104 professional strike
"Groups of salaried persons or self-employed persons in a particular profession may go on strike for economic, political, or other reasons. Where the motive is political, the professional strike usually takes place within the context of a wider struggle involving other sections of the population and other methods of nonviolent action, which may precede, accompany, or follow the professional strike."...
High scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
Salvadoran health professionals prevent privatization of health care, 2002-2003
In 2002, El Salvador was under intense pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to privatize its healthcare system, which had up until that point been controlled by the government and available to all legally employed Salvador...
Chileans overthrow dictator Carlos Ibañez del Campo, 1931
In February 1931, in the face of an economic crisis, the Chilean Congress granted President Carlos Ibáñez Del Campo authority to enact any necessary measures to keep Chile from further depression. As the value of exports dropped and unemployment rose...
Cubans general strike to overthrow president, 1933
For two years prior to this campaign there was a violent struggle to oust dictator Gerardo Machado: running gun battles, bombings, political assassinations. The leading violent group agreed to a ceasefire in July 1933 to allow for mediation, but smal...
U.S. Spirit Airlines pilots strike for better wages, 2010
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Plebeians win victory for the rule of law in Ancient Rome, 449 BCE. (See also 494 campaign.)
One of the most fundamental characteristics of civilization is the rule of law. For the last few millennia, it has been recognized that as levels of human organization expand past the size of tribes and villages into more complex societies such as ci...
Czechoslovakians campaign for democracy (Velvet Revolution), 1989
By the end of World War II, the Soviet Union had invaded and taken over much of Czechoslovakia. The Communist Party officially came to power in February 1948, and under its rule dissidents faced persecution by secret police, censorship was enforced, ...
Egyptians campaign for independence, 1919-1922
Egypt became a British protectorate on December 14, 1914. During World War I agitation towards the British increased as all sects of the population united in their discontent. British rule caused Egypt’s involvement in the war to increase – 1.5 milli...
Bolivians strike and demonstrate against raised fuel prices, 2010
On Sunday 26 December Bolivia’s government abruptly ended a six-year freeze on fuel prices, raising the price of gasoline by 73% and diesel by 83%. Vice president Alvaro Garcia said this change in policy was necessary because the subsidy cost US$380 ...
El Salvadorans bring down a dictator, 1944
In 1938, El Salvadoran president General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez proposed changing the country’s constitution so that he could continue holding his position beyond the end of his second term. When Martínez came to power in the early 1930s as a...
Low scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
American air-traffic controllers strike for benefits and pay, 1981
On August 3, 1981, nearly 13,000 of the 17,500 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), a United States trade union, staged a walkout and strike. The union intended the strike to address four main concerns:\n\nHowever...
Boston police strike for better working conditions, 1919
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Guam teachers strike for wage increase, 1980-81
In 1980, the government of Guam employed over 9,000 workers, or 27% of all jobs on the island. Approximately half of these public workers were teachers. 2,400 teachers were members of the Guam Federation of Teachers (GFT), the largest union on the is...
Republic of Chad government employees strike for wages, 2007
In the mid-1990s, basic government functions were being restored in the Republic of Chad after years of violent political turmoil. President Idriss Déby entered into deals with the World Bank and the IMF to carry out economic reforms, including oil e...
Swazi teachers strike for economic justice, 2012
In 2012, Swaziland was a small landlocked country in southern Africa ruled by King Mswati III. Sixty three percent of the country’s population lived below the poverty line. Government spending on education had continuously decreased since 2008. With ...
Activists in Swaziland campaign for democracy, 2000-2010
Swaziland borders South Africa and has a population of about one million. At the time of the campaign Swaziland had the world’s highest HIV infection rate and was both one of the poorest nations in the world and the home of Africa’s last absolute mon...
Central African Republic teachers strike for arrears, 2002
Starting in 2001, rebels supporting the leader François Bozize attempted coups to overthrow President Ange-Félix Patassé in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. The political unrest during this time resulted in a drop of the country’s...
Prison officers strike in England and Wales, 2007
In 1996, there were 204 reported attacks on prison staff in English prisons. Ten years later, the number of attacks soared to 1,050 attacks. After a 400% increase in attacks, prison officers were more than outraged with their apparently dangerous wor...
Turkish Cypriots campaign for European Union membership of Cyprus, 2002-2003
On 21 December 1963, the Greek-Turkish controlled island of Cyprus experienced extreme intercommunal violence between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The capital, Nicosia, was thereafter divided into two sectors by a “Green Line”, separating the two ...
United Kingdom doctors strike against changes to pension plan, 2012
In 2012, the United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS)—the country’s public healthcare provider—proposed changes to healthcare policy in the UK. These changes would raise the retirement age for medical doctors from 60 years of age to 68 years...