The staggering human devastation wrought by COVID-19 will make a lasting imprint on American consciousness. There is widespread and growing recognition that the pandemic didn’t need to happen in this way. The Trump administration’s negligence is directly responsible for the scale of death and infection in the U.S. At the same time, the capitalist system itself is at the heart of this misery, as it forever and always puts profits before the lives and needs of ordinary people.

As the crisis rages on, one of the largest corporate bailouts in American history is taking place, while workers face unsafe conditions, lack of access to testing and health care, and record levels of unemployment. And now, many of the 16 million who have been laid off will be forced to choose on May 1 between paying rent and having enough to eat. This comes after almost one-third of American renters were unable to pay rent in the first week of April.

View more

Working people and youth need to get organized for a mass fight. We should never forget the sacrifices, courage, and solidarity of front-line workers. And we should always remember that it was ordinary workers, not billionaires or CEOs, who have been essential in this pandemic. The crisis has ruthlessly exposed the prettified narratives about capitalism. Karl Marx was right: It is the working class that creates value in this economy, while the bosses take the lion’s share for themselves.

From Amazon and Instacart workers to bus drivers and sanitation workers, ordinary people are launching strikes and other courageous workplace actions. Inspiring victories have already been won.

By building on growing struggle and solidarity, we can escalate and coordinate our efforts leading up to a national day of action on May 1.

Rent strike!

In the context of Great Depression–level unemployment, 3 million people have now signed an online petition launched by Joshua Collins and Rent Strike 2020 calling for the suspension of all payments for mortgages, rents, and utility bills for the duration of this crisis, with no penalty or debt for nonpayment.

The overwhelming, immediate response to this petition says a lot about the dire situation facing ordinary people and the powerful urge to fight back. It also means that if we get organized and stand together, then the big banks, landlords, and courts will be hard-pressed to try to evict millions.

That’s why Rent Strike 2020, Socialist Alternative, and I are jointly calling for a nationwide rent strike on May 1.

We are building for the widest possible nonpayment under the slogan of “Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay.” We believe that if we get organized locally and nationally, we can force legislative action to suspend rent and mortgage payments across different cities and states. But we should be clear that a successful rent strike doesn't mean isolated individuals deciding not to pay — we need to be organized on a building and neighborhood level to make collective demands and protect against the real danger of evictions.

Join us. They can’t evict us all.

Worker actions and walkouts

After walking back his return-to-work pronouncement for Easter, Trump is now pushing to reopen the economy by early May. If this plan moves ahead, it could come at a high cost in lives.

May 1 is International Workers Day. We should look to its history as a day of working-class power, and as a time to take action now against what’s happening in this pandemic.

Organizing for mass action on May 1 can be crucial in pushing back against the efforts by the billionaire class to sacrifice working people for corporate profits. To be successful, we need to step up our efforts now.

Workers can organize strike actions, walk out for an hour or more, collectively refuse to return to work, or intentionally “slow down” work to disrupt profits. Coordinated “sick-outs” on May 1 are another potential action. Social-distancing-based protests can be organized at workplaces across the country, following the lead of New York and California health care workers, Boston grocery workers, and others who have pioneered ways to rally safely during the pandemic. Community supporters and workers not scheduled on a specific day could also protest in front of stores.

In non-union workplaces, where the threat of retaliation is greatest, workers should begin discussing demands with coworkers without clueing in management, and after a solid base of support has been built, launch public campaigns.

Unions must help prepare real resistance to the billionaires and politicians who want to send us to our deaths, and can provide a lead to union and non-union workers alike. If they do, then the non-union workers of today can become a key force in the labor movement of tomorrow. If current union leaders are unwilling to fight, new leaders will need to be elected or new unions formed.

Organizing should take on strong demands already being raised across the country. This includes calls for adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), “time-and-a-half” hazard pay for all workers, guaranteed paid sick leave, cleaning protocols in the workplace, safety and democracy at work, and the defense of union rights. In addition, we should support Senator Bernie Sanders's call for $2,000-per-month payments for all U.S. households.

In this crisis, support for Medicare for all is skyrocketing as the failure of the for-profit health care industry is exposed. We need to fight for fully socialized medicine: taking health care, the pharmaceutical industry, and the hospitals into democratic public ownership, run by workers for human lives, not corporate profits.

“Normal” was never enough

Millions of people are showing the deep reserves of human compassion with their acts of solidarity. Going forward, we must build a society based on that cooperation, not one operating for the greed of a few.

By building up to a coordinated day of action on May 1, we can also prepare for the struggles to come.

We can help lay the basis for a movement that can win Medicare for all and a major green jobs program. We can unite through Rent Strike 2020 to build a housing justice movement to win rent control and a massive expansion of affordable, publicly owned housing. We can lay the basis for deep unity against the racist, sexist, xenophobic attacks from the right wing. Rather than a dictatorship of big business, we need a socialist society led by the working class, with democratic planning to ensure health and safety for all and a future for human life on this planet.

On May 1, let’s organize for the strongest possible demonstration of working-class power. We have a world to win.

Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: The Coronavirus Pandemic Demonstrates the Failures of Capitalism

Stay up-to-date on the 2020 election. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take!