Dive Brief:
- Cooks, carpenters, shop owners and others joined a one-day nationwide boycott to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policy, reports the New York Times.
- A “Day Without Immigrants” called for both naturalized and undocumented immigrants to stay home from work, close stores, refrain from shopping and forego other activities affecting the economy to show what life would be like without immigrants.
- The protest was planned on construction sites, on commuter buses and in restaurant staff meetings, but spread most rapidly on Facebook and social media apps, says the Times.
Dive Insight:
HR should be ready to deploy temporary workers and other substitute personnel to keep businesses operating when boycotts occur — though some businesses handled the day by closing entirely.
A “Day Without Immigrants” was as much an economic boycott as a socio-political show of collective power by the immigrant community and its supporters. Similar strikes, including a "Day without a Woman," have been planned.
The Women's March on Washington, the various airport protests against the immigration executive order and the bodega protests have all so far been in defiance of Trump administration policies.
Disruptive action like this may continue, meaning HR may want to have policies prepared to ease potential issues. More companies have become accepting of civic engagement in the workplace — though, of course, a strike that shuts down business may be more than some were expecting.
