Editing Strike action (section)

==Anti-strike action==
Most strikes called by unions are somewhat predictable; they typically occur after the contract has expired. However, not all strikes are called by union organizations{{Snd}}some strikes have been called in an effort to pressure employers to recognize unions. Other strikes may be spontaneous actions by working people. Spontaneous strikes are sometimes called "[[wildcat strike]]s"; they were the key fighting point in [[May 1968 in France]]; most commonly, they are responses to serious (often life-threatening) safety hazards in the workplace rather than wage or hour disputes, etc.

Whatever the cause of the strike, employers are generally motivated to take measures to prevent them, mitigate the impact, or to undermine strikes when they do occur.

[[File:Giant inflatable rat.jpg|thumb|To bring public attention, a giant [[inflatable rat]] (named 'Scabby') is used in the U.S. at the site of a labor dispute. The rat represents strike-breaking replacement workers, otherwise known as 'scabs'.]]

===Strike preparation===
Companies which produce products for sale will frequently increase inventories prior to a strike. Salaried employees may be called upon to take the place of strikers, which may entail advance training. If the company has multiple locations, personnel may be redeployed to meet the needs of reduced staff. Companies may also take out strike insurance, to help offset the losses which a strike would cause.

When established unions commence strike action, some companies may decline entirely to negotiate with the union, and respond to the strike by hiring replacement workers. For strikers, this may be concerning for multiple reasons. For example, they may fear that the strike will be lost. The length of time that the strike may last could cause many workers to cease striking, which would likely cause it to fail. They may also be concerned that they will lose their jobs entirely. Companies that hire strikebreakers typically use these concerns to attempt to convince union members to abandon the strike and cross the union's [[Picketing (protest)|picket line]].

Unions faced with a strikebreaking situation may try to inhibit the use of strikebreakers by a variety of methods{{Snd}}establishing picket lines where strikebreakers enter the workplace; discouraging strike breakers from taking, or from keeping, strikebreaking jobs; raising the cost of hiring strikebreakers for the company; or employing public relations tactics. Companies may respond by increasing security forces and seeking court injunctions.

Examining conditions in the late 1990s, John Logan, professor and director of Labor and Employment Studies at [[San Francisco State University]], observed that union busting agencies helped to "transform economic strikes into a virtually suicidal tactic for US unions". Logan further observed, "as strike rates in the United States have plummeted to historic low levels, the demand for strike management firms has also declined."<ref name="Logan 651-675">"The Union Avoidance Industry in the United States", ''British Journal of Industrial Relations'', John Logan, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, December 2006, pp. 651–675.</ref>

In the US, as established in the [[National Labor Relations Act]] there is a legally protected right for private sector employees to strike to gain better wages, benefits, or working conditions and they cannot be fired. Striking for economic reasons (like protesting workplace conditions or supporting a union's bargaining demands) allows an employer to hire permanent replacements. The replacement worker can continue in the job and then the striking worker must wait for a vacancy.

But if the strike is due to unfair labor practices, the strikers replaced can demand immediate reinstatement when the strike ends. If a collective bargaining agreement is in effect, and it contains a "no-strike clause", a strike during the life of the contract could result in the firing of all striking employees which could result in dissolution of that union. Although this is legal it could be viewed as union busting.

===Strike breaking===
{{Redirect-distinguish|Strike breaking|Anti-union violence}}
Some companies negotiate with the union during a strike; other companies may see a strike as an opportunity to eliminate the union. This is sometimes accomplished by the importation of replacement workers, [[strikebreaker]]s or "scabs". Historically, strike breaking has often coincided with union busting. It was also called "[[Blackleg labour|black leg]]ging" in the early twentieth century, during the Russian socialist movement.<ref>Arthur Koestler, ''Darkness at Noon'', p. 60.</ref>

===Union busting===
[[File:Stanisław Lentz, Strajk.jpg|thumb|''Strike'', painting by [[Stanisław Lentz]]]]
{{Main|Union busting}}
One method of inhibiting or ending a strike is firing union members who are striking which can result in elimination of the union. Although this has happened, it is rare due to laws regarding firing and "right to strike" having a wide range of differences in the US depending on whether union members are public or private sector. Laws also vary country to country. In the UK, "It is important to understand that there is no right to strike in UK law."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Taylor|first=Byron|title=What is the right to strike?|url=https://labourlist.org/2011/06/what-is-the-right-to-strike/|access-date=29 March 2021|website=LabourList|date=6 June 2011 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Employees who strike risk dismissal, unless it is an official strike (one called or endorsed by their union) in which case they are protected from unlawful dismissal, and cannot be fired for at least 12 weeks. UK laws regarding work stoppages and strikes are defined within the [[Employment Relations Act 1999]] and the [[Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992]].

A significant case of mass-dismissals in the UK in 2005 involved the sacking of over 600 Gate Gourmet employees at Heathrow Airport.<ref>[Workers Worldwide Back Their Heathrow Colleagues], {{cite web |url=http://www.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/566 |title=Internationale Transportarbeiter-Föderation: Presse |access-date=10 January 2012  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402034825/http://www.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/566 |archive-date=2 April 2013 }}</ref> The sacking prompted a walkout by British Airways ground staff leading to cancelled flights and thousands of delayed passengers. The walkout was illegal under UK law and the T&GWU quickly brought it to an end. A subsequent court case ruled that demonstrations on a grass verge approaching the Gate Gourmet premises were not illegal, but limited the number and made the T&G responsible for their action.<ref name="BBC GG">[BBC News 21 August 2005], https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4168084.stm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306050057/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4168084.stm |date=6 March 2019 }}</ref>

In 1962, US President [[John F. Kennedy]] issued Executive Order #10988<ref>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=58926#axzz1iul5EQQB Executive Order 10988],{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205012534/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=58926#axzz1iul5EQQB |date=5 February 2012 }}</ref> which permitted federal employees to form trade unions but prohibited strikes (codified in 1966 at 5 U.S.C. 7311{{snd}}Loyalty and Striking). In 1981, after public sector union PATCO ([[Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)|Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization]]) went on strike illegally, President [[Ronald Reagan]] fired all of the controllers. His action resulted in the dissolution of the union. PATCO reformed to become the [[National Air Traffic Controllers Association]].
[[File:Oběti srážky stávkujících s vojskem v dubnu 1917.jpg|thumb|Victims of a clash between striking workers and the army in [[Prostějov]], Austria-Hungary, April 1917]]

In the U.S., as established in the [[National Labor Relations Act]] there is a legally protected right for private sector employees to strike to gain better wages, benefits, or working conditions and they cannot be fired. Striking for economic reasons (i.e., protesting workplace conditions or supporting a union's bargaining demands) allows an employer to hire permanent replacements. The replacement worker can continue in the job and then the striking worker must wait for a vacancy. But if the strike is due to [[unfair labor practice]]s (ULP), the strikers replaced can demand immediate reinstatement when the strike ends. If a collective bargaining agreement is in effect, and it contains a "no-strike clause", a strike during the life of the contract could result in the firing of all striking employees which could result in dissolution of that union.

Amazon has used the Law firm Wilmerhale to legally end worker strikes at its locations.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

===Lockout===
Another counter to a strike is a [[lockout (industry)|lockout]], a form of work stoppage in which an employer refuses to allow employees to work. Two of the three employers involved in the Caravan park grocery workers strike of 2003–2004 locked out their employees in response to a strike against the third member of the employer bargaining group. Lockouts are, with certain exceptions, lawful under United States labor law.

===Violence===
[[File:Ramon Casas Charge.jpg|thumb|''The charge'' by [[Ramon Casas]] (1899)]]
{{main|Anti-union violence}}
Historically, some employers have attempted to break union strikes by force. One of the most famous examples of this occurred during the [[Homestead Strike]] of 1892. Industrialist [[Henry Clay Frick]] sent private security agents from the [[Pinkerton National Detective Agency]] to break [[Homestead strike|a strike]], organised by the [[Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers]] at a [[Homestead, Pennsylvania]], steel mill. Two strikers were killed, twelve wounded, along with two Pinkertons killed and eleven wounded.

In the aftermath, Frick was shot in the neck and then stabbed by an unaffiliated anarchist, [[Alexander Berkman]], in an assassination attempt. Frick survived the attack, while Berkman was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

===Conscription===
Critical infrastructure workers who are on strike may be forced back to work under military law and/or [[civil conscription]] in countries which allow conscription. In 2010, the Spanish government invoked emergency powers to conscript air traffic controllers who were [[Spanish air traffic controllers' strike|on strike]].<ref name="telegraph1">{{cite web|title = Spanish air traffic controllers marched back to work as airports reopen |url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8181158/Spanish-air-traffic-controllers-marched-back-to-work-as-airports-reopen.html |work = telegraph.co.uk |date = December 4, 2010 |accessdate = 2010-12-05}}</ref>