Wikipedia:WikiProject Organized Labour/Summaries/Strike action/Summary

A strike is a work stoppage caused by a refusal by a mass of employees to perform work. The strike tactic has a very long history, from ancient Egypt to the present day. Although there have been recorded strikes throughout history, the tactic first became important during the industrial revolution, when large amounts of labour became important in industrial enterprises.

In most countries they were quickly made illegal, as factory owners had far more political power than workers. The laws making striking illegal were overturned in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century in most western countries.

Strikes are sometimes used to put pressure on governments to change policies. Occasionally, strikes destabilise the rule of a particular political party. A notable example is the Gdańsk shipyard strike led by Lech Wałęsa. This strike contributed to the fall of communist party rule in Poland.

Today, strike action is often subject to legislation by governments. For example some governments ban strikes which are not called democratically. Other governments outlaw strike action entirely.