A second national “economic blackout” is being organized by the People’s Union USA, a group that says it wants to “take power back from the corporations,” between April 18 and 20. During this time, the group is urging its supporters to avoid spending money if they can, and only use local businesses if they need to.
Newsweek contacted the People’s Union USA for comment on Tuesday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
The People’s Union USA has already organized one nationwide “economic blackout,” which took place on February 28, whilst it has an ongoing Walmart boycott which lasts until April 14.
This comes after thousands of people across the U.S. and beyond took part in hundreds of anti-Trump demonstrations organized by the “Hands Off!” movement on Saturday. These indicate the Trump administration and its agenda could face growing opposition from campaign groups using protests and boycotts, rather than electoral politics, as their main tools.
What To Know
The second “economic blackout” organized by the People’s Union USA takes place from April 18 to 20, during which the group is asking Americans to carry out “no spending” and “no big box shopping” if they can, and if they need to spend to “support local businesses only.”
The People’s Union USA claims it is fighting corporations and politicians who “have worked together to rig the system against the American people” with “an economy designed to exploit workers.”
It also opposes the rolling back of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives which has taken place across the private sector since Trump’s election victory in November and in the federal government since his second inauguration in January. The group says: “The idea that DEI initiatives should be abandoned is backward, regressive, and dangerous.”
The People’s Union USA is led by John Schwarz, an activist with 409,000 Instagram followers who also uses the name “theonecalledjai.”
Further boycotts are planned by the group including one targeting General Mills from April 21 to 28 and a second aimed at Amazon from May 6 to 12.
What People Are Saying
On its official website, The People’s Union USA says: “Mega corporations have driven up prices, underpaid their workers, and outsourced jobs while raking in record profits. Banks and financial institutions have trapped generations in debt, inflating interest rates and making homeownership nearly impossible.
“Politicians ‘both left and right’ have accepted corporate bribes, passed laws that serve billionaires, and ignored the needs of the people they claim to represent. The system has been designed to keep us powerless, but that ends now.”
Speaking to Newsweek before the People’s Union USA’s first “economic blackout,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, said: “We’ve seen economic protests like this before when changes were made to different major employers that were controversial, and this planned one is no different…
“While these blackouts are normally done with the hope of positive implications, the reality is past data indicates they lead to little financial data from most major companies. At the end of the day, even if consumers support the cause, they’re going to continue to fulfill their purchasing needs and desires.”
What Happens Next
It is unclear how many people will participate in the People’s Union USA’s upcoming boycott. Given the size of the corporations being targeted, support for the boycott will have to extend well beyond the regular activist community for it to have a significant economic impact.
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