Wildcat strike action

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 strikes were the key fighting strategy during the May 1968 protests in France.

By country

Canada

On March 23, 2012, Air Canada ground employees suddenly walked off the job at Toronto Pearson International Airport, resulting in many flight delays, after three workers were suspended for heckling Canadian Labour Minister Lisa Raitt. This followed months of fighting between Air Canada and its other unions.[1]

United States of America

Wildcat strikes have been considered illegal in the United States since 1935.[2] The 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 bargain collectively on behalf of 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.[2]

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.[3]

Some strikes that begin as wildcat actions, such as the Memphis Sanitation Strike and Baltimore municipal strike of 1974, are later supported by the union, which then steps in to act as bargaining agent.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, all workers are required to join a union connected to the Vietnam General Conference of Labor, a government-controlled entity. Due to workers' distrust of this agency, nearly all strikes in the country are wildcat strikes.[4]

Notable wildcat strikes

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

See also

  • Black cat (anarchist symbol), also known as the "wild cat"

References

  1. ↑ ". Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Wildcat Strike." In West's Encyclopedia of American Law. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group, Inc, 2004. ISBN 0-7876-6367-0. Retrieved 11 January 2008.
  3. ↑ "St. Louis bus wildcat to end". libcom.org. 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2010-09-06. 
  4. ↑ retrieved 6 September 2010.

External links

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