Giving Corporate America a Strategic Black Eye
Guest Column from Alaink Kemple
My name is Alaink Kemple, but in the digital trenches, I go by Akzehll. I am the Chief Director of Operations at the Mass Blackout and a leader at UNITE HERE Local 11. In 2023, my office was a picket line, the bad-mood side of a CEO’s door, and any bargaining table I could commandeer.
At UNITE HERE, we didn’t just win a historic contract in 2023, we performed an exorcism on an entire industry’s idea of worth, with a supporting cast that included everyone from Karen Bass to Kamala Harris & President Joe Biden.
But this is no longer a union gig. Consider it a national intervention.
This past holiday season, with over 100 grassroots allies, we launched The Mass Blackout—a coordinated economic pause starting Black Friday 2025.
The results are in.
The headlines, of course, chirped about “record spending.” But pull back the curtain on that data, and the real story isn’t in the total - It’s in the tremor beneath it. The American consumer isn’t just on the ropes; they’re starting to cut the ropes and walk away.
Here’s what the glossy annual reports will quietly omit:
The Stadium Sold Out, But Everyone Brought Their Own Beer. More people shopped, yet the average spend dropped 4%. It’s a full house in the cheap seats.
The Holiday Spirit, Now at 30% APR. To afford this season, 64% of shoppers relied on credit or “Buy Now, Pay Later.” This isn’t confidence. It’s desperation, financed. One analyst dryly noted consumers are spending now to “worry about it in 2026.” A holiday haunting, deferred.
Inflation Wearing Growth’s Clothes. Online order volume fell 1% while the average price jumped 7%.
The Doorbuster That Whimpered. In-store traffic dropped 5.8%. Why? Because at least 12.63 million of us consciously pulled back, with 22% more waiting out the markup madness. That’s 59 million people, activated and ready to weaponize their wallets.
This is the “K-shaped” economy in living color: the wealthy glide on, while everyone else patches the hull with financial duct tape. An economy running on fumes and future regret.
What We Did
The formula is simple: Our country doesn’t run without the federal workers who make it run. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott to Occupy, the ultimate weapon against a rigged system is a collective, organized “NO.”
In 1969, black-lung miners didn’t just strike—they stopped the earth until the legislature yielded. In 2018, a government shutdown ended not by negotiation, but by the threatened strike of flight attendants.
So, we gave Black Friday a black eye. Final estimates suggest the Q4 boycott cost retail $25-40 billion. Target alone lost over $23 billion in value. It was one of the most expensive consumer actions in modern history.
But let’s be clear: thinking one boycott will topple a corrupt fascist system is like trying to stop a bulldozer with a pun. It’s a gesture, not a strategy.
The machinery is greased daily by our passive swipe, our resigned participation.
Now comes the real work.
The playbook is open and the next phases—targeted strikes (pictured above and below), sustained pressure, community mutual aid—are being drafted.
Our next action is a Feb 17 National Day of Lobbying to Impeach Trump & Abolish Ice.
Our Coalition Partners FLARE, 50501 National and Citizens impeachment organized a powerful movement to lobby representatives in your district that’s set to start on Feb 17th.
In addition, a huge march is planned on February 27th to 28th with our coalition partners at March 4 Democracy M4D followed by the Women’s March weekend of action from March 7 to March 9th.
This isn’t a one-day skirmish. It’s a campaign. It requires the discipline of a long strike: showing up, day after day, in a thousand small decisions that become an immovable force.
We’re not asking you to give something up. We’re asking you to take your power back and invest in a bright future we all deserve.
The fight for this country’s soul will be won in the daily, conscious decision of millions to withhold their consent.
Now imagine the power of our sustained withdrawal.
Community is the greatest threat to fascism.
Visit TheMassBlackout.com.
Get in the fight.
Let’s go.
- Alaink Kemple is the Chief Director of Operations at the Mass Blackout and a leader at UNITE HERE Local 11.