097 protest strike
"In a protest strike,2 also called token strike 3 and demonstration strike,4 work is stopped for a preannounced short period—a minute, an hour, a day, or even a week—in order to make clear the feelings of the workers on a particular issue: economic, political, or other.5 No set demands are made. The aim is to demonstrate that the workers feel deeply about a certain matter and that they possess strength to strike more effectively if necessary, thus warning the officials that they had best take the workers’ feelings into consideration. An additional aim may be to catch the imagination of workers and the public."...
High scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
United Auto Workers Strike Against General Motors for Fair Treatment, 2019
The Great Recession of 2008 adversely affected the U.S. economy, causing struggles across multiple industries and leading to the bankruptcy of major enterprises. Due to declining automobile sales and the scarce availability of credit, one of the "Big...
Mongolians win multi-party democracy, 1989-1990
In 1921 the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) came to power and soon aligned the country with the USSR. Until this democracy campaign in 1989, the MPRP ruled Mongolia through a constitutionally-sanctioned single-party government. By the m...
Ecuadorians general strike and protest to oust president Abdala Bucaram, 1997
Ecuador ushered in a democratic process of election after 1978, following six years of military governments and coups d’état. During that time, the public demanded increasingly for democracy, prompting government officials to change the constitution ...
Sarayaku people successfully defend their land against oil extraction, Ecuador, 1996-2012
On 6 August 1996, Argentinean General Fuel Company, also known as Compañía General de Combustibles (CGC), signed a contract with the Ministry of Energy and Mines in Ecuador without consultation of Kichwa natives of Sarayaku. The contract allowed CGC ...
Senegalese workers general strike for increased wages, 1945-1946
Beginning in the year 1944, French West Africa experienced economic difficulties. Prices continued to augment, while salaries remained the same. This was complicated by the fact that insufficient sales (because of the poor salaries) also affected the...
Egyptians bring down dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, 2011
Beginning in 1981, Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for over twenty-nine years. Though he ran for presidential reelection several times, elections were marked by widespread fraud, and opposing politicians were legally prohibited from running against Mubarak...
Sudanese bring down dictator Abbud (October Revolution), 1964
By October of 1964, an issue called the “Southern Problem” had formed in Sudan. This Southern Problem was essentially a dispute between the Arabized Muslim North and Christian South of Sudan. The northern “Sudanization” of southern administrative pos...
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...
Filipinos campaign to overthrow dictator (People Power), 1983-1986
Ferdinand Marcos was elected president of the Philippines in 1965. Marcos was reelected in 1969 and when barred to run for a third term, he declared martial law and gave himself near absolute power. Marcos assumed full control of the military, dissol...
Syrian citizens general strike against France, 1936
French-occupied Syria was facing darkening hopes for more independence from France at the end of 1935. The major Syrian nationalist party, the National Bloc, was losing power, the Syrian Parliament was adjourned and the government in power was under ...
Low scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
Los Angeles Netflix employees protest mishandling of transphobic comedy special, 2021
On 5 October 2021, the comedian Dave Chappelle, who had been long known for the reactionary and transphobic beliefs he openly presented in his comedy, released his most incendiary and openly queerphobic comedy special yet, The Closer , on the streami...
Sri Lankan veterinarians strike for better treatment of elephants, 2010
In Sri Lanka, elephants are both a valued part of traditional culture and an increasing risk to the populace. A spike in population on the Sri Lankan island has led the government to open lands traditionally reserved for the elephants to settlement b...
Shanghai truck drivers strike to lower trucking fees, 2011
In 2011, Chinese Truckers in Shanghai became fed up with the increase in prices and decrease in profits they were making as professional truck drivers. Truckers were frustrated not only with the small fees and high oil prices, but also with the syste...
Jamaican workers protest sale of Air Jamaica to Caribbean Airlines, 2010
In January 2010, it became clear that the Jamaican government sought to sell Air Jamaica to a foreign company. The government and the owners of Air Jamaica saw the company as losing a lot of money and, due to heavy subsidizing, the government had a g...
Luxembourgers general strike against Nazi occupation, 1942
In the 1940s, Nazi Germany under the government of Adolf Hitler was advancing its conquest of Europe during the Second World War. By May 1940, Luxembourg, a small neutral country bordering Germany, was placed under military occupation by forces of th...
Black miners strike in the Northern Rhodesian (Zambia) Copperbelt, 1935
By 1924, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) was administered and occupied by the British government as an official British protectorate. While the Colonial Office headed administration, a group of interconnected companies financed by Britain, South Afric...
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 ...
Danish Brewery (Carlsberg) workers strike for beer rights, 2010
Ranked as the world’s fourth best brewer, Carlsberg Brewery held a 163-year-old tradition that its workers could enjoy free beer from refrigerators located around work sites throughout the day. Typical workers consumed three bottles of beer a day, ex...
Cape Verde Telecom employees strike for higher wages, 2010
The Union of Transport, Telecommunications, Hospitality and Tourism (SITTHUR) is a union in Cape Verde that is comprised of a range of employees involved in transportation, telecommunications, service work, and tourism. In 2010, the administration of...
Yugoslav students occupy University of Belgrade for democracy and human rights, 1968
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) wanted to situate Yugoslavia in a balance between the Soviet dominated Eastern Europe and US dominated West. In order to ensure this global placement, Yugoslavians exercised an economic reform program duri...