Legal Definitions - sympathy strike

A sympathy strike occurs when employees, who do not have a direct labor dispute with their own employer, stop working to show support for other striking workers. These employees are typically part of a different bargaining unit or even a different company, but their actions aim to exert additional pressure on the employer (or a related entity) involved in the primary labor dispute. The purpose is to demonstrate solidarity and amplify the impact of the original strike.

Here are some examples illustrating a sympathy strike:

• Example 1: Supply Chain Disruption

  Imagine that factory workers at "Global Auto Parts," a major supplier, are on strike for better wages and safer working conditions. In solidarity, the truck drivers employed by "Logistics Express," a separate company contracted solely to transport parts from Global Auto Parts to various car manufacturers, also decide to go on strike. The truck drivers themselves have no dispute with Logistics Express regarding their own pay or conditions. Their strike is purely to support the Global Auto Parts workers, aiming to further disrupt the supply chain and increase pressure on Global Auto Parts to meet its employees' demands.

• Example 2: Inter-Union Solidarity within a Single Employer

  Consider a situation where the nurses at "Metro City Hospital" are striking over inadequate staffing levels. In a show of support, the hospital's maintenance staff, who belong to a different union and have no direct grievances about their own wages or working conditions, also walk off the job. The maintenance workers' strike is a sympathy strike because their action is not driven by their own dispute with Metro City Hospital, but rather by their desire to support the nurses and help them achieve their demands by increasing the operational pressure on the hospital.

• Example 3: Support Across Related Companies

  Suppose software developers at "Innovatech Solutions" are striking for improved health benefits. "Customer Care Pro," a wholly-owned subsidiary of Innovatech Solutions, handles all customer support for Innovatech's products. The customer service representatives at Customer Care Pro, who are employed by a different legal entity and have no direct dispute with their own employer regarding their benefits, decide to go on strike. This is a sympathy strike because their action is intended to disrupt Innovatech Solutions' ability to serve its customers, thereby increasing pressure on the parent company to resolve the dispute with its striking developers.