Without officially issuing a strike call, Pesotta marshaled her forces. The two hundred member “organization committee” met in the hall the evening of October 11. The activists were told to report the next morning at 5 A.M. to receive flyers to distribute. When they arrived, they found the flyers were headlined, “Dressmakers’ general strike declared today!” They took their bundles to their shops and the strike began. Instead of reporting to work, more than three thousand workers walked to the union hall and registered for their strike cards. Another thousand simply refused to work. Nearly the entire Los Angeles garment industry was shut down.