Strike action

Strike action, also known as a labor strike or simply a strike, is a direct action where workers collectively stop working, typically to address grievances. While strikes are often organized by trade unions, they can also be initiated by rank-and-file activists. The primary goal is usually to pressure an employer into conceding demands for better working conditions or union recognition, especially after negotiations or legal options have failed. Strikes can also target governments to force policy changes, and in some cases, they have destabilized political regimes as part of broader civil resistance movements. Notable historical examples include the strikes in Poland during the 1980s, which contributed to the fall of communist rule in Eastern Europe, and the general strike in Weimar Germany in 1920 that helped collapse the Kapp Putsch.

The practice became widespread during the Industrial Revolution, when large numbers of workers in factories and mines began to organize. Early strikes were often met with severe legal repression, being treated as unlawful conspiracies or anti-competitive actions, and were frequently suppressed by state police, federal military forces, and courts. Many Western nations eventually legalized strikes under specific conditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term "strike" itself originated in 1768, when sailors in London "struck" the topgallant sails of merchant ships to cripple them in support of demonstrations. The earliest recorded strike occurred in ancient Egypt in 1152 BCE, when royal tomb artisans walked off the job over unpaid wages, prompting the government to raise their pay. A predecessor to the general strike can be seen in the secessio plebis of ancient Rome, where plebeians collectively withdrew from the city. During the Industrial Revolution, the first modern general strike erupted in Britain in 1842, involving over 500,000 workers across multiple industries in a politically motivated action for concessions.