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Fueled by Anger at Trump and Corporate Greed, Economic Blackout Underway
"We have the power," said one supporter of the boycott. "We don't have to accept corporate monopolies. We don't have to live with corporate money corrupting our politics."
Feb 28, 2025
After hundreds of thousands of social media users in recent days shared posts calling for an economic blackout at major retail corporations on February 28, the boycott was underway Friday, with proponents saying the aim was to deliver a message about widespread anger over corporate greed "to corporate America directly."
"We have the power. We don't have to accept corporate monopolies. We don't have to live with corporate money corrupting our politics," said former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. "We don't have to accept more tax cuts for billionaires. We don't have to pay more of our hard-earned cash to Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg or the other billionaire oligarchs."
The idea of the blackout originated with a self-described "mindfulness and meditation facilitator," John Schwartz, who urged consumers to join the push for "systemic change," emphasizing that the boycott was not targeting President Donald Trump, his billionaire adviser and benefactor Elon Musk, or a political party, as both Democratic and Republican leaders "have manipulated the economy and profited off the working class."
But Schwartz noted on his website for The People's Union USA, "a grassroots movement dedicated to economic resistance, government accountability, and corporate reform," that the group stands "firmly for equality and freedom for ALL people, regardless of race, gender, background, or identity. The idea that companies and institutions should abandon diversity and inclusivity is regressive and unacceptable."
The statement was an apparent reference to Trump's executive order threatening to open investigations into companies that do not dismantle initiatives aimed at promoting "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI). The order—and the decision by some companies including Target, Walmart, Amazon to roll back DEI programs—has been named by some participants in Friday's economic blackout as a reason to withhold their spending from the corporations.
"We don't have to reward corporations that have abandoned their DEI policies to align themselves with Trump's racist, homophobic, misogynistic agenda," said Reich. "We have choices."
"It is promising that people are responding to the current moment by showing their distrust of these corporations."
Schwartz's posts about the blackout on social media went viral in recent weeks, with 700,000 people sharing his Instagram post and the content generating 8.5 million total views.
The boycott has gained the attention of celebrities with wide followings including actor Mark Ruffalo and author Stephen King.
While one marketing expert, Anna Tuchman of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, toldThe Associated Press that the boycott was unlikely to lead to "long-run sustained decreases in economic activity" that would impact the financial bottom line of Amazon, Target, Walmart, and other affected companies, she noted that the blackout could make an impact on daily sales.
"I think this is an opportunity for consumers to show that they have a voice on a single day," said Tuchman.
Based on information from a data company called Placer.ai, the one-day blackout is likely not the only action many shoppers have been taking.
During the week of February 10, according to the company, which uses phone location date to track visits to stores, foot traffic dropped at Target stores by 7.9% and at Walmart by 4.8%, while it increased by 4.8% at Costco locations; Costco has defended its DEI policies under the Trump administration.
Joseph Feldman of financial research firm Telsey Advisory Group told clients that recent data "shows a clear drop in traffic in late January into mid-February following [one] company's step back from DEI."
According to Schwartz's website, more economic blackouts—both wide-scale and those targeting specific corporations—are being planned for the coming weeks.
The People's Union USA called for an Amazon blackout, including Whole Foods, during the week of March 7; a boycott of Nestlé to protest water exploitation and child labor during the week of March 21; and 24-hour economic blackouts on March 28 and April 18.
In a separate push, labor unions led by the United Auto Workers have already begun preparing for a general strike on May 1, 2028—International Solidarity Day.
Friday's blackout comes on the heels of news that consumer confidence plummeted in February, likely leading some corporations to already have felt the impact of fewer shoppers. Analysts linked the drop in consumer spending to anxiety stemming from Trump's mass firing of federal workers and his threatened tariffs on imports from the European Union, Canada, and Mexico.
The video posted by Schwartz on Instagram recently rallied consumers by telling them that "corporations profit off of our labor while keeping wages low, banks steal billions through inflation and predatory policies, politicians accept bribes disguised as donations while ignoring the people."
"They have taken everything from us while convincing us we should be grateful of the scraps," said Schwartz. "And that ends now."
With enthusiasm and media coverage of the blackout spreading in recent days, Aaron Vansintjan, co-author of The Future Is Degrowth: A Guide to a World Beyond Capitalism, toldThe Intercept that "people are getting a sense that they're ripped off, that they're being taken advantage of and exploited as consumers."
"It is promising that people are responding to the current moment by showing their distrust of these corporations," said Vansintjan, whose book calls for reducing consumption and production of fossil fuels, factory-farmed meat products, and other goods that harm the planet.
Vansintjan noted that consumers have power that is more limited than that of unionized workers and tenants, who can organize for fair wages, working conditions, and rent prices.
"It's hard to have an impact where you shop, because most of us don't actually have much of a choice in that," Vansintjan said.
Schwartz toldThe Washington Post: "We are the economy. We are the workforce."
Corporate retailers, he said, "benefit only because we get up every day and do what we do. If we stop, they have nothing, and it's time for them to accept that truth."
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Boycott Major Retailers to Show Them We Have the Power
If politicians won’t hear the voices of average Americans who are being shafted by corporate America, we have to deliver our message to corporate America directly.
Feb 28, 2025
A grassroots movement is calling on all Americans to abstain from shopping with major retailers—including Amazon—today, February 28, as part of an “economic blackout.”
The purpose is to send a clear message: We have the power. We don’t have to accept corporate monopolies. We don’t have to live with corporate money corrupting our politics.
We don’t have to accept more tax cuts for billionaires. We don’t have to pay more of our hard-earned cash to Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg or the other billionaire oligarchs.
Consider this a test run. If lots of people participate, I’m sure a longer one will be organized.
We don’t have to reward corporations that have abandoned their DEI policies to align themselves with President Donald Trump’s racist, homophobic, misogynistic agenda.
We have choices.
Most Americans are struggling to keep up. Most live from paycheck to paycheck. Most can barely afford housing costs, food prices, and pharmaceuticals—kept high by monopolies, and fueled by private equity.
If politicians won’t hear the voices of average Americans who are being shafted by corporate America, we have to deliver our message to corporate America directly.
From midnight February 28 to midnight March 1, please: No Amazon, no Walmart, no Best Buy, no Target, no Disney, no Google, no Facebook. Don’t spend on fast food, major retailers, or gas.
Avoid using credit or debit cards to make nonessential purchases.
Buy essentials such as medicine, food, and emergency supplies, of course, but make those purchases at small, local businesses.
Consider this a test run. If lots of people participate, I’m sure a longer one will be organized.
(Today’s economic blackout is an initiative of The People’s Union USA, which describes itself as a “grassroots movement dedicated to economic resistance, government accountability, and corporate reform.”)
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How to Argue With the Deportation Advocates in Your Family This Holiday Season
I work with Latino migrants every day—here’s the history to help you stand up for people like my students during Christmas dinner.
Dec 23, 2024
Once again, the holiday season is upon us. Whether we choose to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa—or simply participate in ongoing festivities—we can all agree that it’s a special time of the year, graced by extended time with family and friends, good food, and merrymaking. For obvious reasons already enumerated in countless media outlets, it can also be a stressful time, a lonely time, and a sad time. This year, but a few weeks after the 2024 Presidential Elections, the stakes are even higher. The probability of uncomfortable dinners has grown, perhaps exponentially, as we take stock of how deeply divided our nation truly is.
2025 will bring us Trump Show 2.0, with the president-elect promising mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, many from Latin America. Indeed, immigration was THE issue of the 2024 presidential election, so conditions should be ideal for Christmas dinners, family get-togethers, and champagne toasts to be riven by divergent opinions on the influx of newcomers to the U.S., whose growth over the past years was significant enough to be labelled, at least by some news outlets, a “surge.”
How can we talk productively about our historical moment and ourselves as we sip eggnog beside the yule log and under the mistletoe? How can we gift our interlocutors with arguments wrapped not in vitriol but rather, history? How can we look beyond the ill-willed gaslighting particular to once-a-year family reunions? For some of us talking more cogently about these delicate topics may lessen the pressures of the holiday season. For others, a more humane and reasoned public discourse may be a matter of life and death. After all, nothing less than the weight of history itself has brought them here.
Migrants and residents, undocumented and documented individuals, are living the same neoliberal moment, in which wages are pushed down, the informal economy grows, and workers experience a new flexibility as precariousness.
While I teach Spanish and Latin American culture at the collegiate level during the day, I teach both ESL and a Spanish-language version of the GED during the evening hours. These two roles inform how I think through our present moment. Let’s give ourselves the gift of both history and experience for Christmas—headlines and heartbeats, doubt and decisions.
First is the formidable list of number ones we enjoy in the United States. We are both number one in terms of consumption and, less joyfully, prisons. We are simultaneously the biggest mall and the biggest jail the world has ever known. We are a nation defined by emphatic commerce on one hand and, on the other hand, consequences for those who don’t follow along.
Our bounties are especially notable in terms of foodstuffs and, perhaps even more notable in terms of who produces our food. Latinos make up roughly one-third of those employed in the poultry industry—a major economic force for documented and undocumented workers alike in places like rural Missouri, Virginia’s Eastern Shore, and Mississippi. Slaughtering chickens is no easy task, but catching chickens may be even more difficult. Latinos also have a foothold in the dairy industry; cows can, in fact, be milked three times a day, so those working will have to be available during the early morning hours. Gardening, construction, and drywall are also significant employers of Latino labor in the United States.
Beyond what newspapers and anthropologists tell us, I know that my ESL and GED students—some of them documented, some of them not—often work in these sectors. They also work in places that are closer to home for most of us: restaurants, hotels, and even Walmart. Indeed, the behemoth retailer Walmart was sued once some 20 years for abusing undocumented workers. If I am listening to my students correctly, it may be time again to examine the chain’s labor practices. Staffing agencies seem to be crucial in allowing the continued employment of undocumented labor: They provide a means to muddle up paperwork, intake non-English speakers, and forge employer-employee connections.
In both of my evening classes, my Latino students come and go. Their enthusiasm is palpable, but so is their exhaustion. Almost no one enjoys perfect attendance given the heinous flexibility of their jobs. Roofers can’t lay shingles in the rain. Housekeepers don’t clean rooms where guests haven’t slept. But when they are called in, they seemingly can’t afford to say no. Their education, naturally, is pushed on the proverbial backburner. It’s no fun being fungible.
In my GED class, we have studied how to develop arguments for the expository essay section. When asked to justify their claims in writing, my Latino students inevitably signal financial concerns as paramount. No matter the prompt and no matter what issue students are asked to weigh in on—junk food in high schools, obligatory military service, the humaneness of zoos, etc.—students consistently turn to personal finances to back their arguments. Maybe junk food is a low-cost alternative to cooking? Does the army pay well? Can zoos be self-funded? For my students, personal financial matters are preternaturally totalizing and give me a glimpse as to what they are really thinking about on a daily basis.
But again: the specter of deportation and possibility of changing hearts at the dinner table.
What the current debate misses is the deep history of these contemporary phenomena. Few Americans are aware of the Bracero Program or Operation Bootstrap, two accords (one between the U.S. and Mexico, another between the U.S. and Puerto Rico) that first brought thousands of workers to the lower 48. As American servicemen and women fought in two theaters overseas during World War II, workers were still needed to operate wood lathes, pull weeds, and lay railroad tracks. The briefest survey of amazing photographs culled from this mid-century moment make plain how we should think about that time. For Latino workers, it was a story of both commerce and control, opportunity and degradation, pride and poverty. Above all, what we should remember at the dinner table was that it was an invitation—an offer to enter the world’s largest mall and its biggest prison. During downturns—or, after soldiers returned to the U.S.—these actions were reversed.
The next bit of history that helps to explain our present moment takes us to 1994.
The late 1990s and early 2000s were a pivotal time in the southwestern United States borderlands. The passage of NAFTA in 1994 marked a new era of trade between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, aimed at boosting the flow of goods by loosening trade restrictions. This shift allowed the U.S. economy to dominate the Mexican market, leading to instability in Mexico’s labor force and driving many to seek opportunities in the U.S., resulting in a surge in undocumented crossings at the Southern border.
While NAFTA was intended to open borders for trade and close them for people, the increased migration highlighted the human impact of market policies. These changes coincided with a shift in U.S. border policy under President Bill Clinton, focusing on prevention through deterrence. This strategy involved concentrating surveillance forces in urban areas like El Paso and San Diego, pushing undocumented migrants into the harsh terrain of Arizona.
As immigration from Latin America has risen, anti-immigrant sentiment has also grown. You may see some of this at Christmas dinner. It has also led to stricter laws, a more controlled border, and U.S. pressure on Mexico to militarize. Discussion of building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border may arise during your merrymaking, too. Most of us don’t realize that even in places with the roughest terrain, where building a fence would be amazingly difficult, individuals find ways to cross. Conversation may then turn to ideas about the “sovereignty” of a nation. But defining what a nation is has—and continues to be—a rather difficult task. Others gathered for the festivities may put forth that immigrants sap social services. The fact is, however, a great many undocumented workers pay taxes. Finally, others that are present at your Christmas gatherings may claim that migrants are stealing away jobs from other Americans. The truth may be, however, that migrants and residents, undocumented and documented individuals, are living the same neoliberal moment, in which wages are pushed down, the informal economy grows, and workers experience a new flexibility as precariousness.
Perhaps around the time that dessert comes out, you may introduce a bit of theory to your guests—the Foucauldian notion that workers, within capital, whether documented or undocumented, have been increasingly rendered “docile bodies” over the past 50 or so years: powerless, susceptible, and constantly in movement. This is not to say we should forever characterize migrants as passive agents, thrown to the wind, capable of little more than provoking liberal guilt. Rather, we should interrogate what about our present moment created the most flexible, most fungible, most vulnerable—and perhaps, most usable—population in the history of humanity.
I, for one, will raise a glass at the end of my Christmas meal, toasting my students, their work ethic, and their hopes for a better life. I hope they can return to my classroom in the New Year, not dragged off by the promise of another siding job, another garden gig, another chicken coop in the next state over.
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