wildcat strikes

Content on libcom.org related to wildcat, or unofficial, strike action. Including news, history, analysis, discussion and tactics.

New York postal workers on wildcat strike, 1970

New York postal workers on wildcat strike, 1970

drawing of IWW dockers

War on the waterfront - Peter Cole

Chapter 4 of "Wobblies on the waterfront-interracial unionism in progressive-era Philadelphia" by Peter Cole, an excellent text about the…

Non-unionised Seattle truckers organise against the bosses

Over 600 non-unionised workers at dock in Seattle walk out in protest against horrendous working…

Tomato harvest in Nardo, Apulia: The first self organised strike of the day labourers

An account and analysis by Devi Sacchetto and Mimmo Perrotta of a July 2011 strike by ultra…

Mouse Soup

Sir, there's a mouse in my soup!

On 3rd of January workers at Lin Electronics Factory in Dongguan, Guangdong, started strike action after finding a dead mouse in their soup,…

Trouble on the Railroads in 1873-1874: Prelude to the 1877 Crisis?

Between November 1873 and July 1874, workers on the Pennsylvania system and at least 17 other railroads struck. Engineers, firemen, brakemen, and track hands as well as shopmen and ordinary laborers resisted wage cuts, demanded salary due them, and opposed such employer practices as blacklisting and the use of iron-clad contracts. None of these disputes was so dramatic or important as the general railroad strike in…

Wartime strikes: The struggle against the no-strike pledge in the UAW during World War II - Martin Glaberman

Martin Glaberman's examination of American car industry workers wildcat strike wave…

2009: The strike at Lindsey refinery: a struggle entangled in nationalism

Mouvement Communiste's detailed account and analysis of the oil industry construction workers'…

IWW cleaners picket

City of London Corporation cleaners say: Occupy Guildhall!

Cleaners are staging a sit in at the Corporation of London’s Guildhall in protest at the inadequate…

Class conflict and workers' self activity on the railroads: 1874-1895

The years 1874 through 1895 saw intense class struggle, much of it centering on the railroad…

Sparks wildcat in the face of pay cuts and legal threats

After Balfour Beatty force the cancellation of an official strike ballot, electricians walk out…

Chinese police arrest strikers

Police in Shanghai have arrested around a dozen workers following ongoing strike action at an electronics factory.

Notes on Oakland 2011

A first-hand account and reflection on the events of November 2, where there was an attempted wildcat general strike.