General Strike 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AS #GENERALSTRIKE TRENDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, A YOUTUBE PERSONALITY FIGHTS TO MAKE IT REALITY

Activist Emerican Johnson - successful YouTuber, Twitch streamer, and blogger under the name Non-Compete - has launched General Strike 2020 (genstrike.org), a platform for organizing political responses to the Trump Administration’s failure to manage the COVID-19 crisis. In response to Trump’s suggestion that Americans risk exposure for the sake of the economy, Johnson and General Strike 2020 seek to turn the online outrage - including calls from celebrities like Britney Spears - into real political action.

As a relief bill looms in Congress, the organizers argue the Administration’s proposed response is insufficient, prioritizing the needs of casinos and cruise liners over the American worker. They note that the $2 trillion allotment to such industries could instead allow $6,000 in payments to every American suffering through the pandemic.

General Strike 2020 is calling for all workers to remain sheltered in place in accordance with current medical guidance from the CDC. Beginning March 31st, they are calling for workers across the country to call in sick to work, and stop all rent and debt payments indefinitely. To show solidarity, they encourage participants to hang white sheets or towels outside of their homes. As part of their demands, General Strike 2020 calls on the US government to guarantee paid leave for all non-essential workers through the duration of the pandemic, as well as personal protective equipment and hazard pay for all essential workers, including grocery store employees. They are also demanding suspension of rent, loan payments, utility payments, and interest accrual until workers can safely return to employment.government to guarantee paid leave for all non-essential workers through the duration of the pandemic, as well as personal protective equipment and hazard pay for all essential workers, including grocery store employees.

Additionally, General Strike 2020 is calling for the distribution of free meal assistance, free medical care and free protective equipment for all, prioritizing those most at risk, including front-line healthcare workers.

Finally, General Strike 2020 is demanding an end to immigration raids and sweeps of homeless camps, the release of all occupants of detention camps and holding facilities and guaranteed housing for all persons lacking shelter to self-quarantine.

As Emerican Johnson notes, a lot of the necessary on-the-ground work is already happening across the country, thanks to the efforts of various disparate groups, but a unified front and mutual solidarity will be crucial for these efforts to succeed. "We will need to make decisions on a localized basis, but we will also need to network together to strengthen and support each others’ movements," writes Johnson on Medium. "Come together, organize, communicate, coordinate, and let’s fight to save our own lives and the lives of our loved ones."
More information is available at http://www.genstrike.org. General Strike 2020 can be contacted by the public at generalstrike2020 [at] gmail.com. 

Thank you so much for your time, in Solidarity.