No work, no school, no shopping: What to know about the Jan. 30 general strike

What is the goal of the Jan. 30 general strike?

Organizers of the general strike are asking people to not go to work, not go to school, and not purchase anything on January 30. This creates both an economic blackout, and the opportunity to participate in local protests against ICE.

"The entire country is shocked and outraged at the brutal killings of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Silverio Villegas González, and Keith Porter Jr. by federal agents," the National Shutdown website states. "While Trump and other right wing politicians are slandering them as 'terrorists,' the video evidence makes it clear beyond all doubt: they were gunned down in broad daylight simply for exercising their First Amendment right to protest mass deportation."

"Every day, ICE, Border Patrol and other enforcers of Trump’s racist agenda are going into our communities to kidnap our neighbors and sow fear," it continues. "It is time for us to all stand up together in a nationwide shutdown and say enough is enough!"

Who is organizing tomorrow's strike?

The general strike is being organized through National Shutdown, a decentralized grassroots movement across multiple cities. It has been endorsed by 50501, CodePink, Defend Immigrant Families Campaign, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the North Carolina Poor People's Campaign, North Texas Area Labor Federation, the LA Tenants Union, the Palestinian Youth Movement, several student groups at the University of Minnesota, and more.

The national strike is a continuation of the statewide strike that occurred in Minnesota on January 23, which was organized by a local chapter of Indivisible, a grassroots group of volunteers dedicated to increasing civic engagement and education on progressive policies.

What celebrities have called for a nationwide strike?

Several A-list celebrities have endorsed the national general strike. Ariana Grande, Mark Ruffalo, and Jenna Ortega each reposted a graphic promoting the action to their Instagram stories. Hannah Einbinder wrote in a post that "withholding our labor and capital is our most effective leverage. national shutdown spread the word!"

Jamie Lee Curtis and Pedro Pascal each shared a graphic that contained images of Pretti and Good with the words "Pretti Good reason for a national strike." Pascal wrote in the caption, "Truth is a line of demarcation between a democratic government and authoritarian regime. Mr Pretti and Rene Good are dead. The American people deserve to know what happened."

Edward Norton also told the Los Angeles Times at the Sundance Film Festival, "I think what they're doing in Minnesota with the strike needs to expand. I think we should be talking about a national general economic strike until this is over."

Was Minnesota's strike successful?

Over 50,000 people marched in negative-20 degree temperature on January 23, as over 700 businesses in Minnesota closed, according to organizers at Indivisible Twin Cities.

That's just the people who participated in the protest – there's no way of knowing exactly how many just stayed home, though the number could be in the hundreds of thousands. The strike was endorsed by the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, the umbrella organization of Minneapolis-area local unions, which includes over 175 unions representing more than 80,000 workers.

“Working people, our schools and our communities are under attack. Union members are being detained commuting to and from work, tearing apart families," MRLF President Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou said in a statement. "Parents are being forced to stay home, students held out of school, fearing for their lives, all while the employer class remains silent. Our labor federations are encouraging everyone to participate ... It’s time for every single Minnesotan who loves this state and the notion of truth and freedom to raise their voices and deepen their solidarity for our neighbors and coworkers living under this federal occupation.”