Local opinion: Shut It down? Tucson can lead this May Day

If you’re anything like me, you may have felt a little embarrassed at protests when people chant “Shut it down!” It can sound over the top—uncomfortable, even unrealistic.

But history, research — and Tucson’s own experience — suggest otherwise.

Across the world—from South Korea to Serbia to the Philippines—when elected leaders attempt to consolidate power, the most effective response has not been speeches or elections alone. It has been large-scale, nonviolent refusal to cooperate.

People stop going to work or school. They gather in public, disrupting business as usual. Public figures join them. Even police and military units sometimes hesitate to enforce crackdowns. When enough of society withdraws its cooperation, those who depend on stability—especially major economic actors — force a change.

That’s what “shut it down” really means.

Tucson is especially well-positioned to act. Ours is a majority-minority city, with deep roots in both labor and immigrant rights struggles. For years, May Day here has been tied to immigrant justice — including the legacy of the “Day Without Immigrants,” when workers demonstrated how essential they are to our economy and daily lives.

This year, a large and rapidly growing national coalition, May Day Strong, is calling for something larger: a nationwide day of noncooperation on May 1, International Workers’ Day. "No work! No school! No shopping!" Besides unions, the coalition includes Indivisible, MoveOn, Sunrise and many other progressive organizations.

In Tucson, that includes a downtown march and a serious effort to make it matter.

Students across the city are already discussing walkouts. Community groups are reaching into neighborhoods, businesses, faith communities, and campuses. And workers — including those without unions — are beginning to talk with each other about what they can do together.

Because in the United States, we cannot rely on traditional general strikes. Labor law and union contracts limit those options. So the strategy has to be broader.

We are asking people to act where they are.

Take a personal day if you can. Keep your kids home. Don’t shop. But also: talk to your coworkers and your boss. In both union and non-union workplaces, workers can act together — asking employers to close for the day. In unionized workplaces, they have to work through their unions and comply with their contracts. In non-union workplaces, they can simply decide together not to show up.

And then — come downtown.

The goal is not just absence. It is presence. A visible, collective refusal to go along with business as usual — combined with a visible, collective gathering that shows our numbers, our diversity, and our determination.

We’ve already seen what’s possible. Earlier this year, in response to a call from Minneapolis, Tucson students and community members closed 20 schools and over 50 businesses. We brought 3,000 into the streets. That was just a glimpse.

What history shows is that isolated protest is not enough. It inspires, it educates, it builds community — but it does not by itself create the leverage needed for real change.

That leverage comes when large numbers of people withdraw their daily cooperation, and do so together.

That is what May Day can begin to build.

So make a plan now. Talk with your family, your coworkers, your classmates. Decide what you can do, and how you can help others do the same. Volunteer with us.

And then join us downtown on May 1.

“Shut it down” may feel like a slogan. But it names a real strategy — one that has worked around the world, and one that Tucson has the capacity to help lead.