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{{Redirect|Go on strike|the song by Lower Than Atlantis|Changing Tune}}
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[[File:Ladies tailors strikers.jpg|right|thumb|260px|Female tailors on strike, New York City, February 1910.]]{{More citations needed|date=March 2021}}{{Labor|sp=us|expanded=strik6es}}
{{Labor|sp=us|expanded=strik6es}}
'''Strike action''', also called '''labor strike''', '''labour strike''', or simply '''strike''', is a work stoppage, caused by the mass refusal of [[employee]]s to [[Labor (economics)|work]]. A strike usually takes place in response to [[grievance (labour)|employee grievances]]. Strikes became common during the [[Industrial Revolution]], when [[Labour economics|mass labor]] became important in factories and mines. In most countries, strike actions were quickly made illegal,{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} as factory owners had far more [[Power (social and political)|power]] than workers. Most Western countries partially legalized striking in the late 19th or early 20th centuries.
 
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The first Jewish source for the idea of a labor strike appears in the [[Talmud]], which describes that the bakers who prepared [[showbread]] for the [[altar]] went on strike.<ref>Talmud Yoma 38a</ref>
 
An early predecessor of the [[general strike]] may have been the ''[[secessio plebis]]'' in ancient Rome. In ''[[The Outline of History]]'', [[H. G. Wells]] characterized this event as "the general strike of the [[plebeian]]s; the plebeians seem to have invented the strike, which now makes its first appearance in history."<ref name="H.G. Wells 1920, page 225">H.G. Wells, Outline of History, Waverly Book Company, 1920, page 225</ref> Their first strike occurred because they "saw with indignation their friends, who had often served the state bravely in the legions, thrown into chains and [[debt bondage|reduced to slavery]] at the demand of [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician]] creditors".<ref name="H.G. Wells 1920, page 225"/>
 
=== During and after the Industrial Revolution ===
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The strike action only became a feature of the political landscape with the onset of the [[Industrial Revolution]]. For the first time in history, large numbers of people were members of the industrial working class; they lived in cities and exchanged their labor for payment. By the 1830s, when the [[Chartism|Chartist movement]] was at its peak in Britain, a true and widespread 'workers consciousness' was awakening. In 1838, a Statistical Society of London committee "used the first written questionnaire... The committee prepared and printed a list of questions 'designed to elicit the complete and impartial history of strikes.'" <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gault |first1=Robert |title=A History of the Questionnaire Method of Research in Psychology |journal=The Pedagogical Seminary |date=1907 |volume=14:3 |pages=366-383 |doi=10.1080/08919402.1907.10532551 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1430588}}</ref>
 
In 1842 the demands for fairer wages and conditions across many different industries finally exploded into the first modern [[1842 General Strike|general strike]]. After the second [[Chartism#1842|Chartist Petition]] was presented to Parliament in April 1842 and rejected, the strike began in the coal mines of [[Staffordshire]], [[England]], and soon spread through Britain affecting [[factory|factories]], [[Mill (grinding)|mills]] in Lancashire and [[coal mine]]s from [[Dundee]] to South [[Wales]] and [[Cornwall]].<ref name="Plug Plot">{{cite web |url=http://web.bham.ac.uk/1848/document/poppro.htm |title=The General Strike of 1842: A Study in Leadership, Organisation and the Threat of Revolution during the Plug Plot Disturbance|author=F.C.Mather|publisher=George Allen & Unwin Ltd London|work=web.bham.ac.uk/1848|year=1974|access-date=2008-01-30}}</ref> Instead of being a spontaneous uprising of the mutinous masses, the strike was politically motivated and was driven by an agenda to win concessions. Probably as much as half of the then industrial work force were on strike at its peak – {{snd}}over 500,000 men.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}} The local leadership marshalled a growing working class tradition to politically organize their followers to mount an articulate challenge to the capitalist, political establishment. [[Friedrich Engels]], an observer in [[London]] at the time, wrote:
 
<blockquote>''by its numbers, this class has become the most powerful in England, and woe betide the wealthy Englishmen when it becomes conscious of this fact ... The English proletarian is only just becoming aware of his power, and the fruits of this awareness were the disturbances of last summer.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/camatte/origin.htm|title=Camatte: Origin and Function of the Party Form|website=www.marxists.org}}</ref></blockquote>
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In many countries, wildcat strikes do not enjoy the same legal protections as recognized union strikes, and may result in penalties for the union members who participate or their union. The same often applies in the case of strikes conducted without an official ballot of the union membership, as is required in some countries such as the [[United Kingdom]].
 
A strike may consist of workers refusing to attend work or [[Picketing (protest)|picketing]] outside the workplace to prevent or dissuade people from working in their place or conducting business with their employer. Less frequently workers may occupy the workplace, but refuse either to do their jobs or to leave. This is known as a [[sit-down strike]]. A similar tactic is the [[work-in]], where employees occupy the workplace but still continue work, often without pay, which attempts to show they are still useful, or that [[worker self-management]] can be successful. For instance, this occurred with factory occupations in the ''[[Biennio Rosso]]'' strikes – {{snd}}the "two red years" of Italy from 1919 to 1920.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}}
 
Another unconventional tactic is [[work-to-rule]] (also known as an ''Italian strike'', in {{lang-it|Sciopero bianco}}), in which workers perform their tasks exactly as they are required to but no better. For example, workers might follow all safety regulations in such a way that it impedes their productivity or they might refuse to work [[overtime]]. Such strikes may in some cases be a form of "partial strike" or "slowdown".
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=== Canada ===
On 30 January 2015, the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] ruled that there is a constitutional right to strike.<ref>''Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v Saskatchewan'', 2015 SCC 4</ref> In this 5–2 majority decision, [[Rosalie Abella|Justice Rosalie Abella]] ruled that "[a]long with their right to associate, speak through a bargaining representative of their choice, and bargain collectively with their employer through that representative, the right of employees to strike is vital to protecting the meaningful process of collective bargaining..." [paragraph 24]. This decision adopted the dissent by [[Brian Dickson|Chief Justice Brian Dickson]] in a 1987 Supreme Court ruling on a [[reference case]] brought by the province of [[Alberta]]. The exact scope of this right to strike remains unclear.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slaw.ca/2015/02/01/finding-more-meaning-in-the-future-of-labour-law/|title=Finding More “Meaning” in the Future of Labour Law – Slaw|last=Ha-Redeye|first=Omar|date=February 1, 2015|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-03}}</ref> Prior to this Supreme Court decision, the federal and provincial governments had the ability to introduce "back to work legislation", a [[special law]] that blocks the strike action (or a lockout) from happening or continuing. Canadian governments could also have imposed [[binding arbitration]] or a new contract on the disputing parties. Back to work legislation was first used in 1950 during a railway strike, and as of 2012 had been used 33 times by the federal government for those parts of the economy that are regulated federally (grain handling, rail and air travel, and the postal service), and in more cases provincially. In addition, certain parts of the economy can be proclaimed "[[essential services]]" in which case all strikes are illegal.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/06/15/f-faq-back-to-work-legislation.html|title=FAQ: Back-to-work legislation}}</ref>
 
Examples include when the government of Canada passed back to work legislation during the 2011 [[Canada Post]] lockout and the 2012 [[CP Rail]] strike, thus effectively ending the strikes. In 2016, the government's use of back to work legislation during the 2011 Canada Post lockout was ruled unconstitutional, with the judge specifically referencing the Supreme Court of Canada's 2015 decision ''Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v Saskatchewan''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://canliiconnects.org/|title=CanLII Connects|website=canliiconnects.org}}</ref>
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{{main|Trade unions in the Soviet Union|All-China Federation of Trade Unions}}
[[File:Strajk sierpniowy w Stoczni Gdańskiej im. Lenina 09.jpg|thumb|Lenin Shipyard workers, Poland, on strike in August 1980, with the name of the state-controlled trade union crossed out in protest]]
In some [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] states, such as the [[People's Republic of China]], striking was illegal and viewed as [[counter-revolutionary]]. In Soviet Union, strikes happened throughout the existence of USSR, most notably in 1930s. After World War 2 they diminished both in number and in scale.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=Orlov V.N., Bogdanov S.V.|date=|title=COLLECTIVE LABOR CONFLICTS IN THE USSR IN 1930-1950s: REASONS OF OCCURRENCE, FORMS, WAYS OF RESOLUTION|url=http://www.yurclub.ru/docs/other/article143.html|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> In 1976, China signed the [[International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]], which guaranteed the right to unions and striking, but Chinese officials declared that they had no interest in allowing these liberties.<ref>"Still waiting for Nike to do it," by Tim Connor, page 70.</ref> (In June 2008, however, the municipal government in [[Shenzhen]] in southern China introduced draft labor regulations, which labor rights advocacy groups say would, if implemented, virtually restore Chinese workers' right to strike.<ref>[http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1173682 'Factory to the world will soon get the right to strike'], by Venkatesan Vembu, [[Daily News and Analysis]], 26 June 2008.</ref>) [[Trade unions in the Soviet Union]] served in part as a means to educate workers about the country's economic system. [[Vladimir Lenin]] referred to trade unions as "Schools of Communism".
 
In the Soviet Union, strikes occurred throughout the existence of the USSR, most notably in the 1930s. After World War II, they diminished both in number and in scale.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=Orlov V.N., Bogdanov S.V.|date=|title=COLLECTIVE LABOR CONFLICTS IN THE USSR IN 1930-1950s: REASONS OF OCCURRENCE, FORMS, WAYS OF RESOLUTION|url=http://www.yurclub.ru/docs/other/article143.html|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref> [[Trade unions in the Soviet Union]] served in part as a means to educate workers about the country's economic system. [[Vladimir Lenin]] referred to trade unions as "Schools of Communism".{{Citation needed paragraph|date=March 2021|reason=The preceding two sentences require citations to reliable sources.}}
 
===France===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}[[File:La grève des mineurs du Pas-de-Calais, 1906.jpg|thumb|Strike in [[Pas-de-Calais]] (1906)]]
In [[France]], the right to strike is recognized and guaranteed by the Constitution.
 
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This law, among other measures, forces certain categories of public transport workers (such as train and bus drivers) to declare to their employer 48 hours in advance if they intend to go on strike. Should they go on strike without having declared their intention to do so beforehand, they leave themselves open to sanctions.
The unions did and still oppose this law and argue these 48 hours are used not only to pressure the workers but also to keep files on the more militant workers, who will more easily be undermined in their careers by the employers. Most importantly, they argue this law prevents the more hesitant workers from making the decision to join the strike the day before, once they've been convinced to do so by their colleagues and more particularly the union militants, who maximize their efforts in building the strike (by handing out leaflets, organizing meetings, discussing the demands with their colleagues) in the last few days preceding the strike. This law makes it also more difficult for the strike to spread rapidly to other workers, as they are required to wait at least 48 hours before joining the strike.▼
 
▲The unions did and stillUnions oppose this law, and arguearguing these 48 hours are used not only to pressure the workers but also to keep files on the more militant workers, who will more easily be undermined in their careers by the employers. MostThey importantly, theyalso argue this law prevents the more hesitant workers from making the decision to join the strike the day before, once they've have been convinced to do so by their colleagues and more particularly the union militants, who maximize their efforts in building the strike (by handing out leaflets, organizing meetings, discussing the demands with their colleagues) in the last few days preceding the strike. This law makes it also more difficult for the strike to spread rapidly to other workers, as they are required to wait at least 48 hours before joining the strike.
This law also makes it easier for the employers to organize the production as it may use its human resources more effectively, knowing beforehand who is going to be at work and not, thus undermining, albeit not that much, the effects of the strike.▼
 
▲This law also makes it easier for the employers to organize the production as it may use its human resources more effectively, knowing beforehand who is going to be at work and not, thus undermining, albeit not thatvery much, the effects of the strike.
 
However, this law has not had much effect as strikes in public transportstransport still occur in France, and at times, the workers refuse to comply by the rules of this law. The public transport industry – {{Snd}}public or privately owned – {{Snd}}remains very militant in France and keen on taking strike action when their interests are threatened by the employers or the government.
 
The public transport workers in France, in particular the "Cheminots" (employees of the national French railway company) are often seen as the most radical "vanguard" of the French working class. This law has not, in the eyesopinion of many, changed this fact.
 
===United Kingdom===
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The [[Police Federation of England and Wales|Police Federation]], which was created at the time to deal with employment grievances and to provide representation to police officers, attempted to put pressure on the [[Third Blair ministry|Blair ministry]] and at the time repeatedly threatened strike action.<ref name=bbcsp>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6920416.stm|title=Police in strike action threat|work=BBC News|date=28 July 2007}}</ref>
 
Prison officers have gained and lost the right to strike over the years; mostin recentlythe 2010s, despite it being illegal, they walked out on 15 November 2016.,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9256125/Prison-officers-stage-unofficial-walkout-on-day-of-public-sector-action.html|title=Prison officers stage unofficial walkout on day of public sector action|work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> and again on 14 September 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/prison-officer-strike-ended-after-constructive-dialogue-11497432|title=Prison staff strike ended after union's 'constructive dialogue' with minister|website=Sky News}}</ref>
 
===United States===
[[File:Striker assembly.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A strike leader addressing strikers in [[Gary, Indiana]] in 1919.]]
The [[Railway Labor Act]] bans strikes by United States airline and railroad employees except in narrowly defined circumstances. The [[National Labor Relations Act]] generally permits strikes, but provides a mechanism to enjoin from striking workers in industries in which a strike would create a national emergency. The{{As of|2021}}, the federal government most recently invoked these statutory provisions to obtain an injunction requiring the [[International Longshore and Warehouse Union]] to return to work in 2002 after having been locked out by the employer group, the Pacific Maritime Association.
 
Some jurisdictions prohibit all strikes by public employees, under laws such as the "[[Taylor Law]]" in [[New York (state)|New York]]. Other jurisdictions impose strike bans only on certain categories of workers, particularly those regarded as critical to society: [[police]], [[teachers]] and [[firefighter]]s are among the groups commonly barred from striking in these jurisdictions. Some states, such as [[New Jersey]], [[Michigan]], [[Iowa]] or [[Florida]], do not allow teachers in public schools to strike. Workers have sometimes circumvented these restrictions by falsely claiming inability to work due to illness – {{Snd}}this is sometimes called a "sickout" or "blue flu", the latter receiving its name from the uniforms worn by police officers, who are traditionally prohibited from striking. The term "red flu" has sometimes been used to describe this action when undertaken by firefighters.
 
Often, specific regulations on strike actions exist for employees in prisons. The [[Code of Federal Regulations]] declares "encouraging others to refuse to work, or to participate in a work stoppage" by prisoners to be a "High Severity Level Prohibited Act" and authorizes [[solitary confinement]] for periods of up to a year for each violation.<ref>{{uscfr|28|541|3}}</ref> The [[California Code of Regulations]] states that "[p]articipation in a strike or work stoppage", "[r]efusal to perform work or participate in a program as ordered or assigned", and "[r]ecurring failure to meet work or program expectations within the inmate's abilities when lesser disciplinary methods failed to correct the misconduct" by prisoners is "serious misconduct" under §3315(a)(3)(L), leading to [[gang]] affiliation under CCR §3000.<ref>{{citation | title=California Code of Regulations §3000 | quote=Gang means any … formal or informal organization, association or group of three or more persons which has a common name or identifying sign or symbol whose members and/or associates, individually or collectively, engage or have engaged, on behalf of that organization, association or group, in two or more acts which include, … acts of misconduct classified as serious pursuant to section 3315.| title-link=California Code of Regulations}}</ref>
 
Postal workers involved in 1978 wildcat strikes in [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]], [[Kearny, New Jersey]], [[San Francisco]], and [[Washington, D.C.]] were fired under the presidency of [[Jimmy Carter]], and President [[Ronald Reagan]] fired [[air traffic controller]]s and the [[Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)|PATCO]] union after the [[Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)|air traffic controllers' strike of 1981]].
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{{Main|Strikebreaker}}
[[File:New York garbage cart being stoned.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Strikebreaking driver and cart being stoned during sanitation worker strike. [[New York City]], 1911.]]
A '''strikebreaker''' (sometimes derogatorily called a '''scab''', '''blackleg''', or '''knobstick''') is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the [[trade union]] dispute, but rather hired after or during the strike to keep the organization running. "Strikebreakers" may also refer to workers (union members or not) who cross [[picketing (protest)|picket line]]s to work.
 
Irwin, Jones, McGovern (2008){{Full citation needed|date=March 2021}} believe that the term "scab" is part of a larger metaphor involving strikes. They argue that the picket line is symbolic of a wound and those who break its borders to return to work are the scabs who bond that wound. Others have argued that the word is not a part of a larger metaphor but, rather, was an old-fashioned English insult whose meaning narrowed over time.
 
"Blackleg" is an older word and is found in the late19th-nineteenth/early-twentieth century folk song from [[Northumberland]], "[[Blackleg Miner]]" which originated in [[Northumberland]]. The term does not necessarily owe its origins to this tune of unknown origin. The song is, however, notable for its lyrics that encourage violent acts against strikebreakers.
 
[[File:Chicago Tribune 1986 strikebreakers.jpg|thumb|175px|left|Strike breakers, ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' strike, 1986, [[Chicago]], Illinois]]
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The concept of ''union strikebreaking'' or ''union scabbing'' refers to any circumstance in which union workers themselves cross picket lines to work.
 
Unionized workers are sometimes required to cross the picket lines established by other unions due to their organizations having signed contracts which include no-strike clauses. The no-strike clause typically requires that members of the union not conduct any strike action for the duration of the contract; such actions are called ''sympathy'' or ''secondary strikes''. Members who honor the picket line in spite of the contract frequently face discipline, for their action may be viewed as a violation of provisions of the contract. Therefore, any union conducting a strike action typically seeks to include a provision of amnesty for all who honored the picket line in the agreement that settles the strike.
 
No-strike clauses may also prevent unionized workers from engaging in solidarity actions for other workers even when no picket line is crossed. For example, striking workers in manufacturing or mining produce a product which must be transported. In a situation where the factory or mine owners have replaced the strikers, unionized transport workers may feel inclined to refuse to haul any product that is produced by strikebreakers, yet their own contract obligates them to do so.
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==Anti-strike action==
Most strikes called by unions are somewhat predictable; they typically occur after the contract has expired. However, not all strikes are called by union organizations – {{Snd}}some strikes have been called in an effort to pressure employers to recognize unions. Other strikes may be spontaneous actions by working people. Spontaneous strikes are sometimes called "[[wildcat strike]]s"; they were the key fighting point in [[May 1968 in France]]; most commonly, they are responses to serious (often life-threatening) safety hazards in the workplace rather than wage or hour disputes, etc.
 
Whatever the cause of the strike, employers are generally motivated to take measures to prevent them, mitigate the impact, or to undermine strikes when they do occur.
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Companies may also take out ''[[strike insurance]]'', to help offset the losses which a strike would cause.
 
One of the weapons traditionally wielded by already-established unions is strike action. Some companies may decline entirely to negotiate with the union, and respond to the strike by hiring replacement workers. This may create a crisis situation for strikers – {{snd}}do they stick to their original plan and rely upon their solidarity, or is there a chance that the strike may be lost? How long will the strike last? Will strikers' jobs still be there if the strike fails? Are ''other'' strikers defecting from the strike? Companies that hire strikebreakers typically play upon these fears when they attempt to convince union members to abandon the strike and cross the union's [[Picketing (protest)|picket line]].{{Tone inline|date=March 2021}}
 
Unions faced with a strikebreaking situation may try to inhibit the use of strikebreakers by a variety of methods – {{Snd}}establishing picket lines where the strikebreakers enter the workplace; discouraging strike breakers from taking, or from keeping, strikebreaking jobs; raising the cost of hiring strikebreakers for the company; or employing public relations tactics. Companies may respond by increasing security forces and seeking court injunctions.
 
Examining conditions in the late 1990s, John Logan observed that union busting agencies helped to "transform economic strikes into a virtually suicidal tactic for US unions". Logan further observed, "as strike rates in the United States have plummeted to historic low levels, the demand for strike management firms has also declined."<ref name="Logan 651-675">"The Union Avoidance Industry in the United States", ''British Journal of Industrial Relations'', John Logan, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, December 2006, pages 651–675.</ref>
 
In the US, as established in the [[National Labor Relations Act]] there is a legally protected right for private sector employees to strike to gain better wages, benefits, or working conditions and they cannot be fired. Striking for economic reasons (like protesting workplace conditions or supporting a union's bargaining demands) allows an employer to hire permanent replacements. The replacement worker can continue in the job and then the striking worker must wait for a vacancy. But if the strike is due to unfair labor practices, the strikers replaced can demand immediate reinstatement when the strike ends. If a collective bargaining agreement is in effect, and it contains a "no-strike clause", a strike during the life of the contract could result in the firing of all striking employees which could result in dissolution of that union. Although this is legal it could be viewed as union busting.
 
===Strike breaking===
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[[File:Stanisław Lentz, Strajk.jpg|right|thumb|200px|''Strike'', painting by Stanisław Lentz]]
{{Main|Union busting}}
One method of inhibiting or ending a strike is firing union members who are striking which can result in elimination of the union. Although this has happened, it is rare due to laws regarding firing and "right to strike" having a wide range of differences in the US depending on whether union members are public or private sector. Laws also vary country to country. In the UK, "It is important to understand that there is no right to strike in UK law."<ref>[LabourList],{{Cite httpweb|last=Taylor|first=Byron|title=What is the right to strike?|url=https://labourlist.org/2011/06/what-is-the-right-to-strike/|access-date=2021-03-29|website=LabourList|language=en-GB}}</ref> Employees who strike risk dismissal, unless it is an official strike (one called or endorsed by their union) in which case they are protected from unlawful dismissal, and cannot be fired for at least 12 weeks. UK laws regarding work stoppages and strikes are defined within the [[Employment Relations Act 1999]] and the [[Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992]].
 
A significant case of mass-dismissals in the UK in 2005 involved the sacking of over 600 Gate Gourmet employees at Heathrow Airport.<ref>[Workers Worldwide Back Their Heathrow Colleagues], {{cite web |url=http://www.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/566 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-01-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402034825/http://www.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/566 |archive-date=2 April 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The sacking prompted a walkout by British Airways ground staff leading to cancelled flights and thousands of delayed passengers. The walkout was illegal under UK law and the T&GWU quickly brought it to an end. A subsequent court case ruled that demonstrations on a grass verge approaching the Gate Gourmet premises were not illegal, but limited the number and made the T&G responsible for their action.<ref name="BBC GG">[BBC News 21 August 2005], https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4168084.stm</ref>
 
In 1962 US President [[John F. Kennedy]] issued Executive Order #10988<ref>[Executive Order 10988], http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=58926#axzz1iul5EQQB</ref> which permitted federal employees to form trade unions but prohibited strikes (codified in 1966 at 5 U.S.C. 7311 – {{snd}}Loyalty and Striking). In 1981, after public sector union PATCO ([[Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)|Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization]]) went on strike illegally, President [[Ronald Reagan]] fired all of the controllers. His action resulted in the dissolution of the union. PATCO reformed to become the [[National Air Traffic Controllers Association]].
[[File:Oběti srážky stávkujících s vojskem v dubnu 1917.jpg|thumb|Victims of a clash between striking workers and the army in [[Prostějov]], Austria-Hungary, April 1917]]
 
In the U.S., as established in the [[National Labor Relations Act]] there is a legally protected right for private sector employees to strike to gain better wages, benefits, or working conditions and they cannot be fired. Striking for economic reasons (i.e., protesting workplace conditions or supporting a union's bargaining demands) allows an employer to hire permanent replacements. The replacement worker can continue in the job and then the striking worker must wait for a vacancy. But if the strike is due to [[unfair labor practice]]s (ULP), the strikers replaced can demand immediate reinstatement when the strike ends. If a collective bargaining agreement is in effect, and it contains a "no-strike clause", a strike during the life of the contract could result in the firing of all striking employees which could result in dissolution of that union.
 
===Lockout===
Another counter to a strike is a [[lockout (industry)|lockout]], thea form of work stoppage in which an employer refuses to allow employees to work. Two of the three employers involved in the Caravan park grocery workers strike of 2003–2004 locked out their employees in response to a strike against the third member of the employer bargaining group. Lockouts are, with certain exceptions, lawful under [[United States labor law]].
 
===Violence===
[[File:Ramon Casas Charge.jpg|thumb|''The charge'' by [[Ramon Casas]] (1899)]]
{{main|Anti-union violence}}
Historically, some employers have attempted to break union strikes by force. One of the most famous examples of this occurred during the [[Homestead Strike]] of 1892. Industrialist [[Henry Clay Frick]] sent private security agents from the [[Pinkerton National Detective Agency]] to break the [[Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers]] strike at a [[Homestead, Pennsylvania|Homestead]], [[Pennsylvania]] steel mill. Two strikers were killed, twelve wounded, along with two Pinkertons killed and eleven wounded. In the aftermath, Frick was shot in the neck and then stabbed by [[Alexander Berkman]], surviving the attack, while Berkman was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
 
==Films==
 
===Non-fiction===
* ''[[Final Offer]]'' – {{snd}}A look at the 1984 contract negotiations between General Motors and its union.
* ''[[Harlan County, USA]]'', Director: [[Barbara Kopple]], USA 1976–A [[documentary film]] about a very long and bitter strike of coal miners in Kentucky
* ''[[American Dream (film)|American Dream]],'' Director: [[Barbara Kopple]], USA 1990 – {{snd}}A [[documentary film]] about the unsuccessful 1985–1986 [[Meat packing industry|meatpacker's]] strike against [[Hormel Foods Corporation|Hormel Foods]] in [[Austin, Minnesota|Austin]], [[Minnesota]].
* [[Jimmy Hoffa]], a [[labor union]] leader who ran the [[International Brotherhood of Teamsters]] (IBT) union from 1958 until 1971, was portrayed by [[Robert Blake (actor)|Robert Blake]] in the 1983 TV-film ''[[Blood Feud (1983 film)|Blood Feud]]'', [[Trey Wilson]] in the 1985 television miniseries ''[[Robert Kennedy & His Times]]'', and by [[Jack Nicholson]] in the 1992 biographical film ''[[Hoffa (film)|Hoffa]]''.
* ''[[Newsies]]'', a [[Disney]] movie based on the [[Newsboys' strike of 1899|Newsboys' Strike of 1899]] directed by [[Kenny Ortega]] and music composed by [[Alan Menken]].
* ''[[Bastard Boys]]'', A miniseries based on the [[1998 Australian waterfront dispute]].
* ''[[Made in Dagenham]]'', A film about the strike by female employees at the Ford Motor company in the UK.
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* ''[[Strike (1925 film)|Statschka]]'' ("Strike"), Director: [[Sergei Eisenstein]], Soviet Union 1924
* ''[[Brother (1929 film)|Brüder]]'' ("Brother"), Director: [[Werner Hochbaum]], Germany 1929–On the general strike in the port of Hamburg, Germany in 1896/97
* ''[[The Stars Look Down]]'', Director: [[Carol Reed]], England 1939 – {{snd}}Film about a strike over safety standards at a coal mine in North-East England – {{snd}}based on the [[A.J. Cronin|Cronin]] novel
* ''[[The Grapes of Wrath (film)|The Grapes of Wrath]]'' a 1940 film by [[John Ford]] includes description of migrant workers striking, and its violent breaking by employers, assisted by the police. Based on [[The Grapes of Wrath|the novel]] by [[John Steinbeck]].
* ''[[Salt of the Earth (1954 film)|Salt of the Earth]]'', Director: [[Herbert J. Biberman]], USA 1953–Fictionalized account of an actual zinc-miners' strike in [[Silver City, New Mexico]], in which women took over the picket line to circumvent an injunction barring "striking miners" from company property. The striking women were largely played by real members of the strike, and one woman was deported to Mexico while filming. The union organizer [[Clinton Jencks]] (from [[Jencks v. United States]] fame) also participated.
* ''[[The Molly Maguires (film)|The Molly Maguires]]'', Director: [[Martin Ritt]], 1970 film starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris. Frustrated by the failure of strike action to achieve their industrial objectives, a secret society among Pennsylvania coal miners sabotages the mine with explosives to try to get what their industrial action failed to obtain. A Pinkerton agent infiltrates them.
* ''[[F.I.S.T]]'', Director: [[Norman Jewison]], 1978 – {{snd}}loosely based on the [[Teamsters]] union and former president Jimmy Hoffa.
* ''[[Norma Rae]]'', Director: [[Martin Ritt]], 1979.
* ''[[Matewan]]'', Director: [[John Sayles]], 1987 – {{snd}}critically acclaimed account of a coal mine-workers' strike and attempt to unionize in 1920 in Matewan, a small town in the hills of [[West Virginia]].
* ''[[Made in Dagenham]]'', 2010 – {{snd}}based on the strike at [[Ford Motor Company|Fords]] plant in Dagenham, England, UK, which won equal pay for female workers.
 
==Other uses==
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*{{DMOZ|Society/Work/Labor_Movement/|Labor Movement}}
* [http://libcom.org/tags/strikes News and histories of strikes from around the world]
* [http://eblackstudies.org/intro/chapter7.htm "Black Workers and the Labor Movement: Toward a Paradigm of Unity in Afro-American Studies." Intro to Afro-American Studies. eBlackStudies.com.]
* [http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/ifpdial/info/national/ire.htm#15 Labour Law Profile: Ireland]
* [http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/55951/strike-famous-worker-uprisings#index/0 Strike! Famous Worker Uprisings]&nbsp;– slideshow by ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]''
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_action"