A general strike is a strike action in which a substantial proportion of the total labour force in a city, region, or country participates. General strikes are characterized by the participation of workers in a multitude of workplaces, and tend to involve entire communities. General strikes first occurred in the mid-19th century, and have characterized many historically important strikes.
Read more about General Strike: Purpose, Concept, Reaction of Orthodox Labor, Notable General Strikes
Famous quotes containing the words general and/or strike:
“It has been the struggle between privileged men who have managed to get hold of the levers of power and the people in general with their vague and changing aspirations for equality, for justice, for some kind of gentler brotherhood and peace, which has kept that balance of forces we call our system of government in equilibrium.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“We are all instruments endowed with feeling and memory. Our senses are so many strings that are struck by surrounding objects and that also frequently strike themselves.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–84)