoke their “consent”, and this more passive affirmation helps make decisions more fluid & efficient. With consentsus, proposals & decisions are rarely permanent, running on the basis of “let's try it now, and if we need to amend, we can always to that later.” Look up the specifics of it and work to incorporate it.
However, there comes a time when even that level of decentralization isn't feasible, and so majoritarian system will become necessary. From this, take lessons from the radicals and anarchists. Rusty's Rules for Order is a great alternative to typical procedural rule sets & majoritarian forms that places more power in the hands of the people and not the appointees or chairfolk.
- General strikes aren't just withholding labor, it's about shutting down the economy. Plan accordingly!
With a general strike, people don't just withhold their labor, they also withhold their spending. However, people still need to eat, drink water, and access essential services. Organizing locally is vital to making sure people's needs are met and the vulnerable are taken care of. Establish a neighborhood committee or group that works to ensuring the neighborhood has the supplies they need to survive & are cared for. That means designating people to look after or check on the vulnerable (elderly, disabled, etc.), get food, and defend the community from attack. Fascists & cops might try to engage in aggressive, violent action, so organizing the block to be ready to defend against that aggression is of the utmost importance. DO NOT ENGAGE IN AGGRESSION, ONLY DEFENSE.
- When organizing to meet local needs, networking is key.
This means working with other neighborhoods, with striking businesses & more. Maintaining a steady supply of food & water is essential. People need to be able to defend water from being shut down by aggressors, so plan for that. Coordinate with striking grocery store workers, sympathizers, & farmers to ensure that food is able to get transported & distributed. No economic activity doesn't mean no work. Establish rationing systems (with the help of dietary experts if possible), get boxes of food to community members, organize community food kitchens to serve ready-made food to those who aren't able to cook for themselves. However, some essential services require the use of equipment and facilities owned by firms. So what to do in this case?
- The strategy for essential services: the Japanese-style strike.
For medical professionals, firefighters, transportation workers, and other absolutely essential service providers, DO NOT WALK OUT OF THE JOB. Your service is absolutely essential to the longevity of the general strike. However, that doesn't mean you aren't powerless. In Japan, the bus drivers staged a “strike” that deprived the buses of earnings while making sure people still had access to public transportation. What they did was refuse to charge passengers for using the bus. Essential service providers can do this as well; when you can, refuse to charge for those services. Pharmacists, don't charge people for medicine; doctors, don't charge people for visits. Don't charge for surgeries, don't charge for therapies, don't engage with insurance companies, nothing. Take care of the community, and the community will take care of you.
- Constantly fight to control the narrative!
Corporate media will try to paint this in as negative of a light as possible. They will lie. They will threaten. Use social media, independent media, and any other peaceful means to try and control the narrative. If you're an employee of a media company, do whatever you can to promote the strike and crack down on lies.
- Don't stop until the government actually fixes shit.
Don't give in to promises that they will do things. Don't give in to pressure from businesses, corporate-compromised institutions, moderates, and even international unions. If they threaten violence, prepare like hell to defend and call their bluff (in the 1919 Seattle general strike, the mayor made the threat of gunning down strikers with machine guns; this was a bluff. The government goons are far more cowardly than they were back then, far less likely to engage in lethal action, and especially far less likely to engage with an organized, armed defending force [just look at Uvalde]. When they threaten; organize, call their bluff, and you will be fine). Aside from getting policy goals done (like codifying RvW), we should also push for justices to be impeached, government officials to be held accountable (even if that means them going to prison), & much more. A general strike can make miracles happen when it comes to enacting policy, so shoot for the stars!
Tl;Dr: Work locally. Organize locally. Build organizations, networks, infrastructure at the neighborhood level and move on from there. Make sure you build them wisely to ensure efficiency & effectiveness. Make sure people's needs are met, engage in alternative strike forms should the need arise, and control the narrative. Network w/ other strike committees, other institutions, other towns, other states! Be ready to defend yourselves and your communities and don't give up until you win. It all starts with small-scale action, spreading like wildfire throughout the country.
I am open to any and all criticisms. If you have ideas for improving on what I said or want to point out something I missed, please put it out there. If you want to boost your work or that of others, please do so. We're all in this together.