Immigrants stayed away from work to show their impact on the economy, and some restaurants showed solidarity by shutting down their kitchens, or even their entire business. The idea of a general strike as a means of expressing political or social dissatisfaction is fairly novel in the US. The prospect of a primarily political general strike in the US is, to all intents and purposes, unprecedented. Photograph: Jim Bourg/ReutersAlthough the Friday event has been dubbed a “general strike”, Wolfson said he doesn’t yet expect it to reach single-day critical mass. “‘A Day without Immigrants’ would take a great deal of organizing and coordination to gain worker participation but would provide real proof to the public of the critical role that immigrants play in our economy as workers,” said Chaison.

Source: The Guardian February 17, 2017 14:05 UTC