The call to build for a general strike is gaining momentum within the working class. In the Puget Sound area, Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity (OWLS) launched a campaign to promote that idea in early 2025.
In November, it gathered steam: OWLS organized a town hall backed by labor and community groups, including A. Philip Randolph Institute–Seattle and union locals of communication workers and state employees. More than 100 people met at the Seattle Labor Temple to strategize on the theme: Mobilize Workers Untapped Power to Stop the Trump Regime. Diverse in unions and movements represented, the crowd included educators, engineers, iron workers, immigrant rights activists and feminists, students, unemployed folks, retirees, and workers organizing in non-union shops.
“OWLS sees the general strike as our super power,” said Annaliza Torres, in opening remarks. A leader in the cross-union labor group, she explained how the OWLS campaign has nurtured the blossoming of a labor-led united front, with a growing base of unions and labor groups that recognize the need for workers to exercise their economic power.
A multiracial, diverse panel of speakers kicked off the meeting with stories, history, and testimony; they primed the pump for rich discussion afterwards when everyone broke into groups led by experienced facilitators.
Study strikes, build solidarity
Major themes of the panel included learning working-class history, the urgency of current times, and the importance of collective action.
Jaqueline Johnson Page, a frontline worker and public-sector unionist inspired the crowd with her message, “things must change!” Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Johnson Page told how she was “two generations removed from slavery.” There is more freedom to protest in the North than the South and it needs to be used, she emphasized. “They are stripping history away from us because that’s what binds us into this state of mind of having a lack of urgency.” Pulling together, sharing resources, and nurturing a spirit of determination are critical.
She made special note of the history relayed by panelist Leith Kahl on how the U.S. Civil War was won. He cited W.E.B DuBois’ seminal book, Black Reconstruction in America. Slavers believed Black people would keep working. Instead, they abandoned farms and fields as the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Only when it became a war to end chattel slavery did Black labor have a reason to conduct a general strike, Kahl said. “This crippled the economy” of the confederacy, bringing victory.
Ahmed Mumin, Executive Director of the Seattle Rideshare Drivers Association, addressed attacks on the African Diaspora community. “Something is deeply wrong, designed to where demonizing others has become a norm.” He explained how drivers go to work to feed their families or pay rent — not to get rich. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is fueling chaos and fear. A person detained by ICE might be paying a mortgage, only to lose their home to foreclosure. Mothers are being ripped from their children. What’s happening in the U.S. is familiar to immigrants who have fled dictatorships. “Now’s the time to call for a general strike” and create a society better for everyone.
The Latino community is confronting similar attacks, and Salvador Castillo, a custodian and veteran union leader at the University of Washington, stressed the importance of collective defense. With a lifetime of building coalitions among staff, faculty, students, and community, he summed up the wisdom of his years with this insight: “If you take 15 or 20 people they listen to you. If you go by yourself, you are arrested.” He called on the audience “to organize ourselves, and get ready, because this is only the beginning.”
This writer spoke about lessons from Seattle’s General Strike of 1919. In running the city for five days, organized labor gained confidence and laid a foundation for future victories. This included the mass strikes of the 1930s. Seattle’s workers paved the way for their general strike by promoting the idea in unions and labor councils, which needs to happen again.
Moving forward in 2026
In break-out groups following the panel, energetic young service workers in non-union shops mixed it up with retirees sharing decades of union experience. The room buzzed with voices as each group put ideas and action proposals onto large tablets.
During report backs, comments included, “Labor needs to show up in solidarity at ‘non-labor causes,’ for example Martin Luther King Day.” Also, “take care of the most vulnerable,” and “untame our movements from Democrats.” Universal healthcare was a popular demand.
Education was recognized as key to raising consciousness, as was bringing the ideas from the Town Hall back to unions, labor councils, community and labor groups. Best of all, the day’s energy translated into concrete actions and continuing collaboration. Every January, a grassroots coalition led by Black community leaders organizes a Martin Luther King Day march in Seattle. OWLS solidified plans to participate in this year’s event, Jan. 19, with a workshop that draws on lessons from the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike. A general strike contingent is also coming together.
To get involved with the OWLS general strike campaign or learn more, email OrganizedWorkersLS@gmail.com.
