wildcat strike

wildcat strikenoun/ˈwaɪ.əldˌkæt ˈstɹaɪk/

• 1

  A labor strike that has not been authorized by the leaders of a trade union.

  • Organized workers must have their strike backed by the union. If the employer can bargain with his workers only through the union, the workers must also use the same channel. Hence "wildcat" strikes are outlawed, unless the circumstances are so unusual that the unions have ceased really to represent the workers and are repudiated by them.
  • It [the Taft–Hartley Act] labels certain union practices as "unfair" and permits the NLRB [National Labor Relations Board] to take action to stop them. These unfair practices include wildcat strikes (walking off the job without taking a strike vote), sympathy strikes (striking to demonstrate support of strikers in another company), jurisdictional strikes (disputes between unions over their right to represent workers), secondary boycotts (refusal of workers to handle goods made by some other company whose workers are striking), and featherbedding (requiring an employer to use unnecessary labor).