work stoppage

noun

: concerted cessation of work by a group of employees usually more spontaneous and less serious than a strike

Examples of work stoppage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The recent holiday strike marks the first work stoppage of 2024, since the union had pivoted toward a more cooperative approach amid negotiations, Kallas said. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 24 Dec. 2024

Baristas at a handful of Starbucks around Los Angeles as well as in Chicago and Seattle went on strike Friday, kicking off a work stoppage that union officials said would include hundreds of the coffee giant’s stores by Christmas Eve. —Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024

But planes have only just recently started moving along the assembly lines that were idled by the two-month work stoppage. —Chris Isidore, CNN, 10 Dec. 2024

However, the rate was skewed by work stoppages caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as the still-continuing strike of more than 30,000 West Coast Boeing plant workers. —Megan Poinski, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

work stoppage

noun

: a cessation of work by employees as a job action

Note: Work stoppage is often used to refer to a cessation of work that is less serious and more spontaneous than one referred to as a strike. As used in the Labor Management Relations Act strike refers to “any…concerted stoppage of work by employees…and any concerted slowdown or other concerted interruption of operations by employees.”