Legal Definitions - scab

A scab refers to an individual who works for an employer during a labor dispute, particularly when unionized employees are on strike. This person typically crosses a union picket line to perform the duties of the striking workers, thereby undermining the union's efforts to achieve its demands. The term is often used pejoratively by union members and their supporters to describe someone who works under conditions contrary to a union contract or replaces striking workers.

Here are some examples illustrating the term:

• Example 1: Manufacturing Plant Strike
  Unionized workers at a large automobile factory go on strike, demanding better wages and improved safety protocols. The company, determined to maintain production, hires temporary workers and brings in non-union contractors to operate the assembly lines. These temporary workers and contractors arrive at the factory each day, passing the striking union members picketing outside the gates.

  Explanation: The temporary workers and contractors are considered scabs because they are performing the jobs of the striking union members, directly weakening the union's bargaining position by allowing the company to continue operations despite the strike.

• Example 2: Airline Pilot Dispute
  Pilots for a major airline, represented by a union, initiate a strike over stalled contract negotiations concerning retirement benefits. To keep some flights operational, the airline quickly recruits a group of retired pilots and pilots from smaller, non-union regional carriers to fly routes. These replacement pilots report for duty, bypassing the striking union pilots demonstrating at the airport terminals.

  Explanation: The retired pilots and those from non-union carriers are acting as scabs. By flying the planes during the strike, they are directly replacing the striking union pilots and reducing the economic pressure on the airline to settle with the union.

• Example 3: Grocery Store Labor Action
  Employees at a chain of grocery stores, members of a retail workers' union, vote to strike after management refuses to negotiate a new contract that includes paid sick leave. During the strike, the store managers and newly hired part-time staff, who are not union members, continue to stock shelves, operate cash registers, and assist customers, crossing the picket lines set up by the striking employees.

  Explanation: The store managers and new non-union hires are functioning as scabs because they are performing the work of the striking union members, allowing the grocery stores to remain open and minimizing the impact of the strike on the company's business.