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Serious request: I don't have any background in political science. Can someone help me work through this hypothetical situation?
Blue politicians call for a general strike to protest the activities of the Trump administration. Let's assume everyone in the country knows about it.
In which states does it actually happen? What industries are most impacted? What percentage of the adult population in those states takes part? How long does it last? What does Trump do in retaliation to those states? Is it effective?
I ran it by an llm and it seemed thoughtful about it, it uses MN as a model since it had the highest participation rate earlier in the year. Here is some of what it returned:
Based on the Minnesota model, union density data (BLS 2025), and what actually happened on May 1, here's a reasonable extrapolation for states most likely to see a replicated "full" general strike (i.e., businesses/schools actually closing, not just rallies):
Effectiveness ceiling: A one-day strike in any single state (even NY) would not paralyze the national economy. The real leverage is simultaneous multi-state action — if MN + NY + IL + CA + WA + NJ all hit the "Minnesota threshold" on the same day, you'd see:
~30–40% of the national MTA-equivalent transit system down 200+ school districts closed Major port disruptions (LA, NY/NJ, Seattle) Boeing/Amazon/Apple supply chain hit
Edit: check for accuracy
It's a start. Do we think those 6 states would join a general strike? Maybe the goal shouldn't be a nation-wide strike per se, but a coordinated strike across consistently blue (city, state, fed), high-population regions. That way, the conversation shifts from "it can't happen" to "where does it need to happen".