Who are we?

Earth Strike UK is made up of trade unionists, climate activists and community organisers living all over the country. We made up of a collection of autonomous local groups in different towns and cities, as well as autonomous organising circles that are responsible for different activities on a national level.

Our principles

Our principles are a set of commitments that every member of Earth Strike agrees to uphold. They summarise what is important to us as a movement and make it easier for new people to know what we are about. They can even be used as a guide when making decisions.

Horizontalism

It is only by working together that climate justice will be manifested, so decisions that affect us as a movement require cooperation and accountability to one another. We also understand the value of autonomy and independent decision making. We therefore aim to make decisions as close to their origin as possible, within the constraints of our collectively agreed principles and mandates. We seek to identify and dismantle unjust power imbalances within our spaces wherever possible so that we may organise freely and equally.

Solidarity

Solidarity is more than just a show of support; it is the realisation of a shared struggle and a commitment to stand together. Earth Strike is united in our solidarity against the climate and ecological crisis, and we extend our solidarity to all those fighting for environmental, economic and social justice across the world. We oppose any state repression of dissent and we will not assist law enforcement actions against activists and others.

A workers’ movement

Earth Strike sees the labour and environmental struggles as one and the same. We believe that industrial action and ultimately a general strike are vital tools in the struggle for climate justice. At the same time, we recognise Earth Strike is part of a broader movement of environmental and social activism. We believe that a diversity of approaches is necessary to achieve our collective goals and we extend our solidarity to our friends and comrades in other groups.

A systemic problem

Earth Strike recognises that the systemic nature of the climate crisis calls for systemic solutions. Whilst we do value the struggles and contributions of individuals, we believe attempts to place responsibility on individual consumers instead of producers is misguided at best and a deliberate distraction at worst. We organise on the understanding that our individual contribution to the climate crisis is negligible, whilst our collective contribution to the economy is not.

Equality

Earth Strike recognises the value of diverse voices within our movement and we strive to ensure that everyone’s identity, autonomy and dignity is valued and respected. We do not tolerate hate speech or abusive behaviour that may constitute racism, xenophobia, classism, ableism, sexism, discrimination against members of the LGBTQIA+ community or against other historically marginalised groups. We reject any ideology rooted in ethno-nationalism, imperialism and genocide apologia.

Care

Earth strike seeks to embed care for the physical and mental well-being of our members and supporters in our organising culture. We commit ourselves to being transparent about the risk that any action may involve and acknowledge that actions carry different risks for different people. To the best of our capacity, we aim to process any conflict constructively and work towards regenerative organising practices.

Our plan

We are facing a climate crisis emergency. The science tells us this. The question is, how do we address this crisis? Gradual change is no longer an option, the crisis is already upon us. Business as usual is killing our planet. The solution; disrupt business as usual. Prevent the industries and economies that are destroying our home from functioning and build up a new, better alternative. One that protects people and planet.

The most effective way to disrupt a business is to collectively withdraw our labour: to go on strike. A business without workers means a business where no work is being done, i.e. not a business at all. Our ability to disrupt business in this way has been used to great effect throughout history. Most of the workplace rights we enjoy today (the weekend, paid holidays, sick leave, health & saftey regs etc.) were fought for and won by the labour movement. Workers standing together in trade unions to demand a better life, striking if necessary.

Earth Strike seeks to apply the principals of strike action on a truly massive scale for the benefit of the whole planet and all its people: we seek to build a global general strike for the climate, were people from all over the world and across all jobs and industries collectively withdraw their labour. We are unfortunately a long way from such an event. In the short term, Earth Strike UK is fighting to strengthen the workers’ movement, build resilience in our communities and bring the climate struggle to the workplace.

We also continue to challenge capitalism through protest and direct action, keeping up pressure on the governments and multinational corporations that are destroying our environment in pursuit of profit.