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

Clearly, the theatrical business has yet to fully rebound from COVID and last year’s work stoppage. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 19 Dec. 2024

As has been the case in previous supply chain work stoppages, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce urged the federal government to intervene in a Friday letter. —Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 2 Dec. 2024

The carmaker last experienced walkouts across all sites at a small scale in 2021 during the pandemic, but a larger work stoppage during wage negotiations in 2018 saw more than 50,000 workers across six factories take part. —Bloomberg, Fortune Europe, 2 Dec. 2024

In a strike authorization vote whose results were released Monday, participating unionized staffers unanimously supported staging a work stoppage if management and their representatives can’t come to an agreement by the end of their current contract. —Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 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.”