Chapter 4

Strikes

What is it?

There are many types of strikes.

It can mean you refuse to work, to eat, to pay rent, to go to school.

Fundamentally, a strike is when you refuse to do something that may be required under normal conditions in order to protest against a decision, to reaffirm rights, or to subvert relations of power. 

For example, landlords may refuse to do repairs or unreasonably increase the charges, causing a rent strike. Through the strike, tenants can show landlords that without them, there is no income coming from the rent and therefore no landlord. 

At this point, landlords may be willing to discuss and settle the matter. 

The same principle applies to workers and employers. 

In the case of hunger strikes, this is a very extreme form of protest usually used by political prisoners. 

A notable strike has been the school strike initiated by Greta Thumberg every Friday, where students refuse to go to school in protest at inaction on the climate crisis.

How do you do it?

You simply refuse to do the things that you are normally expected to do. It does not matter if you are alone or in a large group. Your strike would educate the stakeholders about the issue you are protesting about.

Why and when should you use it?

Strike when you want to send a powerful message about a situation which is unsustainable anymore, or to draw the attention of people on your issue.

Works best in combination with:

Any PR or Communication Campaign, Hacktivism, Twitter Action, Media Engagement.

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Here are some useful links