strikebreakers

Hired replacement workers

Strikebreakers are workers hired to replace employees who are on strike, or existing employees who cross picket lines to keep working during a labor dispute.

The term carries negative connotations from the perspective of striking workers and union supporters, who view strikebreakers as undermining collective bargaining power.

Also called scabs.

labor

scabs

Dried wound coverings

union bustingDisrupting worker organizing efforts
picket lineProtesting workers' boundary
crossingPoint where paths intersect

hired · management · lockout · blackleg · fink · rat · solidarity · betrayal · wages · collective bargaining

historical

Pinkertons

Famous private detective agency

thugsViolent criminals
goonsHired intimidators
violenceHarmful physical force

intimidation · coal mines · steel mills · railroad · Homestead · hired muscle · company men · nineteenth century · textile · meatpacking

tactics

recruitment

Seeking new personnel

transportMoving things between places
protectionGuarding against harm
housingDwellings or protective covering

secrecy · incentives · bonuses · training · escorts · security · surveillance · infiltration · professional · agencies

Categories

labor historyAFL-CIO, workers, labor movement, CIO, laborers
labor strikeswalkouts, walkout, picket lines, pickets, picket line
strikeswalkout, work stoppage, picket line, picket, picketing
union opponentsscabs, Pinkertons, goons, goon squads
oppressorstyrants, despots, dictators, autocrats, authoritarians

Opposites

labor solidarity

strikebreakersstrikers

Those who cease work

picketers · labor activists · trade unionists · shop stewards · union workers

Family

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG