A consumer activist group is urging Americans to put down their wallets for a day and partake in a national “economic blackout” this Friday.

The People’s Union USA, a grassroots organization that targets corporate greed, is coordinating the 24-hour spending boycott in an effort to “disrupt the economy” and send a “powerful message” to large corporations. The group, in its announcement of the blackout, denounces companies and banks for only caring “about their bottom line” and paints the boycott as a means to making clear “who really holds the power.” 

The movement’s followers will do away with making any purchases online or in-store and refrain from spending any money on “fast food, gas, major retailers.” The union specifically calls out purchases from Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy as no-gos. 

Should an individual be compelled to purchase necessary “essentials,” the group directs them to spend money on “small, local businesses” only. Following the total spending boycott, the organization is planning week-long protests against specific retailers like Amazon and Nestle. 

The Peoples Union describes itself as “a movement of people, unionizing to take back control of our economy, government, and future of our country.” Its founder, John Schwarz, stated that the economic boycott is meant to dispute the claim that regular Americans have “no choice” but to “accept these insane prices, the corporate greed, the billionaire tax breaks, all while we struggle to just to get by,” he said in a video posted on his Instagram. “For one day, we are going to finally turn the tables,” he added. 

Mr. Schwarz, who goes by the handle @theonecalledjai on Instagram, boasts 276 thousand followers. One video he shared on his Instagram about the blackout garnered over 8.5 million views. 

Although a one-day boycott is unlikely to make a major dent in the bottom lines of major corporations, the effort reflects growing dissatisfaction with high prices and stubborn inflation. The price of food in 2022 alone surged by nearly 10 percent year over year — higher than any one year period since 1979, the Department of Agriculture reports. 

According to the People’s Union, this outcome is the result of “Mega corporations” which have “driven up prices, underpaid their workers, and outsourced jobs while raking in record profits.” Banks and financial institutions, meanwhile, have “trapped generations in debt, inflating interest rates and making homeownership nearly impossible.” Politicians, the group contends, have “accepted corporate bribes, passed laws that serve billionaires, and ignored the needs of the people they claim to represent.” The group adds: “The system has been designed to keep us powerless, but that ends now.” 

Friday’s boycott is just one of several that have been staged in the past year. A national boycott of Target kicked off on February 1st in protest of the retailer’s crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. That movement, which began on the first day of black history month, is spearheaded by black business owners and social media influencers.