wildcat strike
1
7.8
- noun
- /ˈwaɪldˌkæt straɪk/
:
huelga salvaje
- After the management announced pay cuts, a spontaneous wildcat strike erupted in the factory.
- workers in a wildcat strike
But during it she was scared by the dockers coming out on a Wildcat strike which she had not prepared for.
- But during it she was scared by the dockers coming out on a Wildcat strike which she had not prepared for.
- It's the most legitimate, authentic, organic Wildcat strike really in in probably a century in Canada.
Examples
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The workers decided to organize a wildcat strike to demand better wages without union approval.
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Bryce Covert has a helpful primer for why we should pay attention to these wildcat strikes carried out by a non-union coalition of Walmart associates.
Blog text (27) -
A wildcat strike was called, and things quickly became deadly.
Blog text (7) -
But during it she was scared by the dockers coming out on a Wildcat strike which she had not prepared for.
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It's the most legitimate, authentic, organic Wildcat strike really in in probably a century in Canada.
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You've got an unauthorized wildcat strike here.
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Between 1990 and 1993, the rank-and-file called a number of successful wildcat strikes.
Academic text (1994) -
Tens of thousands of miners have staged wildcat strikes in South Africa over the past three months, affecting gold and platinum output.
Blog text (26) -
Since companies are often near their breaking point when employees are—hence the longer hours, pay shenanigans, and so on—a wildcat strike can bring management surrender in a day or two.
Blog text (23) -
At De Doorns, farm workers are on a wildcat strike—the latest of a series that has become a feature of the South African landscape over the last three months, knocking Mangaung off the front pages.
Blog text (28)
Synonyms
9
4.2
A time when workers stop working to protest about pay or conditions
A strike by workers that starts without union approval
How Authorized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an unofficial strike' is directly and transparently composed from 'wildcat' (unauthorized) modifying 'strike' (work stoppage). This follows a regular modifier + noun pattern in English, so a learner who knows both constituent meanings should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Wildcat strike comes from the image of a wildcat, a wild animal that acts alone and without control. Like the animal, a wildcat strike happens suddenly and on its own, so the phrase means 'an unofficial strike' not approved by the union.