Fed up with Corporate America’s short-sighted subservience to an administration that seems hellbent on screwing over the 99 percent, a grassroots effort has arisen online to boycott all shopping for 24 hours on February 28.
Not just online, but in person, too. Organizer of the event, the self-proclaimed apolitical The People’s Union USA, urges everyone to postpone purchases of any kind until 12:01 a.m. on March 1.
And if a person can’t postpone their purchases until 12:01 a.m. on March 1, then the group urges them to buy locally and prioritize small businesses over big, corporate chains. So fill up your gas tank by 11:59 p.m. on February 27 if you want to join in.
it began on Instagram and TikTok
John Schwarz, founder of The People’s Union USA, began his fusillade against Corporate America on Instagram and TikTok under his user handle, TheOneCalledJai, where he racked up “255,000 new Instagram followers and more than 100,000 new TikTok followers in the span of a few weeks,” according to an interview with The Washington Post (owned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, by the way).
Schwarz acknowledged that a one-day shopping blockade won’t affect the targeted companies on Wall Street, but that’s not the point. The point, he told the WP, was to get “corporations to at least pause and stop and notice.” It’s to demonstrate to mega-corporations that, as the group says, “We (the consumers) have the power.”
“We’re all exhausted. We’re all tired. Enough is enough,” Schwarz said to the WP. “We can’t sit back and watch these people boast about their wealth … and then we’re all sitting at home in anxiety and fear, not knowing how we’re going to make it till the end of the month.”
Despite the political-sounding name, the group disavows any left-wing or right-wing associations. In a FAQ on The People’s Union USA’s website, one question reads, “Are you against Trump, Elon Musk, or any specific individuals?”
It answers, “This movement is not about one person. It is about the system as a whole. Both political parties, both past and current leaders, and billionaires have manipulated the economy and profited off the working class. We will hold them all accountable. Our focus is systemic change, not political drama.”
And elsewhere, “We are not Democrat, Republican, Independent, or any other party. We transcend political labels.”
the next moves are already planned
“…It is the beginning of something bigger,” The People’s Union USA writes on its website. “The first domino that will set off a chain of actions until the people get what they deserve.” They’ve already published a schedule through the end of April for further economic blackouts and more targeted boycotts of particular retailers.
- “March 7-14: Amazon Blackout – No Amazon purchases, no Whole Foods, no Prime (Video) orders.
- March 21-28: Nestlé Blackout – Boycotting Nestlé-owned brands due to water exploitation, child labor, and corporate greed.
- March 28: 24-Hour Economic Blackout #2 – No spending for one full day.
- April 7-13: Walmart Blackout – Shutting down spending at one of the biggest price-gouging, worker-exploiting corporations.
- April 18: (24-Hour) Economic Blackout #3 – Another full 24-hour halt to the economy.
- April 21-27: General Mills Blackout – Exposing food industry corruption and the poisoning of our families.
With a nod toward the rampant misinformation that glues the web together, they close by warning against frauds who may seek to impersonate the movement or its leadership: “The ONLY way to reach out officially is through ThePeoplesUnionUSA.com by clicking the “Meet the Founder” tab. If anyone else claims to represent this movement, it is fraudulent.”
The 24-hour blackout on February 28 is the first action the group has planned, and with the flurry of news stories, interviews, and social media posts, it hopes to be more than a flash-in-the-plan protest. “This is just the beginning,” they say. “More actions will follow.”
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