FAQ – What is a Strike?

A strike is a tactic used by workers in a union to put pressure on an employer to accept their terms/move towards a compromise during the collective bargaining process.  Workers may choose to withdraw their labour and stop reporting to work.

Strikes show the employer that the workforce is unified and strong, and also, by withholding labour, stops/stops the ability to produce goods and services for the company.  Strikes typically inflict a cost on the employer for failure to accept the union’s terms, or come to an agreeable compromise.  In the same token, it inflicts a cost on the union and members as well as it interrupts their flow of income earned from working wages (unions typically have a strike-fund to help supplement members’ incomes in the event of a strike, however, it still affects their ability to earn wages).

In most cases, it is legal for workers to go on strike when their contract expires.  It is not legal to go on strike while a contract is still in effect, to do so is called a ‘wildcat strike.’  There are many legal requirements to follow when going on strike that must be vetted by the union and members before making the decision to strike.

It is the members of the union who decide whether or not to go on strike.  If strike action is being suggested, the members of the union take a vote to authorize whether or not to do it.

A strike is not taken lightly and it is usually undertaken by the union as a last resort in response to an inability to come to an agreement with an employer.