General Strike To Protest Trump Happening Today In Washington Square Park

Scott Heins

Published Feb 17, 2017

Modified Feb 17, 2017

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Scott Heins

Published Feb 17, 2017

Modified Feb 17, 2017

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Less than 24 hours after the Day Without Immigrants labor protest drew widespread media attention, an unknown number of New Yorkers will go on strike to convey their opposition to President Trump. Today at 1 p.m., a General Strike rally will take place in Washington Square Park, which is part of a larger nationwide General Strike.

In a Facebook event for the Washington Square protest, organizers have stressed the rally will be both a sign of solidarity with all workers, and will also function as a community-building exercise for those hoping to push back against any anti-labor policies expected from the Trump administration. "We will dedicate our time to meeting one another, learning about our industries and our backgrounds, and building an organizational network with which to carry out further, larger strikes if necessary for the betterment of our country," organizer Andrew Thornebrooke wrote.

Following a series of speakers, a 90 minute open forum on "Meaningful Strikes," "Immigration and Labour," "Intersectional Justice," and "Volunteering" will be held, before Thornebrooke delivers the closing remarks. Strikers who don't have any Friday night plans are encouraged to meet up again at 6 p.m. for the Know Your Rights Town Hall at P.S. 48 Po Michael J Buczek School, at 4360 Broadway in Hudson Heights.

While the rollback of labor unions in the past three decades has made it difficult for Americans to strike without the risk of being fired, labor solidarity action appears to be surging in New York City. Thousands protesting Trump's Muslim travel ban were joined by the New York City Taxi Workers Alliance, who instituted a one-hour strike on all pickups at JFK airport as an act of solidarity with those detained, deported, and denied entry. Five days later, thousands of Yemeni-American bodega workers closed their shops and protested on the steps of Brooklyn's Borough Hall. Looking further back, in October 1969, The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam grew from a general work strike into an astonishing display of protest as millions around the world left work, school, and their homes to march in the streets against the war.

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Scott Heins

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Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.

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