Some Organizations That Rallied For the Women's March Are Skipping 'Day Without a Woman'

International Women's Day, this year becomes the "Day Without a Woman" or the "International Women's Strike." And it is poised to be one of the largest anti-Trump collective actions since the Women's March in January.
However, not all Women's March supporters are in favor with this strike. The 1199 SEIU, which represents health care workers across the East Coast has chosen to sit out the Day Without a Woman Spokesman and said that the union was "not officially" participating, and not aware whether members were choosing to strike on their own.
The National Domestic Worker's Alliance, another partner of the Women's March, chose not to encourage workers to participate the strike. "With the essential nature of care, it's hard for many who are caring for elders or children to take a day off," says NDWA spokeswoman Jennifer Dillon, adding that some members were planning to go to a Women Workers Rising protest in Washington D.C.
The event is set to demonstrate the enduring solidarity of the resistance movement. Organizers, including many who put together the historic post-Inauguration Day march, are expecting women to abstain from paid and unpaid work, avoid spending money at big corporations and wear red in solidarity with labor movements, as reported by Time magazine.
Schools in North Carolina and Virginia have cancelled classes Wednesday, resulting in low staff turnout. The main offices of the National Organization for Women, the National Women's Law Center, the Democratic Socialists of America and NARAL Pro-Choice America will be closed to allow their staff to participate. Also, Hollywood talent agency UTA is giving time off to all female staff members from work, encouraging them to attend women-only off-sites and discuss gender equality.
In New York City, the New York Times reported that hundreds of people marched into a Midtown block, and 10 of its organizers were arrested for blocking traffic. "The municipal court in Providence, R.I., shut down because seven of the clerks and a deputy court administrator stayed home from work. Schools in Alexandria, Va.; Chapel Hill-Carrboro, N.C.; and Prince George's County, Md., closed for the day because so many teachers stayed home." The report noted.
"It's more of a 'global solidarity day' than a 'day without a woman,'" says Amaya Smith, a spokeswoman for the AFL-CIO, which was a partner in the Women's March. "There's a very definitive definition of what a 'strike' usually encompasses in a workplace, and encouraging people to participate in a day of solidarity is a little different from that."