In a cross-posted thread, I’ve seen plenty people mentioning that others don’t even go voting. I think this is a bit defeatist; at least here in Brazil, most non-voters say stuff like “voting is pointless, it doesn’t change anything”. This means that they could potentially join a strike, if they were certain that it would improve things for them.
It’s probably the same in other countries.
A few points on increasing odds of success:
Never say how long the strike should last. The uncertainty makes it feel worse for your opponents; doubly so for corporations (as they hate unnecessary risks, and the strike going on for a long time is a risk for them).
Have a concise list of clear demands. At least some of them should be obviously advantageous to the strikers, even the non-politicised ones.
Some politicisation of the strikers is good. Just keep in mind that most don’t want to hear about theoretical stuff. (Do explain the theoretical stuff to the willing ones though.)
If you want 100, ask for 200. Let the other side negotiate it down back to 100. (They’d still do it if you asked for 100 - except that they’d negotiate it to 50.)
Watch out for false flags stirring trouble. They’ll do shit like throw stones at residential windows (to get non-strikers pissed at you, and justify the cops [ACAB] pepper spraying you.) And in general keep good discipline among strikers, always reminding them why, how, who, and against whom you all are striking.
Also watch out for groups trying to co-opt the strike into “their” strike. They should feel welcome to join, but they should not seize control over the whole.
Uni students are specially eager to join. Don’t ignore them.
Source: mostly personal experience. I’m nowadays disengaged, but a decade or so ago I was in a socialist party, and joined quite a few strikes.
In a cross-posted thread, I’ve seen plenty people mentioning that others don’t even go voting. I think this is a bit defeatist; at least here in Brazil, most non-voters say stuff like “voting is pointless, it doesn’t change anything”. This means that they could potentially join a strike, if they were certain that it would improve things for them.
It’s probably the same in other countries.
A few points on increasing odds of success:
Source: mostly personal experience. I’m nowadays disengaged, but a decade or so ago I was in a socialist party, and joined quite a few strikes.
This is probably the greatest thing i have read in a long time. Thank you so much for posting it.