Emma Sweeney, of Portland, picks up cleaning supplies at Shoppers True Value Hardware in South Portland on Friday. She had planned to shop at Target but remembered that The People’s Union USA had called for a 24-hour national economic blackout. So she switched gears, shopped locally and paid in cash. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

Emma Sweeney almost forgot that The People’s Union USA had called for a 24-hour national economic blackout on Friday.

She remembered when she was on her way to Target to buy some early spring cleaning supplies.

So instead, she headed to the locally owned Shoppers True Value Hardware in South Portland, where she paid cash for a rolled-up floor mat and a few bottles of liquid cleaner.

“That’s why I’m here,” said Sweeney, who lives in Portland. “It will be good to see that we can have an impact.”

Sweeney was one of many Mainers who heeded the group’s call to reel in mass consumer spending, both in person and online, from midnight Thursday to midnight Friday.

It was the first of similar actions promised by the grassroots movement founded by John Schwarz, a meditation teacher who lives in the Chicago area.

“We are not a political party. We are not a protest,” the group’s website states. “We are a movement of people, unionizing to take back control of our economy, government and future of our country.”

Other groups and individuals are organizing boycotts to protest companies that have scaled back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and to oppose President Donald Trump’s moves to abolish federal DEI programs and policies, The Associated Press reported.

How the impact of the People’s Union blackout will be measured is unclear.

Targeting U.S. corporations, politicians, industries and financial institutions, the group urged consumers to avoid shopping at major retailers, using credit or debit cards for nonessential purchases, and buying fast food or gasoline in particular.

“For one day we show them who really holds the power,” its website stated. “Do not make any purchases. Do not shop online or in-store. No Amazon, no Walmart, no Best Buy. Nowhere!”

Organizers gave participants leeway to buy essentials if absolutely necessary, such as food, medicine and emergency supplies, but only with cash and from small, local businesses.

“Corporations and banks only care about their bottom line,” the website stated. “If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message. If they don’t listen (they won’t), we make the next blackout longer (We will).”

Zoe Coffin-Merrill, a cashier at Shoppers True Value Hardware on Friday, said she asked her husband do their grocery shopping Thursday night so they could participate in the blackout Friday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

That message rang true for Zoe Coffin-Merrill, a cashier at Shoppers True Value, and inspired her to join the blackout.

“I specifically asked my husband to do the grocery shopping last night so we wouldn’t have to do it today,” she said.

Elsewhere in South Portland’s Knightville neighborhood, the crew at Barber Bros. Meat + Provisions noticed a lot more customers paid with cash on Friday.

“We’ve been seeing a lot more cash than normal,” said co-owner Jack Barber. “Usually, about 80% of our transactions are with cards.”

Barber said he appreciated that so many people backed the blackout.

“The message to me is that customers are trying to support local instead of big-box stores and credit card companies,” he said.

Jack Barber, a co-owner of Barber Bros. Meat + Provisions, said more customers than usual paid with cash on Friday. “The message to me is that customers are trying to support local instead of big box stores and credit card companies,” he said. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

One customer at Barber Bros. said she supported the blackout but didn’t want to penalize small businesses, so she was there with cash in hand.

The union’s overall goal is to resist and expose corruption in an economic and political system that exploits workers and keeps many people in a constant state of struggle, its website said.

“Mega corporations have driven up prices, underpaid their workers, and outsourced jobs while raking in record profits,” the website said. “Banks and financial institutions have trapped generations in debt, inflating interest rates and making homeownership nearly impossible.”

Some retailers didn’t see an uptick in cash purchases or other evidence of the blackout.

At Artist & Craftsman Supply in Portland, business was steady Friday morning and most customers were using credit or debit cards.

“It’s a little frustrating, to be honest,” said sales associate Lou Barrett. “I wish more people supported the movement.”

One customer at Artist & Craftsman Supply who supported the blackout was Dorothy Blanchette, a retired art teacher who lives in Falmouth.

Blanchette said she allowed herself to buy art supplies for her grandchildren using store gift cards, but that would be her only purchase on Friday.

Dorothy Blanchette, of Falmouth, shops at Artist & Craftsman Supply in Portland for art supplies for her grandchildren, using gift cards for her only purchases on Friday. “I want the federal government to realize that every person is important,” she said. “They’re ignoring the working class in favor of corporations and it’s hurting a lot of people.” Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland

“I want the federal government to realize that every person is important,” she said. “They’re ignoring the working class in favor of corporations and it’s hurting a lot of people.”

Another customer at the Woodford’s Corner store said she had planned to participate in the blackout but forgot about it until a reporter approached her.

She said her next stop would have been Whole Foods Market, which is owned by Amazon.

“I probably shouldn’t go there today,” she said.