Today, it is not business as usual in America. While Friday is traditionally one of the busiest, most successful shopping days of the week, stores across the country have shuttered for the day as part of the National Shutdown.
The nationwide strike expresses dissatisfaction with ICE and coincides with demonstrations in other places. Typically, this type of act is industry-specific (see the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which lasted 118 days and delayed Hollywood productions for years, as well as the current New York Nurses Strike, which began on January 12 and is still ongoing), but today’s national strike is the first general strike since the 2020 Strike for Black Lives.
The means in which participating firms learned about the strike were diverse: The folks behind the bicoastal antique store Happy Isles, Lily Kaizer, and Kate Corcoran learned about it from a video. Patti Harrison shared; Zulaikha Aziz, founder of fine jewelry brand Mazahri, saw calls to action from both former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and the Somali Student Association at the University of Minnesota; Albert Mendez, founder of the Austin-based concept store Rocha, said it was the talk of the Paris market; and many more simply cite people sharing their participation in the strike on social media as their first indication of its potential.
“My feed was flooded with calls to action,” says Megan O’Neill, the owner of Nayla, a thriving shoe brand. “As much as Instagram can be a pain, it’s really incredible for igniting a movement.”
Unsurprisingly, the bulk of the enterprises involved in the strike (which includes restaurants, fitness studios, and more, in addition to fashion) are tiny, independently owned businesses. It comes at a time when the economy is particularly severe, and small enterprises’ vitality has plummeted. Overall, these brands are taking a tremendous risk.
Brandon Blackwood, a New York-based handbag and accessories designer, saw business repercussions in his choice to close for the day. “We postponed our Valentine’s Day drop, which is a huge moment yearly for the brand,” according to the designer. The decision involved shifting internal meetings, modifying the launch calendar, and coordinating with the warehouse to adjust inventory, packaging stations, and other details. “It is workable in terms of logistics, but it does require intention and team cohesion. Everyone knew why we were doing it, which made things easier.
James Veloria cofounder Brandon Veloria Giordano cites his immigrant mother as an inspiration for the choice to close. “She wanted to open her own small business, a hair salon, but was never able to do it in her short life,” he claims. “I know there are countless other stories like my family’s, so it only feels right to show solidarity with our immigrant community.”
Kathleen Sorbara, the owner of the Williamsburg shop that bears her surname, felt impelled to join on the day following the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. “My business’s DNA has always aligned with my personal beliefs,” she reflects. “I think that’s the beauty of being a small business owner—I don’t have C-suites to report up to.” While Sorbara’s doors may be locked, she intends to conduct payroll for staff as if it were a regular weekday.
“It’s been meaningful to see so many small businesses come together in a unified way,” adds Mendez, who was pleased when he learned about it while in Paris. “I’ve been protected, supported, and cared for by immigrant communities my entire life, so we wholeheartedly condemn the assault on not only undocumented immigrants, but also US citizens.”
Each of the businesses we spoke with echoed the thoughts voiced by Laurel Pantin, who owns a Substack with 30,000 followers and a brick-and-mortar Earl in Los Angeles. “The risks of not speaking out are way more grave than potentially losing a client over my beliefs,” according to her. “I am not concerned about losing clients or newsletter subscribers by publicly discussing and acting on what I believe to be right. I know I will, but I’m fine with not having individuals in my orbit that agree with what’s going on.
Happy Isles had to reschedule ten bridal appointments scheduled on that day, which was especially difficult given that the company usually has brides traveling from out of state for their wedding appointments. “Closing for a day is a small sacrifice, and we are prepared to continue putting our moral values first,” Kaizer and Corcoran wrote in an email. “There’s more to life than money and disappointing customers that don’t align with our moral compass.”
