Strike Replacements
Under the NLRA, employees who go out on a legal, economic strike--which most strikes are--cannot be fired; however, employers can hire people to fill the strikers' positions. For decades after the passage of the NLRA, employers rarely exercised their right to hire strike replacements. But, beginning in the late 1970s, employers began to respond more aggressively in the face of strikes. Since that time, hiring strikebreakers has become a much more common practice.
Scab is the pejorative term strikers sometimes use to refer to individuals who serve as strike replacements.
These strike replacements can be hired on a temporary or a permanent basis. If they are temporary and are only hired to work during the strike, they will be let go and the strikers will usually return to their old jobs. If the replacements are kept on after the strike ends, the strikers lose their rights to their old jobs. While there is a technical difference between being fired and being permanently replaced, in most cases the result is the same: the striker loses his or her job. Strikebreakers can be a very effective way of putting pressure on a union to settle.
(AP Photo/Matt York). AP Photo and caption from AccuNet/AP Photo Archive.
Strikers at the United Parcel Service Distribution Center in Warwick, R.I., face-off with a convoy of UPS delivery trucks as Warwick Police push them back Monday, August 4, 1997. Workers for UPS went on strike at midnight after failed negotiations on issues ranging from part-time work to pensions. The convoy of about 25 trucks, lined bumper to bumper, eventually made it through the picket line with the assistance of Warwick and state police.
Strike Alternatives
Because strikes are not the only weapon at the labor movement's disposal, the challenges associated with striking have in some cases resulted in unions utilizing alternative strategies to put economic pressure on an employer. These include:
- Boycotts: Asking consumers not to buy a product.
- Slowdowns: Working more slowly to reduce production while continuing to receive pay.
- Work-to-Rule: Where employees scrupulously follow the official rules and procedures in doing their jobs. This is an approach that, ironically, has the effect of slowing down work and reducing productivity.
- Corporate Campaigns: While slowdowns and "work-to-rule" strategies have the benefits of allowing employees to continue to receive their paychecks, they are of questionable legality and have generally had limited success. Because of the problems associated with strikes and other strategies designed to put pressure on employers, unions have increasingly turned to corporate campaigns. These will be discussed in more detail on the next page.
While corporate campaigns are often used during strikes, they can also be used to pressure employers in other contexts. The labor movement has used a corporate campaign to pressure Wal-Mart, whose employees are not unionized, to provide better wages and healthcare benefits for its workers. The campaign, called Wake-Up Wal-Mart, is ongoing (http://www.wakeupwalmart.com)