Deepening Our Understanding of Labor Action: Examining How Workers Organize Different Types of Strikes in the United States

John Kallas

Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 2026, vol. 65, issue 1, 64-79

Abstract: This paper draws on qualitative fieldwork on the Starbucks Workers United campaign and a comprehensive database of strike activity to better understand how workers organize strikes in the United States. By analyzing multiple types of strikes, this study challenges more conventional understandings of work stoppages as predominantly indefinite conflicts to resolve bargaining impasses. Strikes organized by workers with limited structural power resources may not always compel an immediate settlement, but union activists interpret strike effectiveness according to a range of indicators beyond whether they achieve material demands. These findings demonstrate the diverse ways that workers organize strikes and how they can leverage different power resources through industrial action.

Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/irel.12393

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:indres:v:65:y:2026:i:1:p:64-79

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0019-8676

Access Statistics for this article

Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society is currently edited by Christopher (Kitt) Carpenter, Steven Raphael and stevenraphael@berkeley.edu

More articles in Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society from Wiley Blackwell
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().