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A wildcat strike action, often referred to as a wildcat strike, is a strike action taken by workers without the authorization of their trade union officials. This is sometimes termed unofficial industrial action. Wildcat strike was the key fighting strategy of May 68.
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By country
In the United States of America
Since 1935 wildcat strike action has been considered illegal in the United States.[1]
The U.S. 1932 Norris-La Guardia Act held that clauses in labor contracts barring employees from joining unions were not enforceable, thus granting employees the right to unionize regardless of their workplace situation. Unions have the power to collectively bargain for their members and to call for strikes demanding concessions from employers. Under the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), federal courts have held that wildcat strikes are illegal and that employers may fire workers participating in them.[1]
Nevertheless, workers can formally request that the National Labor Relations Board end their association with their labor union if they feel that the union is not sufficiently supportive of them. At this point, any strike action taken by the workers may be termed a wildcat strike, but there is no illegality involved as there is no longer a conflict between sections 7 and 9(a) of the NLRA.[2]
Notable wildcat strikes
- Pullman Strike (Illinois, 1894)
- Victorian Police strike (Australia, 1923)
- Chrysler wildcat strike (Michigan, 1968)
- US postal strike (U.S., 1970)
- General Motors wildcat strike (Connecticut, Election Day 1976)
- Winter of Discontent (U.K., 1978-1979)
- Jeffboat wildcat strike (Indiana, 2001)
- Dhaka strikes (Bangladesh, 2006)
- Toronto Transit Commission wildcat strike (Canada, 2006)
- Freightliner wildcat strike (North Carolina, 2007)
- 2009 Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes
- 1936 General Motors sit down strike, Flint, MI
See also
- Black cat (anarchist symbol), also known as the "wild cat"
References
External links
- 1970: US National Postal Strike
- 1987: The Great Workers' Struggle - A short account of the South Korean strike wave of 1987.
- Black Cats, White Cats, Wildcats: Auto Workers in Detroit
- Good work strike
- Hundreds of news articles concerning specific wildcat strike actions around the world
- Long lost wildcat strikes in the UK, 1960s-1990s
- Wildcat or official strike action? - A discussion of the relative merits of official strike action versus unsanctioned wildcat action.
- Wildcats in the Appalachian Coal Fields - A discussion of the wildcat strike background to the Bituminous Coal Strikes of 1974 and 1977-1978.
- Labour Law Profile: Ireland
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