How Labor Strikes Work

Picketing

Picketing plays a crucial role in labor strikes, serving as a visible demonstration of worker dissatisfaction and a tool to gain public support. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant explain that picketing can be a powerful way to embarrass companies and draw attention to unfair labor practices, such as employing non-union workers 1. Informational picketing, where workers protest without fully striking, can also pressure companies by highlighting issues to the public 2.

Crossing a picket line is not a shining moment for anybody who's doing it.

--- Josh Clark

The duo highlights the importance of media manipulation in modern picketing, citing the "Fight for 15" campaign as an example of effectively using media to pressure companies like McDonald's 2.

   

Wildcat Strikes

Unauthorized strikes, known as wildcat strikes, occur when workers decide to strike without union approval, often due to dissatisfaction with union leadership decisions. Josh Clark notes that these strikes can happen when workers feel the timing is right, despite lacking public sympathy or economic leverage 3. Sympathy strikes, on the other hand, involve workers from other unions striking in support of the primary strike, amplifying pressure on the employer 4.

If that happens and the workers are disaffected enough, they may say, no, we're going on strike anyway without the blessing of the union.

--- Josh Clark

These tactics can significantly impact the success of a strike, as seen in the infamous 1980s air traffic controller strike, which failed partly due to the lack of sympathy strikes from related unions 4.

   

Slowdowns

Workplace slowdowns are a non-traditional form of protest where employees deliberately reduce their work pace to pressure employers. Chuck Bryant describes how workers might follow every rule to the letter, significantly slowing production without violating contracts 5. This tactic, often used when strikes are not an option, can highlight the importance of workers' roles in maintaining productivity 6.

It's where everybody goes to work, but they do their work very slowly.

--- Josh Clark

Additionally, structured sick-outs, like the "blue flu" among police officers, demonstrate how workers can collectively use their legal rights to disrupt operations without officially striking 6.