sickouts
Fake illness protests
Sickouts are coordinated absences where workers call in sick simultaneously as a form of protest or job action, typically when formal strikes are prohibited or impractical.
Unlike official strikes, sickouts maintain plausible deniability—each absence is technically legitimate: Air traffic controllers staged a sickout that delayed hundreds of flights.
The tactic is common among public employees like teachers and police who face legal restrictions on striking.
Open resistance to authority
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- demonstrationPublic display of opinion
- activismDirect effort for reform
- rallyGathering for a cause
sit-in · march · walkout · unrest · uprising · placards · banner · chanting
Negotiating mutually acceptable terms
- mediationIntervention to resolve conflict
- arbitrationNon-court binding dispute resolution
- conciliationResolving disputes through dialogue
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
dialogue · talks · agreement · contract · settlement · concession · demands
Wholeness through cohesion
- allianceFormal union of parties
- coalitionTemporary alliance for action
- brotherhoodKinship among men
- comradeshipMutual loyalty among companions
fellowship · cooperation · camaraderie · loyalty · collaboration · empathy · kinship · rank-and-file
defiance
Open resistance to authority
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- demonstrationPublic display of opinion
- activismDirect effort for reform
rally · sit-in · march · walkout · unrest · uprising · placards · banner · chanting · coalition
bargaining
Negotiating mutually acceptable terms
- mediationIntervention to resolve conflict
- arbitrationNon-court binding dispute resolution
- conciliationResolving disputes through dialogue
compromise · dialogue · talks · agreement · contract · settlement · concession · demands
unity
Wholeness through cohesion
- allianceFormal union of parties
- coalitionTemporary alliance for action
- brotherhoodKinship among men
comradeship · fellowship · cooperation · camaraderie · loyalty · collaboration · empathy · kinship · rank-and-file
no-show
One who fails to appear
- understaffingInsufficient workforce levels
sickoutswildcat strike
Unauthorized work stoppage
collective bargaining · lockout · work-to-rule · negotiated settlement · labor agreement