Union Organizers
Would be a great resource.
In Unions they call this the “blue flu.”
It is an option. It is something we all could actually do — imagine if everyone — black or not — called into work the day after a shooting in protest.
What would that mean? How might it voice give rise to grieving voices? If everyone did it, or at least the majority of the workforce, as an expression to honor the loss of life, maybe people with influence (read money) would begin to care more?
I don’t know if it would do anything, but it is a valid means of protest that has a long, intersectional history — this is the way the labor force in this country assembled and fought for rights. Rights like “overtime pay,” health insurance, mandatory breaks and better, more safe working conditions.
It is easier to negotiate in this fashion with only one organization, but that isn’t what the labor and trade unions actually accomplished. They got laws passed leveraging “blue flu,” strikes and sit ins.
“Blue” in this context = blue collar workers, for those who do not know the term.
Either way, “calling in black” is not the worst idea I’ve ever heard, especially given the successes had with “Blue Flu” and the rights they were able to gain with its use. It would require great structure and discipline. It would be a massive undertaking to do it rightly.
Hell, I bet some organizations / employers might even consider supporting it.
For hourly employees, you’d actually lawfully decrease the tax dollars paid to the government because you would not collect money for yourself that day.
That’s the downside, however, is that people would actually have to be willing to not clock hours they’d normally get paid for if the affect was to be felt at the governmental level.
I wonder if anyone knows the actual math of how much it would hurt if the government lost a full day of tax collection in this country?
