www.womenstrikeus.org
@womenstrikeus
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S STRIKE ON MARCH 8TH- PRESS STATEMENT
As feminists organizing in the US we are
calling for an international women’s strike on March 8th. We stand in solidarity
with women from over thirty countries who will be striking on that day. As our original statement indicates
(https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/06/women-strike-trumpresistance-power)
we come from many political traditions but are united in our rejection of the
current racist and misogynist policies of Trump as well as the decades long
neoliberal attacks on working people’s lives, which created the conditions for
Trump.
We believe that lean-in feminism is entirely
inadequate to solve the problems of the vast majority of us. Instead, we believe that the solution lies in
grassroots organizing and the politics of solidarity across our various
movements. This is why we are going on
strike on March 8th and we are asking you to as well.
What is a strike? Women have long
known that all work does not happen at the workplace, but also at home and in
the many ways we serve others. In today’s precarious economy, most of us work
without the protection of unions. Here
are some ways we plan to strike, and we encourage others to do the same:
1) Create a large women’s strike
social coalition; 2) organize or participate in local marches, demonstrations
and walkouts; 3) organize or participate in picket lines and direct actions of
civil disobedience; 4) organize a strike in your workplace. If you
have a union, get your union on board; if you don't, discuss with your
coworkers what risks you are able to take and organize accordingly; 5) organize
a boycott of companies using sexism in their advertisements or approach to
workers; 6) organize a boycott of
chosen local misogynists; 7) if you can, leave care and housework
for the day and join your local demonstrations; 8) in
case you can’t stop work, get your friends together who support the strike and
wear or use the color red that day, for example, red clothes, or a red ribbon; 9)
strike from gender roles.
At this moment there are plans in
place to have rallies and demonstrations in NYC, Chicago, LA, and several
university campuses.
We have received several
endorsements from grass root organizations and labor unions and the list of
endorsements is steadily growing (see here: womenstrikeus.org/endorsements). We are also cooperating with the
Women’s March, which has decided to call for A Day Without A Woman in
solidarity with the International Women’s Strike.
The tyrannies we experience—low
wages, violence, racism, xenophobia—are wrapped up in global chains of trade
and militarism. There has never been a
more important time to unite with women fighting the same fights in many
nations. And there has never been a more important time to learn from one
another. As the last year has shown, women stand at the forefront of today’s
struggles. Luckily, we don’t stand alone.
Attached are our platform and a list
of many ways to strike on March 8th. You can find more information
on the national organizers on our website at womenstrikeus.org.
Please contact Sarah Leonard, Cinzia Arruzza
or Tithi Bhattacharya at press@womenstrikeus.org
for further details and visit our website: womenstrikeus.org.
