Imagine, for a moment, if you will, a NATION-WIDE STRIKE on Black Friday

[JaneyVee]

Suppose a nation wide strike occurred on Black Friday involving all minimum wage workers employed at multinational corporations I.e. Walmart, Target, McDonalds, etc. all striking for immediate higher wages. Workers cross country meeting outside 20 minutes before their shifts and picketing, refusing to step foot inside until their demands are immediately met. This would deal a gigantic blow to these corporations instantly and leave them with no employees for at least most likely 72-96 hours, the time it would take to rehire and train new employees, which would devastate these multinational corporations during the biggest shopping days of the year. Not wanting to destroy 4 or more days of sales across numerous locations, they may rather immediately give in to demands to the current employees who already know the stores top to bottom and how to operate them with no need to find and retrain new employees. Now of course they could slowly fire and rehire new employees that get paid less again, but the sheer disruption to the mainstream capitalist system would not only create a huge media story, but would bring the entire issue of corporate welfare to the forefront as well. Imagine, thousands upon thousands, possibly millions of consumers not being able to consume on those days because there are no workers inside these stores. We could then push this issue on tv, blogs, and social media until even the non-political or aware are asking "yeah, why do billion dollar corporations pay employees so little that I have to subsidize them?"

How do you believe these corporations would react to such a strike? What do you think their gameplan to deal with such a situation would be?

I think sometimes we forget that labor is the superior of capital. The real makers are the workers, the real takers are the CEOs.

[Arcanetrance]

1. I think about it every major shopping holiday

Sadly a major strike like that would probably be met like the ones in the early 1900s private security cracking heads

[el_bryanto]

4. It depends - what you would need is for people to not shop as well as workers to not work

If people didn't shop either there'd be no point to cracking heads.

Bryant

[Arcanetrance]

5. See and that's where my confidence falters people have been programmed to shop on that day

There's a certain subset of the American populace happy to be seen as nothing more than consumers.

[el_bryanto]

6. well - or maybe they think "Now is when things are cheap and I want to give my family

a nice Christmas."

I don't think anybody thinks "I really want to be seen as nothing more than a consumer."

Bryant

[Arcanetrance]

8. You just have to submit to the most animalistic instincts inside of you so that you may claw

push trample and any other violent act so you can get to said cheap prices. To me that seems like it takes everything that makes us humans away just so people can get the latest stuff at a cheap price. Anyway my point is I doubt many people would stop shopping to support the strike. In fact I'm willing to bet all the stores opening super early on Thanksgiving will be packed with shoppers.

[awoke_in_2003]

9. You used the word "think"...

there is no thinking- it is Pavlovian reaction. Consumers have been very well conditioned for years. We now think "having a nice Christmas" means getting a bunch of junk that we are willing to claw and gouge for to get the best price.

[2naSalit]

2. One of two scenarios...

One, what the poster above said, private thugs cracking heads.

OR

They agree to the demands and as soon as the holiday season is over they fire every last one of the current employees and back to business as usual... low wages no benes or rights.

[bluedeathray]

3. Glorious thought

Ignored by the ignorant and oblivious masses.

[MineralMan]

7. That would be something amazing to see.

It won't happen, though. So, it's another one of those dreams that can't be realized. A different approach will be needed.

[uncle ray]

10. there would be riots.

stores, of course, would have to close. people lined up for hours outside stores would not be happy, people counting on getting a majority of their holiday shopping done in a day or three would not be happy. the backlash from consumers would ensure the failure of the strike.

[pipi_k]

12. No kidding!

I've never shopped on Black Friday. I hate shopping anyway...why make it worse. It's a jungle out there...

So I do as much as I can online.

Just bought a bunch of stuff from Dollar General online and got free shipping.

I get good deals, and my UPS driver has a steady job.

[pipi_k]

11. So basically...

minimum wage workers, many of whom may be living right on the edge, counting each and every penny, afraid to take one day off even for sickness, would miss a day or two or whatever of work (and pay), knowing that they need their jobs more than the giant corporations need them, would be jumping at the chance to screw themselves over.

And maybe even face being fired...maybe not all of them, but enough just to make an example of them to others...right before Christmas.

I dunno. Maybe it's me, but I equate that with one of the reasons many people prefer staying in dysfunctional/abusive relationships. Devil they know > devil they don't know.