View source for Solidarity action

{{Short description|Strike action in support of another workplace}}

{{Use Oxford spelling|date=April 2016}}{{Mcn|date=August 2023}}
{{Labor|selected=strikes}}
'''Solidarity action''' (also known as '''secondary action''', a '''secondary boycott''', a '''solidarity strike''', or a '''sympathy strike''') is [[industrial action]] by a [[trade union]] in support of a [[Strike action|strike]] initiated by workers in a separate corporation, but often the same [[Business|enterprise]], [[Industry (economics)|group of companies]], or connected firm.<ref>See H Collins, KD Ewing and A McColgan, ''Labour Law'' (2012) 693</ref>

In [[Australian labour law|Australia]],<ref name=Aus/> Latvia, Luxembourg, the [[United States labor law|United States]], and the [[United Kingdom labour law|United Kingdom]], solidarity action is theoretically illegal, and strikes can only be against the contractual [[employer]]. [[German labour law|Germany]], Italy and Spain have restrictions in place that restrict the circumstances in which solidarity action can take place (see [[European labour law]]).{{sfn | Warneck | 2007 | p=8}}

The term "secondary action" is often used with the intention of distinguishing different types of [[Labor dispute|trade dispute]] with a worker's direct contractual employer. Thus, a secondary action is a dispute with the employer's [[parent company]], its suppliers, [[financiers]], contracting parties, or any other employer in another industry.

== Australia ==
{{see also|Australian labour law}}
In Australia, secondary boycotts are prohibited by the [[Competition and Consumer Act 2010]].<ref name=Aus>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|caca2010265|Competition and Consumer Act 2010}}, sections 45D to 45DD.</ref> In the 1910s, sympathy strikes were sometimes called to extend a strike beyond the bounds of an [[Australian state]] to make it eligible for handling by the [[Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration|federal arbitration court]].

== Germany ==
Secondary action is generally prohibited, unless it satisfies the multiple criteria:{{sfn | Warneck | 2007 | p=32}}
* no promotion of strikers’ own interests;
* direct effect on a party in the primary dispute;
* proportionality and fairness to the objective.
The secondary action is also legal if there is a close relationship between the target in the secondary dispute and the primary dispute, on the premise that in such case the secondary target can influence the primary one.{{sfn | Warneck | 2007 | p=32}}

== Italy ==
Solidarity action is generally a crime per article 505 of the {{ill|Penal Code (Italy)|it|Codice penale (Italia)|lt=Penal Code}}. However, the 
[[Constitutional Court (Italy)|Constitutional Court]] (Decision No. 123 of 1962<ref>[https://giurcost.org/decisioni/1962/0123s-62.html Sentenza n. 123 del 1962] (in Italian)</ref>), while acknowledging the legitimacy of the section, recognized the lawfulness of secondary strikes if genuine commonality of interest is present. In particular, a solidarity action may be legitimate to protest the dismissal of workers by a company in a particular industry.{{sfn | Warneck | 2007 | p=43}}

== Latvia ==
Secondary action is illegal, unless its objective is to facilitate a general agreement.{{sfn | Warneck | 2007 | p=44}}

== The Netherlands ==
In 2014 the high council of the Netherlands ruled that solidarity strikes are in principle legal, when the involved secondary parties are not disproportionately affected.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Herderscheê |first=Gijs |date=2014-11-03 |title=Stakingsrecht opgerekt: ook acties bij leveranciers |url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/stakingsrecht-opgerekt-ook-acties-bij-leveranciers~b0013b85/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027104627/https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/stakingsrecht-opgerekt-ook-acties-bij-leveranciers~b0013b85/ |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=Volkskrant |language=nl}}</ref>

== Poland ==
In Polish law the solidarity strike is permitted only for a maximum length of half a day, and only in solidarity with the sectors that themselves do not have the right to strike (e.g. police, military).{{sfn | Warneck | 2007 | p=56}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sip.lex.pl/akty-prawne/dzu-dziennik-ustaw/rozwiazywanie-sporow-zbiorowych-16794197/art-22|title=Art. 22. – [Strajk solidarnościowy] – Rozwiązywanie sporów zbiorowych.|publisher=[[Wolters Kluwer]]|date=27 January 2020|accessdate=15 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sip.lex.pl/akty-prawne/dzu-dziennik-ustaw/rozwiazywanie-sporow-zbiorowych-16794197/art-19|title=Art. 19. – [Niedopuszczalność strajku] – Rozwiązywanie sporów zbiorowych.|publisher=[[Wolters Kluwer]]|date=27 January 2020|accessdate=15 November 2023}}</ref>

== Spain ==
Secondary action is generally unlawful, however, the [[Constitutional Court (Spain)|Constitutional Court]] had recognized their legality if there is at least a minimum convergence of interest, as established by courts on a case-by-case basis, between the participants in the primary and secondary strikes.{{sfn | Warneck | 2007 | p=62}}

== Sweden ==
{{see also|Swedish labour law}}
Solidarity action rights in Sweden are very broad. In particular, there are no requirements for either reasonable proportion between the primary and secondary actions, or a connection to the targeted parties. Moreover, the [[peace obligation]] does not apply to the secondary action, the general prohibition of industrial action against a neutral third party is lifted, and permissible actions are not limited to [[walk-out]]s (can include boycotts, blockades, etc.).{{sfn | Warneck | 2007 | pp=68–69}}

== United Kingdom ==
{{see also|United Kingdom labour law}}
In the United Kingdom, sympathy strikes were outlawed by the [[Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927]] in the aftermath of the [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|general strike]]. That was repealed by the [[Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1946]], passed by the postwar Labour Government.

Solidarity action remained legal until 1980, when the government of Margaret Thatcher passed the [[Employment Act 1980]] to restrict it. That was followed by the [[Employment Act 1990]], which outlawed solidarity action entirely. The laws outlawing solidarity strikes remain to this day, as codified by the [[Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992]] (Section 224<ref>[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/52/section/224 Section 224 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992]</ref>).

In 2005, union leaders called for the legalization of solidarity strikes in the aftermath of the strike action against the catering company [[Gate Gourmet]], but Labour ministers stated that they had no intention of repealing the law. [[British Airways]] staff walked out in solidarity, however.

== United States ==
{{see also|United States labor law}}

Secondary boycotting is frequently confused with secondary striking, also a prohibited tactic for labour unions covered by the [[Taft–Hartley Act]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwartz |first1=Robert |title=Sympathy Strikes & the Law: Is Solidarity Legal? |url=https://labornotes.org/2008/10/sympathy-strikes-law-solidarity-legal |website=Labor Notes |language=en |date=23 October 2008}}</ref> Some legal definitions for secondary boycotting divide it into two different kinds: secondary consumer boycotts according to the above definition of secondary boycotts, and secondary employee boycotts, also defined as a secondary strike.<ref>{{cite web |title=Labor Relations, Overview – Sympathy Strikes |url=https://www.bloomberglaw.com/external/document/XA5G1J2K000000/labor-relations-overview-sympathy-strikes |website=www.bloomberglaw.com |publisher=Bloomburg Industry Group |access-date=24 November 2023}}</ref>

Because farm laborers in the United States are not covered by the [[Wagner Act]], the [[United Farm Workers]] union has legally used solidarity boycotting of [[grocery store]] chains to aid to its strikes against [[California]] [[agribusiness]] and its primary boycotts of California grapes, lettuce and wine. Its secondary boycotts involved asking consumers to stop shopping at a grocery store chain until the chain stopped carrying the boycotted grapes, lettuce, or wine.

== See also ==
{{portal|Organized labour}}
* [[Boycott]], for the related [[consumer]] concept
* ''[[Longshoremen v. Allied Int'l, Inc.]]''

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*M Kite and T Freinberg, 'Unions to Challenge Blair Over Ban on Secondary Strikes' (''Daily Telegraph'', 27 August 2005).
* {{cite book | last=Warneck | first=W. | title=Strike Rules in the EU27 and Beyond: A Comparative Overview | publisher=European Trade Union Institute for Research, Education and Health and Safety (ETUI-REHS) | year=2007 | isbn=978-2-87452-087-7 | access-date=2023-12-30 | url=https://www.asi.is/media/7581/Strike_rules_in_the_EU27.pdf}}

{{Organized labor|sp=ox}}

[[Category:Community organizing]]
[[Category:Protest tactics]]
[[Category:Labor disputes]]
[[Category:Labour law]]