🚫 A strikebreaker 🚫 To break a strike

to blackleg

9.4

To work in place of workers who are on strike

verb
/ˈblækˌlɛg/

: hacer de esquirol

He was criticized by the union for choosing to blackleg during the strike.

Examples

Workers refused to blackleg despite pressure from management.
Don't blackleg while your colleagues are fighting for better wages.
Few people were willing to blackleg, fearing backlash from their colleagues.
Some people think it's okay to blackleg during a strike.
Few people were willing to blackleg during the strike, fearing backlash from their colleagues.
He was criticized by the union for choosing to blackleg while his coworkers were on strike.
Workers refused to blackleg and stood in solidarity with their colleagues seeking better conditions.

Synonyms

to rat

vsto blackleg

Informal

70 8.8

To betray others by telling secret information about them

means taking replacement work specifically, not general betrayal

to scab

vsto blackleg

Offensive

1 9.1

To work during a strike to replace striking workers

is the more general term for taking replacement work

to fink

vsto blackleg

Offensive

1 9.9

To work while other workers are on strike, often seen as a betrayal

refers to taking replacement work without the strong betrayal focus

How Pro-Strike

to blackleg

9.4

to cross the picket line

4 7.3

Surface Forms

blackleg infinitive

blacklegged past

blacklegged past participle

blacklegging present participle

blacklegs third person singular

Etymology

To blackleg (as a verb) means to work in place of people on strike. It comes from the same idea as the noun blackleg, where black meant 'shame' or being 'marked', so to blackleg is to be seen as bad for working while others refuse.