Strike

UPS Strike Ends in Rare Labor Victory, Teamsters Win Part-Time Worker Protections

| Importance: 8/10

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters ends a 15-day strike against United Parcel Service on August 19, 1997, winning a contract that creates 10,000 new full-time jobs from part-time positions, increases wages for part-time workers by 36 percent over five years, and maintains the union pension …

United Parcel Service International Brotherhood of Teamsters Ron Carey AFL-CIO labor strike teamsters part-time-workers labor-victory +1 more
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Detroit Newspaper Strike Ends in Permanent Replacement, Transforms Media Industry Labor Relations

| Importance: 7/10

Six unions representing 2,500 workers at the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News begin a strike on July 13, 1995, after the newspapers’ corporate owners—Gannett and Knight Ridder—demand sweeping concessions including elimination of union jurisdiction over hiring. The papers continue publishing …

Detroit Free Press Detroit News Gannett Company Knight Ridder Detroit Newspaper Guild +1 more labor strike journalism permanent-replacement media-industry
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Caterpillar Defeats UAW Strike Using Permanent Replacement Threat, Pattern Bargaining Collapses

| Importance: 8/10

The United Automobile Workers ends its five-month strike against Caterpillar on April 14, 1992, after the company announces it will begin permanently replacing the 12,600 striking workers. The UAW—the union that pioneered industrial unionism with the Flint sit-down strike—capitulates without a …

Caterpillar Inc. United Automobile Workers Donald Fites labor strike permanent-replacement pattern-bargaining manufacturing +1 more
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Eastern Airlines Strike Leads to Corporate Liquidation, Frank Lorenzo's Union Destruction Model

| Importance: 8/10

The International Association of Machinists begins a strike against Eastern Airlines on March 4, 1989, joined by pilots and flight attendants in solidarity action that effectively grounds the carrier. The strike targets Frank Lorenzo, whose Texas Air Corporation acquired Eastern in 1986 and …

Eastern Airlines Frank Lorenzo International Association of Machinists Air Line Pilots Association Texas Air Corporation labor strike airline-industry corporate-raider union-destruction +1 more
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Greyhound Strike Ends in Permanent Replacement Victory, PATCO Pattern Spreads to Private Sector

| Importance: 7/10

The Amalgamated Transit Union ends its 47-day strike against Greyhound Lines on November 2, 1983, after the company successfully operates with permanent replacement workers, demonstrating that Reagan’s PATCO strategy translates to the private sector. Greyhound CEO Fred Currey demanded 9.5 …

Greyhound Lines Amalgamated Transit Union Fred Currey labor strike permanent-replacement union-busting transportation +1 more
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Little Steel Strike - Steel Companies Defy Wagner Act, Refuse Union Recognition Despite Legal Obligation

| Importance: 8/10

The “Little Steel” strike begins on May 26, 1937, when 75,000 steelworkers walk off their jobs at Republic Steel, Bethlehem Steel, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, and Inland Steel after these companies refuse to sign contracts with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) despite the …

Republic Steel Tom Girdler Bethlehem Steel Youngstown Sheet and Tube Inland Steel +3 more labor-rights corporate-resistance wagner-act strike union-organizing +1 more
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Paterson Silk Strike: IWW Leads 25,000 Workers in Five-Month Struggle Against Textile Manufacturers

| Importance: 7/10

Approximately 25,000 silk workers in Paterson, New Jersey walked out on February 25, 1913, beginning one of the most significant industrial conflicts of the Progressive Era. The IWW-led strike united diverse immigrant workers - Italian, Jewish, German, and native-born - demanding the eight-hour day, …

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Big Bill Haywood Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Carlo Tresca John Reed +1 more labor-suppression iww progressive-era textile-industry strike
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