This is not activism on the day of the march. It is the total lack of activism over 3 decades for the trades – ZERO! Women raise 4.2 million first time out!
The day after Trump got elected, Teresa Shook of Hawaii posted on Facebook that a protest should be held at the inauguration of now President Trump. Teresa and women across the U.S. organically came up with an idea to protest the new President’s agenda on the 1st day after he was sworn in. http://www.elle.com/culture/news/a42067/womens-march-on-washington-timeline-logistics/
Definition of organic: “happening or developing in a natural and continuous process” Macmillan dictionary.
4 -6 weeks before the inauguration, hotels, car rentals and airlines recorded nearly a 100% spike in travel to several major cities. Those that couldn’t travel became the seeds/organizers for local protests.
Approx. 1 month before inauguration, most major cities became aware of protests coming their way and most were hugely underprepared for what was about to descend upon them.
Within 1 – 3 weeks of the impetus of this movement, social media started to hit its stride with potential protesters. Mostly volunteer protesters further shored up details and sites to protest in.
The day after inauguration, a minimum of approx. 4.2 million protestors, almost totally organized by volunteer women thru social media, descended on cities big and small throughout the US and the world.
In nearly every venue, speakers at the various protest events shared text short codes and website info to exponentially increase the attendance at protests in the future, and if necessary, civil disobedience.
In about 10 weeks, unabashed women built the best and fastest MOVEMENT in recent times with the ability to possibly increase the next round of protests to new historic levels!
Meanwhile, the Labor Movement under Trumka, with 12 million social signals, also called members of the AFL-CIO, have next to zero social media use at HIS disposal. Some affiliates are developing increasing competence with social media, but not Trumka.
Brother McGarvey and the International Presidents of the Trades have approx. 2 million social signals, also called members; and their use and coordination of social signals make Trumka look good! The trades individually, and collectively can’t organize a sock drawer! Much less use social media and turn their memberships into Movements. It took a grandma in Hawaii to do it! The IP’s absolutely refuse to link their memberships together, and then their respective organizations together to bring aggressive and structured social signals to bear in the 21st century.
The trades are irrelevant within our current society, and only small pockets of effective technology exist in some locals.
Old, stale and pale – “good ole boys” without the backbone to be a MOVEMENT. Maybe the women will show us the way and reignite activism again. We have said in many previous blogs that the trades can be worked around, and this example is living proof that the existing trades’ structure is on its death bed.
Some will say, “Where were those activists before?” Many, if not most, voted. However, they made one crucial miscalculation (along with the rest of us) and that was believing that the politicians and leadership of respective organizations had our back. They now know better and so they are bypassing the leadership and mobilizing and organizing themselves.
A word of caution to my Sisters would be that entertainment types entertain only – UNLESS they have real and deep activism roots. The same with politicians who just want to be “GREY”!
New and fabulous leaders will emerge from this calutron and sweep away the BS we have trusted for so long.
Our Founders would be happy to see this movement, and it has been decades since that could be said.
Women crank it up and let’s see a MOVEMENT take hold!
“if you see a good fight – get in it”
Danny L Caliendo
Organizer
Labor Rising/Labor Combat
