work stoppage

noun

1. the collective stoppage of work by employees in a business or an industry to protest working conditions.

Word History and Origins

Origin of work stoppage¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Delaying safe, in-person learning with an illegal work stoppage will push students even further behind.

From Washington Post

He failed to do so only in 1981, which was shortened by a work stoppage.

From Washington Post

Tech workers, for instance, organized at least 43 protests, actions or work stoppages related to the coronavirus last year, including a number of small, upstart operations, independent of any formal union, according to Collective Action in Tech.

From Time

The old union would stop the line over seemingly trivial things, but the United Food and Commercial Workers local didn’t hold a walkout or work stoppage, which labor laws significantly restrict, as more than 1,000 workers got infected.

From ProPublica

The hosts of late-night talk shows — including The Colbert Report’s Stephen Colbert, among others — were forbidden from working with their writing staffs, since the Writers Guild of America had declared a work stoppage.

From Vox

Related Words

• lockout
• walkout