People take part at the commemoration of the February Strike of 1941 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 25 February 2017. The strike is remembered each year, where people lay flowers at the feet of statue depicting one of the dockworkers who led the day of action against the Nazi’s rounding up of Jews in the Dutch city and beyond. (Photo by Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Remembering how Amsterdam’s working class stood up against Adolf Hitler’s extermination of the Jews.
In three days, Amsterdam organized the only general strike in Europe to protest the first roundup of Jews. People poured into the streets on February 25, 1941—an estimated 300,000 of the 800,000 total who lived in the city.
The first to march were the tram and dock workers. The civil servants followed and word spread through the whole city, even to the small sewing workshop where a woman named Mientje Meijer worked. She and her husband had talked about it, and he came to the window to let her know it was really happening. She stopped her treadle, rose to her feet, and said, “Ladies, all of Amsterdam has come to a standstill because they’ve been rounding up Jews and taking them away. We’ve got to join in.”
The ladies poured out, even the boss, and joined the multitudes: teachers, metal workers, factory employees, shop clerks, people from across the political spectrum. Some were furious that their fellow citizens’ rights had been violated, some wanted to protest the Nazi occupation, and some just hated the Germans. Whatever their motives, they stopped the city in its tracks.
How did they organize so fast? A road builder and a street sweeper who belonged to the banned but well-organized Communist Party decided to call a meeting and take action. They had heard that hundreds of Jewish men had been rounded up on the square between the immense Portuguese Synagogue and the four smaller Ashkenazi ones. The communists gathered with trade union representatives and others at the Noorderkerk in the workers’ part of the city. They enlisted political and moral allies. Soon, a mimeographed leaflet urged everyone to “Strike! Strike! Strike! Shut down all of Amsterdam for a day!” And they did. The Strike even reached a few other cities before the German occupiers reacted with force.
Only limited public protest was heard the year before, at the time when Jews were fired from the civil service, including professors from the universities. Therefore, the Germans were dumbfounded in February 1941 when the Dutch, their Aryan brothers and sisters, took to the streets en masse. But the Nazis recovered fast and ordered the use of rifles and hand grenades to stop the strike.
By the time it was over a few days later, about 200 people had been arrested, nine had been killed, and 50 injured. For the rest of the war, the February Strike remained the only general strike in Europe to protest the roundups. Tragically, it was futile: about 75% of the Dutch Jewish population was mass murdered. Yet the strike remains in our memories as one of the few times ordinary people stood together against the deportation of their Jewish neighbors. It meant something to many Dutch survivors as long as they lived.
I learned about the Strike at the time of its 60th commemoration in 2001. Every year, people gather to remember, right where the first roundups took place. They stand around the statue of the Dockworker who is the symbolic figure of the Strike. Sculpted by a resistance worker who survived, the hefty figure wears a worker’s cap, looking not at us but beyond us, his hands at his sides, open but ready to form fists.
In 2001, the square was crammed with people, some old enough to have been alive at the time, others young families, others men of all ages with yarmulkes, and individuals formally dressed in black who proved to be diplomats. Everyone was quiet, even little children. The commemoration began with a few short speeches and a poem, but the main event was this: people were invited, a few at a time, to approach the Dockworker, stand for a moment, and lay flowers.
The elders approached first, those who might have been present at the Strike. Next the Jewish organizations placed their big wreaths, often laid by children. Similar offerings came from the European Trade Union Federation, from the people of Sweden and the United States, and others. But the vast majority of the flowers were small bouquets tied with ribbons, like a dozen red tulips bound by aluminum foil with a bit of wet paper inside. Some were accompanied by a personal note written in ink in a scrawly hand.
It took an hour and a half on that frigid afternoon to lay all the flowers, and they stayed there unmolested for days. The flowers remained until they were all dead and had to be carried away.
Thousands of people across Greece joined a general strike and mass protests, demanding action against high living expenses, restrictions on union organizing, and excessive military spending
Greece was brought to a halt on Wednesday, November 20, as a 24-hour general strike brought workers from across sectors—including education, logistics, construction, public transportation, and health—to the streets of dozens of cities. The mass mobilization, which began early in the morning, followed a media strike on Tuesday that included both public and private outlets.
The striking workers demanded the repeal of anti-worker laws, including measures that extended working hours, and called for wage restoration. Over the past decade, successive governments, most recently led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, have implemented austerity policies under pressure from the European Union and international financial institutions. These policies have led to drastic income reductions, with wages remaining about 14% lower than in 2011, according to trade unions.
Protesters warned that current conditions mean they cannot lead dignified lives. With a minimum wage of approximately 900 euros, they face housing and food costs comparable to those in European countries with higher income. While the government has boasted about recent improvements in unemployment rates, unions highlighted that these figures mask the economy’s heavy reliance on tourism and fail to account for poor working conditions.
Greek unions emphasized that anti-worker legislation has persisted for over a decade, including wage cuts and freezes, extended working hours, and severe restrictions on collective bargaining. These policies have left only a small fraction of workers benefiting from collective agreements. “At the same time, they are further commodifying the functioning of critical sectors such as health, education, energy, water, transport, social security, infrastructure and civil protection services for natural disasters,” stated the All Workers Militant Front (PAME) ahead of the strike. In response, unions demanded guarantees of universal, public, and free education and healthcare, alongside accessible housing solutions.
The push to privatize and commodify basic rights highlights how successive administrations have prioritized fiscal targets over people’s interests. This has led to a situation where financial organizations commend Greece’s economic recovery, while the working class continues to face systemic denial of basic rights. On top of that, Greece has allocated millions of euros to military spending through NATO—a decision that has become a significant point of contention for trade unions.
“We do not accept our basic and daily needs to be sacrificed to give billions to NATO armaments, for missiles, frigates, war planes,” PAME stated. Hundreds of thousands of euros have been allocated for the frigate in the Red Sea—”money that is equivalent to the annual budget of a hospital”—the workers’ organization concluded.
Marches on November 20 highlighted international solidarity as opposed to war and militarization. Palestinian flags were prominently displayed at the rallies, reflecting the longstanding support of Greek workers for the people of Gaza and other occupied territories. Trade unions called for an immediate end to the Israeli genocide against Palestinian and Lebanese people. This message resonated with the general strike’s motto: “Out of the war slaughterhouses; fund wages, health, and education instead.”
“The large participation in the strike and rallies demonstrates the workers’ strong opposition to the government’s anti-people policies and its alignment with business interests,” PAME stated on the day of the strike. The organization reaffirmed its commitment to continue with the mobilizations, aiming to pressure the government to shift its priorities toward addressing workers’ rights and peace.
Across Argentina millions are participating in a national general strike to protest the Milei government’s widespread attacks on people’s rights
Mobilization against Milei on December 27, 2023. Photo: CELS
On January 24, across Argentina, millions of workers are participating in a national general strike against the anti-workers laws pushed forward by far-right libertarian president, Javier Milei.
Since he was inaugurated on December 10, 2023, Milei has worked quickly to draft legislation which threatens the hard-fought for rights of the Argentine people.
In response, Argentina’s trade unions, social movements, and human rights organizations have been on the streets to reject these measures, and called for a national general strike for January 24. For the last several weeks, hundreds of trade unions, neighborhood associations, cultural groups, left groups, community kitchens, and social movements have been organizing local and neighborhood assemblies and meetings to mobilize for the strike.
The largest concentration will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital, where hundreds of thousands are expected to congregate in the center of the city outside Congress. Mobilizations are also scheduled in dozens of other cities across the country like Córdoba, Rosario, San Miguel de Tucumán, Mendoza, Mar del Plata, Bahía Blanca, and others. While basic essential services will not be disrupted by the strike, the majority of the economy and daily life is set to be paralyzed due to the massive industrial action.
Who is participating?
The January 24 national strike is historic, as it is the first time in recent history that the country’s three major labor confederations are uniting for a joint industrial action. The General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the Argentine Workers’ Central Union, and the Argentine Workers’ Central Union (Autonomous) together represent millions of workers and have all called on their affiliated unions to participate in the day of mobilization.
The confederations are made up of dozens of unions representing workers in education, construction, civil service, food processing, healthcare, mining and metalwork, restaurants, commercial transportation (truck drivers, shipping, etc.), public transportation (buses, subway, and provincial trains), state workers, auto industry, textile, real estate, commercial, acting, national companies, the courts, music industry, communications and technology, among others. In other words, nearly the totality of the Argentine working class.
Mobilization against Milei in Córdoba in December 2023. Photo: CTA-A
Other unions such as the Union of Workers of the Popular Economy (UTEP) which represents street vendors, cooperatives, recyclers, agricultural workers, childcare workers, community kitchen workers, and others from the informal sector or “popular economy” have also pledged their participation in the mass mobilization.
Human rights organizations are also heeding the call for mobilizations such as the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the Center of Legal and Social Studies (CELS), HIJOS (Sons and Daughters for Identity and Justice Against Forgetting and Silence), and others.
Several social and political forces that were part of the Union for the Homeland coalition which was defeated by Javier Milei in the presidential race in November, have also declared they will join the mobilization, such as Frente Patria Grande, La Campora, and Movimiento Evita.
Why are they mobilizing?
The strike has been called to reject Milei’s DNU and Omnibus Law, both pieces of legislation which trade unions say directly attack workers rights, impose brutal economic neoliberal austerity measures, and threaten the national sovereignty of the country. Organizations have called on the judiciary and the legislature to intervene to rule the DNU unconstitutional and revoke it in Congress, and to stop his Omnibus law from being passed. Both pieces of legislation have already met major legal roadblocks and have already undergone modifications from their first versions.
The Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) 70/2023 was announced by Milei on December 20, 2023 (10 days after he took office). DNUs can be used by the executive to circumvent Congress and implement change immediately. Milei’s DNU titled “Bases to Rebuild the Argentine Economy” contains over 350 articles which would affect over 70 pieces of legislation, some completely overturned and others modified.
Milei and his cabinet announcing the DNU.
The DNU calls for the deregulation of major sectors of the Argentine economy such as energy, export, the credit card industry, transportation – including the aeronautic sector, healthcare, communications, tourism, and more. It also opens the door for the privatization of key state companies and the national bank and promotes foreign investment. It also impacts labor rights and rights of trade unions, such as the right to strike, the right to overtime pay, and other hard fought for rights of workers.
The Omnibus Law, officially called the Bases and Starting Points for the Liberty of Argentines, was sent to Congress by Milei on December 27, 2023. The 351-page bill contains more than 664 articles which will be debated in Congress. The Omnibus law attempts to take Milei’s “deregulation” approach a step further and expands it to all major areas of life in Argentina.
It includes a proposed reform to the Penal Code focused on “control of the streets” and calls for increasing sentences against protesters and in some cases eliminating the possibility of bail. It also initially stated that any meeting of three or more people in a public space must have the permission of the Minister of Security – this was later withdrawn.
It calls for the privatization of major state enterprises such as Argentine Airlines, ARSAT – a state telecommunications company, Argentine Trains, Public TV, the Water and Sewage Company (AySA), and the National Bank. Milei also included a list of another several dozen companies that have majority state participation such as Argentina Energy, military factories, the General Port Administration, Corredores Viales or the highway company, Argentine Mail, and Telam, the National News Agency.
The Omnibus law also calls for major reforms of the country’s public education system, notably taking away free higher education for foreigners. It also calls for major modifications of the entrance requirements and huge cuts to the overall budget. The country’s robust culture sector would also see major budget cuts under the law with a call to close historic artistic institutions of the country.
Environmental protections such as the Glacier Law, the Forest Law, and the Environmental Protection Law for the Control of Burning Activities would also undergo massive modifications.
The Omnibus also threatens retirees, emboldens police to use their full force, including gunfire, with little consequences, and transforms the electoral system.
The broad and expansive nature of the Omnibus and its outright attacks on so many sectors of society also helps explain why so many will be mobilizing in the strike.
The Secretary of Gender and Diversity of the Association of State Workers (ATE), Clarisa Gambera said, “This January 24, all of the union centers and social organizations of this country will be on the streets, to stop the ferocious advance of the right. Those who say that particular interests were generated over time, what they call particular interests are the rights that we won with struggle over more than 100 years and we are not willing to lose them. We continue to build unity, debates are taking place at the federal level. Comrades from all over the country participate in multi-sectoral meetings, assemblies, plenary sessions that are different ways to activate and add numbers of comrades on the streets this 24th.”
The CGT wrote in a statement rejecting Milei’s austerity measures and his claim that they only affect the “political caste”, not the people. CGT argues that, “The fiscal and exchange adjustment plan announced by the Government will generate a rapid acceleration of the inflationary process, which will destroy the purchasing power of the salaries of formal and informal workers, workers in the social and solidarity economy, self-employed workers, as well as of retirees and pensioners. This means that the announced adjustment does not adjust to the ‘so-called’ caste as promised in the campaign. Milei’s adjustment, once again, falls on the people.”
Repression
Another major point of contention for the Argentine people is the repressive policy imposed by the Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich, to dissuade mass participation in the inevitable mass mobilizations against Milei’s economic measures. Following the first protests against Javier Milei’s administration, Bullrich warned that it would use all “deterrent measures” to stop protests and on December 14 announced the “Public Order Protocol”.
Among other things, the protocol authorizes the police and security forces to intervene in response to any attempt to partially or totally block any national roads, transportation, or “free movement.” It has been dubbed the “anti-picket” protocol as it targets the historic picket and roadblock tactic of Argentine movements.
Another government “deterrence measure” is the threat from Bullrich that those who participate in protest actions and road blockades that are recipients of social programs will not receive this support: “he who blocks the street does not get paid,” she declared.
On January 10, 2024, Bullrich made good on her threats and, under the auspices of her protocol, sent letters to the major trade union centers of Argentina, unions, social, political and human rights organizations that had participated in protests on December 20, 22, and 27 of 2023 against Milei’s austerity measures and demanded they pay millions in fines for their participation in the allegedly “illegal activity”.
CELS wrote that in issuing these economic sanctions for participation in protests, the Ministry of National Security is “assuming powers that it does not have” and that it is also “trying to condition future action”. For the human rights research center, “This policy constitutes an infringement of the right to protest and demonstration and an act of state interference against freedom of association.”
International solidarity
The national general strike has gained widespread international support. Trade unions across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as from Pakistan, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, and more, have pledged to mobilize on January 24 in solidarity with their Argentine comrades, with many calling for protests in front of their Argentine embassies or consulates.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which brings together 191 million workers in 163 countries from all continents, released a statement expressing its support for its affiliated organizations in their call for the national general strike against “Milei’s shock therapy”. “Three major union federations, the CGT, the CTA-T, and the CTA-A, have united to stand against the serious threat to fundamental workers’ rights and civil liberties posed by Milei’s move to resurrect out-dated and debunked neo-liberal policies,” reads the statement.
ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said, “The actions of the Milei government aim to recreate the darkest days of dictatorship, and they require a strong, united response from the global union movement. We stand in full solidarity with the working people of Argentina in their defense of justice and democracy.”
The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), which represents 105 million workers in 133 countries, expressed its support for its affiliate unions participation in the January 24 strike to “express their opposition to the measures of the ultra-liberal and neo-fascist government of Javier Milei”. It has called on its affiliates in other countries to mobilize in solidarity with the Argentine workers.
Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA-CSA) joined the other international confederation in standing with the struggle of Argentine workers, and calling on its affiliate organizations to mobilize in solidarity on January 24.
The PIT-CNT of Uruguay, Argentina’s northern neighbor, stated that “it is necessary to join forces and have as a horizon to advance Latin America on the path of struggle and hope towards a more just, free and equal society.”
