After years of railing against corporate greed on social media, John Schwarz had an idea that suddenly caught fire: an “economic blackout” aimed at resisting what he maintains is an alliance between corporations and politicians to rig the system against ordinary Americans.
The 57-year-old Chicago resident, founder of the People’s Union USA, the fledgling advocacy group leading the campaign, expresses surprise at suddenly finding himself and his movement in the spotlight. Yet while he initially found the attention overwhelming, Schwarz said that in other ways it’s a moment he’s been preparing for all of his life.
“I’ve been online for 10 years trying to do this in kind of a nice way, not really speaking as bluntly on specific topics,” Schwarz told CBS MoneyWatch. “And then after that, I said, no, this is great because this is exactly what I wanted to do. And I just dove in head first and we’re not stopping.”
Schwartz, a father of three and meditation teacher, said the idea for a blackout came to him while recording the latest in a series of videos posted on social media in which he presents himself as a common man who is also president of the United States.
“When I was into about the third or fourth one of those, I said even a president should be calling for an economic blackout and to unionize citizens. And when I kind of said that, it sparked that idea in me. And I said, you know what, as a matter of fact let’s do this. Let’s do an economic blackout — get a bunch of people together for one day, if they want to take part and start something, and try to work on unionizing the people.”
John Schwarz
Over the past month, word has spread quickly of the Feb. 28 Economic Blackout, which urges Americans to refrain from spending any money at any major retailer for 24 hours. The People’s Union says it is apolitical and that its call for a boycott — communicated by punchy posts on Instagram and TikTok set to music, as well by text an email — is meant to fire a shot across the bow of corporate giants from Amazon to McDonald’s.
“Mega corporations have driven up prices, underpaid their workers and outsourced jobs while raking in record profits,” the group said on its website. “Banks and financial institutions have trapped generations in debt, inflating interest rates and making homeownership nearly impossible. Politicians ‘both left and right’ have accepted corporate bribes, passed laws that serve billionaires and ignored the needs of the people they claim to represent.”
Schwarz said he grew up in the 1970s and ’80s “in the projects,” referring to the subsidized housing where he was raised in Queens, New York. He describes that neighborhood as a melting pot of Jewish, Black, Polish, Russian and other families.
“We didn’t walk around going, ‘Oh, you’re white, you’re black, you’re Russian.’ It was just, we were all from the neighborhood,” he said. “I think there’s a way to kind of get to that feeling with everyone in this country, because we’re so divided today. We’re more divided today on more subjects than any other time in history.”
Schwarz underlines that the goal of reunifying Americans is fundamental to him and the People’s Union. His idols include Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., social activist Abbie Hoffman, and politician and civil rights leader Harvey Milk, individuals he said he admires for dedicating their lives to speaking out ‘for the people.’ “
What does the People’s Union USA stand for?
Schwarz founded the People’s Union USA only in February, and as a grassroots organization the group is still in the process of setting up its structure and registering as a legal entity. To cover the costs, Schwarz has set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $100,000, and as of Friday has raised more than $90,000.
Schwarz sees the blackout as a way for Americans to use their economic might in the form of their purchasing power to fight corporate greed and corrupt politicians.
“What we’re doing here is trying to cause economic resistance, against the corporations and politicians, to stand for the people. I think people may be able to at some point begin to kind of realize those things they’re letting divide us don’t really exist,” he said.
Another goal for The People’s Union is abolishing federal income taxes for average Americans, which Schwarz said can be achieved by requiring large businesses to pay “their fair share.”
Added Schwarz, “And even, you know, the administration is just putting their foot in their mouth with wanting to do, you know, gold card visas for $5 million. So they’re talking about bringing in more money, all the more reason we shouldn’t have to pay federal taxes.”
Schwarz also favors imposing a government cap on corporate profits. “Companies need to prove what their expenses are in comparison to their profits. And there has to be a reasonable cap.”
More broadly, Schwarz underlines the importance of Americans gaining a measure of freedom from an economic system that he believes normalizes financial struggle and traps people in a perpetual cycle of debt.
What’s the point of the boycotts?
Schwarz doesn’t expect the Economic Blackout to change things for the better overnight but he does think it will send corporations a message.
“We want companies to bend the knee — we’ve been kissing the ring our entire lives. It’s time to turn that around,” he said, adding “We’re the consumers. We are the economy. Without us, they’re nothing.”
Schwarz said messages of support for the Economic Blackout have also been pouring in from people outside of the U.S. “It’s gone international, from Australia to Spain. Every country has messaged me, people from all over the world commenting on the videos. ‘How can we stand in solidarity?'”
“I just started telling them, you too, in your country, don’t buy anything that day,” he added.
The Feb. 28 blackout began at 12 a.m. EST Friday and is scheduled to go on until 11:59 p.m. the same day. For the boycott, the People’s Union is asking participants to refrain from making purchases, which includes avoiding fast food or filling their gas tanks. It adds that shoppers with emergencies or in need of essentials should support local small businesses and try not to use a credit or debit card.
The group plans to hold a second broad-based economic blackout on March 28, but it’s also organizing targeted boycotts against specific retailers — Walmart and Amazon — as well as global food giants Nestle and General Mills. For the boycott against Amazon, the organization is encouraging people to refrain from buying anything from Whole Foods, which the e-commerce company owns.
contributed to this report.