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job action
noun
: a temporary action (such as a slowdown) by workers as a protest and means of forcing compliance with demands
Examples of job action in a Sentence
The union has threatened a job action if wages are not increased.
Recent Examples on the Web
The faculty union reached the deal after eight months of bargaining negotiations with CSU administrators and numerous job actions, including two sets of strikes.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 20 Feb. 2024
If approved by union members, the agreement — achieved after mediation with Mayor Karen Bass — could prevent campuses from being closed again to 420,000 students and spare workers from job actions that would have been difficult to bear.
—Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2023
Faculty also were forming picket lines at the California State University system’s 21 other campuses in a job action that comes during the opening days of the spring semester.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2024
As labor negotiations have dragged on and union members have staged job actions, some nervous retailers and manufacturers have rerouted goods, causing imports and exports through the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports to fall in recent months.
—Helen Li, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2023
Unions have been successfully flexing their muscles throughout 2023, with the United Auto Workers and the Writers Guild of America also getting better contracts after job actions.
—Jena McGregor, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
But the job action by dozens of mechanics is beginning to reverberate.
—Melissa Eddy, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2023
So far the union has not announced any further job actions, although Fain is set to brief the membership in a video appearance Friday morning.
—Dylan Lovan, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2023
More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers began a three-day strike Wednesday, a job action that could cause delays for patients — especially in California — in getting medical appointments, lab results and prescriptions.
—Emily Baumgaertner, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'job action.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1932, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near job action
Cite this Entry
“Job action.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/job%20action. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
Legal Definition
job action
noun
: a temporary action (as a slowing of work) by workers on the job that is meant as a protest to force compliance with demands compare strike
More from Merriam-Webster on job action
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for job action
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