Frequently Asked Questions

What is Strike for America?

We are activists who, by supporting and promoting mass action to force the hand of elected officials, are dedicated to mobilizing Americans to preserve our human rights.
We are a collective; mobilizing Americans to take back OUR power to exert our economic power to force elected officials to do their job!

What’s the difference between a strike and a protest or a strike and a march?

Strikes are refusals to work (and/or participate in commerce) until demands are met or until a certain date/time; marches and protests are public displays of objection towards an idea or action, often accompanied by signs and chants.

What are the specific ways I can help save our democracy?

Can I volunteer to help?

Is there a place I can check out rallies or protests in my area?

How do we plan to make a lasting impact?

We will work with professionals who will help us draft proposed legislation that will be our “demands”.

How many people will it take to call for a general strike?

“No democracy movement has ever failed when it was able to mobilize at least 3.5 percent of the population to protest over a sustained period. At that scale, most soldiers have no desire to suppress protesters. Why? Because the crowd includes their family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. With a population of 327 million, the U.S. would need to mobilize about 11.5 million people to assert popular, democratic power on the government.” (https://bigthink.com/the-present/the-3-5-percent-solution/). See Erica Chenoweth’s research for more information.

How will we make the strikes accessible?

We will do this a few different ways:
- Coalition building.
  - Mutual aid…
- Encourage people to not engage in commerce on strike days
- We will encourage those who cannot participate or sit out of work to do minimal labor and no household work (unless not doing so would cause harm to herself or others) on strike days
See our Coalition page here.

What protections will be explained/offered to folks wanting to strike, but afraid to do so?

We are working with coalition partners to be sure we have legal teams to advise on this. If you know of any labor lawyers, please send them our way.

Visit NAACP.org for more information.

Reproductive Rights & Racial Justice

Access to abortion care has been a fundamental part of reproductive care for Black, Brown, and low-income people throughout the country. The legalization of abortion in the 1970s, following Roe v. Wade, led to a 9.6% increase in Black women’s college graduation rate, according to a study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Abortion access also resulted in a 6.9% increase in Black women’s labor market participation rate. This was three times higher than the corresponding rate for women generally.
Overturning reproductive rights disproportionately harms Black, Brown, and low-income people who are most impacted by systemic inequalities. A recent study estimated that banning abortion in the U.S. would lead to a 21% increase in the number of pregnancy-related deaths overall and a 33% increase among Black people, simply because staying pregnant is more dangerous than having an abortion. It would also lead to increased deaths due to unsafe abortions or attempted abortions.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

The Supreme Court established that under the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects a person’s liberty interest against state deprivation without due process of law, a person has a right to choose to have an abortion before viability — that is, before approximately 24 weeks into a pregnancy. The Court concluded that when a pregnancy reached viability, state interests in the life of the fetus are high enough to permit states to prohibit abortions. This decision meant that states did not have the right to ban abortion. Since then, states have passed more than 1,300 laws and restrictions that make it harder and more expensive to get an abortion.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

The Court affirmed its decision in Roe and recognized a constitutional right to decide to have an abortion before viability and to obtain it without undue interference from the state. Planned Parenthood v. Casey was filed in 1992 to challenge the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, which required a waiting period, spousal notification, and parental consent for minors. The decision crafted the undue burden standard for abortion.