Date
|
Name
|
Place
|
Country
|
|
1820
|
Radical War
|
Central Belt,
Scotland
|
United Kingdom
|
Influenced by
Radical demands for reform, especially among Scottish weavers
|
1835
|
Philadelphia general strike of 1835
|
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
United States
|
Successful strike for a ten-hour work day and better wages
|
1842
|
General Strike of 1842
|
England and Wales
|
United Kingdom
|
Chartist general strike against low wages originating from
coal miners in
Staffordshire before spreading to multiple industries in the
Midlands as well as coal mines across the country.
|
1855
|
1855 Catalan general strike
|
Catalonia
|
Spain
|
1862–1865
|
General strike of slaves
|
Nationwide
|
Confederate States of America
|
Slaves in the
Southern United States stopped work and attempted to cross the frontlines of the
American Civil War into Union territory, in what
W.E.B. Du Bois held to be a crucial turning point in the war.
[48]
|
1877
|
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
|
West Virginia,
Maryland,
New York,
Pennsylvania,
Illinois,
Missouri
|
United States
|
Strike by rail workers in a number of different states for wage increases; ended after 52 days with a suppression by the
National Guard and local militias
|
1886
|
Walloon jacquerie of 1886
|
Wallonia
|
Belgium
|
|
1892
|
New Orleans general strike of 1892
|
New Orleans, Louisiana
|
United States
|
Successful strike for a 10-hour day and
overtime pay; notable for the participation of both white and black strikers
|
1893
|
Belgian general strike of 1893
|
Mons
|
Belgium
|
Strike by the
Belgian Labour Party to pressure Prime Minister
Auguste Beernaert's
Catholic Party government to introduce
universal male suffrage
|
1901
|
1901 Ybor City strikes
[49]
|
Ybor City,
Tampa, Florida
|
United States
|
1902
|
Geneva general strike of 1902
|
Geneva
|
Switzerland
|
1904
|
1904 Italian general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Italy
|
1905
|
1905 Russian Revolution
|
Nationwide
|
Russian Empire
|
General strike by workers in the industrial centres of the Russian Empire; suppressed by the
Imperial Russian Army.
|
1907
|
Geneva general strike of 1907
|
Geneva
|
Switzerland
|
|
1907
|
New Orleans General Levee Strike of 1907
|
New Orleans
|
United States
|
|
1909
|
Tragic Week
|
Barcelona,
Catalonia
|
Spain
|
|
1909
|
Swedish General Strike
|
Nationwide
|
Sweden
|
Unsuccessful general strike called by the
Swedish Trade Union Confederation
|
1910
|
Philadelphia general strike of 1910
|
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
United States
|
Amalgamated Transit Union strike of
Philadelphia Transportation Company trolley workers which expanded into a citywide
American Federation of Labor general strike, eventually leading to wage increases
|
1912
|
Brisbane general strike of 1912
|
Brisbane,
Queensland
|
Australia
|
Caused when
Australian Tramway Employees Union members were dismissed for wearing union badges; ended with
Queensland Police Service attacks on labor marchers in
Market Square leading to a public outcry and the strengthening of the
Australian labour movement
|
1912
|
Zürich general strike of 1912
|
Zürich
|
Switzerland
|
|
1917
|
Australian general strike of 1917
|
Nationwide
|
Australia
|
|
1917
|
Spanish general strike of 1917
|
Nationwide
|
Spain
|
|
1917
|
1917–1919 Brazil strike movement
|
Rio de Janeiro,
São Paulo and
Rio Grande do Sul
|
Brazil
|
Series of general strikes leading to an attempted
anarchist uprising against the
First Brazilian Republic.
|
1917
|
1917 Twin Cities streetcar strike
|
Minneapolis–Saint Paul
|
United States
|
Sympathetic general strike held on December 13 in support of streetcar workers who had been engaged in a labor dispute for the past several weeks. Involved about 10,000 people.
|
1918
|
Irish General Strike against Conscription
|
Ireland
|
United Kingdom
|
|
1918
|
Swiss general strike of 1918
|
Nationwide
|
Switzerland
|
|
1918
|
Vancouver general strike
|
Vancouver,
British Columbia
|
Canada
|
General strike caused by the arrest of
Albert "Ginger" Goodwin, discontent over high living costs and low wages during
World War I, and the
October Revolution; ended with police attacks on union offices
|
1919
|
La Canadenca strike
|
Catalonia
|
Spain
|
|
1919
|
Basel and Zürich general strike of 1919
|
Basel and
Zürich
|
Switzerland
|
|
1919
|
Seattle General Strike
|
Seattle,
Washington
|
United States
|
Industrial Workers of the World strike caused when the
Emergency Fleet Corporation denied
shipbuilders' demands for higher wages and intended to start a socialist revolution; contributed to the
First Red Scare
|
1919
|
Winnipeg general strike
|
Winnipeg,
Manitoba
|
Canada
|
General strike ending with repression by the
North-West Mounted Police but leading to the growth of the
Canadian democratic socialist and
labor movements.
|
1920
|
Berlin general strike
|
Berlin
|
Germany
|
General strike encouraged by the government to resist an attempted overthrow of the
Weimar Republic
|
1920
|
Ruhr uprising
|
Ruhr
|
Germany
|
General strike in support of the
Social Democratic government before expanding into a mass labor uprising to establish a "
dictatorship of the proletariat"; suppressed by the
Freikorps and the
Reichswehr
|
1920
|
Romanian general strike of 1920
|
Nationwide
|
Romania
|
|
1922
|
Italian general strike of 1922
|
Nationwide
|
Italy
|
Unsuccessful general strike intended to prevent a
seizure of power by
Benito Mussolini's
National Fascist Party
|
1922
|
Guayaquil general strike
|
Guayaquil
|
Ecuador
|
1926
|
United Kingdom general strike of 1926
|
Nationwide
|
United Kingdom
|
10-day general strike by the
General Council of the Trades Union Congress to prevent wage reductions and worsened conditions for
coal miners; ended without concessions or violence.
|
1926
|
Sierra Leone railway strike of 1926
|
Nationwide
|
Sierra Leone
|
|
1932
|
Geneva general strike of 1932
|
Geneva
|
Switzerland
|
|
1933
|
1933 Cuban general strike
|
Nationwide, initially in
Havana
|
Cuba
|
The strike would originally begin as a strike for bus drivers in Havana and would later grow to other sectors and spread throughout the country. The strike led to the resignation of President
Gerardo Machado.
[50]
|
1933
|
1933 Ecuadorian general strike
[51]
|
Quito,
Riobamba
|
Ecuador
|
|
1933
|
French general strike of 1933
|
Nationwide
|
France
|
|
1934
|
Portuguese general strike of 1934
|
Nationwide
|
Portugal
|
|
1934
|
West Coast waterfront strike of 1934
|
California,
Oregon and
Washington
|
United States
|
83-day general strike in support of the
International Longshoremen's Association during the
Great Depression; the success of the strike contributed to the growth of
industrial unionism under the
Congress of Industrial Organizations.
|
1934
|
Minneapolis general strike of 1934
|
Minneapolis,
Minnesota
|
United States
|
|
1934
|
Auto-Lite strike
|
Toledo, Ohio
|
United States
|
|
1936
|
French general strike of 1936
|
Nationwide
|
France
|
|
1936
|
Spanish Revolution of 1936
|
Nationwide
|
Spain
|
|
1936
|
1936 Syrian general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Syria
|
1936
|
Palestinian general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Mandatory Palestine
|
General strike coordinated by the
Arab Higher Committee against
Jewish settlement in Palestine; eventually led to the
1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.
|
1938
|
French general strike of 1938
|
Nationwide
|
France
|
|
1941
|
February strike
|
Nationwide
|
Netherlands
|
|
1942
|
Luxembourgish general strike of 1942
|
Nationwide
|
Luxembourg
|
Campaign of
passive resistance against the
Nazi occupation during
World War II.
|
1945
|
Nigerian general strike of 1945
|
Nationwide
|
Nigeria
|
|
1946
|
Royal Indian Navy mutiny
|
Nationwide
|
India
|
|
1946
|
Oakland general strike of 1946
|
Oakland, California
|
United States
|
Part of the
1945-46 strike wave in the United States during the
U.S. demobilization after World War II and the abolition of
National War Labor Board restrictions, which contributed to the passage of the
Taft–Hartley Act restricting union activities and strike actions.
|
1950
|
Austrian general strikes of 1950
|
Nationwide
|
Austria
|
|
1950
|
Belgian general strike of 1950
|
Nationwide
|
Belgium
|
Originated over opposition to King
Leopold III of Belgium being returned to throne after his refusal to leave Belgium with the
government-in-exile during the
Nazi occupation; ended with his agreement to abdicate and allow his son
Baudouin to take the throne
|
1950
|
Nairobi general strike of 1950
|
Nairobi
|
Kenya
|
|
1950
|
Positive Action campaign
|
Nationwide
|
Gold Coast
|
|
1952
|
Casablanca Uprisings of 1952
|
Casablanca
|
Morocco
|
|
1953
|
Ceylonese Hartal of 1953
|
Nationwide
|
Ceylon
|
|
1953
|
Uprising of 1953
|
Nationwide
|
East Germany
|
Originated as strike by
East Berlin construction workers against
Sovietization
work quotas before expanding to a broad revolt against the
Soviet-sponsored
Socialist Unity Party's rule; repressed by the
Soviet Army and the
Kasernierte Volkspolizei
|
1954
|
General strike of 1954
|
Nationwide
|
Honduras
|
|
1956
|
Finnish general strike of 1956
|
Nationwide
|
Finland
|
Successful
Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions general strike for higher wages
|
1960–61
|
Belgian general strike of 1960–61
|
Wallonia
|
Belgium
|
General Labour Federation of Belgium general strike against Prime Minister
Gaston Eyskens's austerity policies, especially the
Unitary Law; contributed to the growth of the
Walloon Movement
|
1966
|
1966 Burkina Faso general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Burkina Faso
|
|
1968
|
French general strike of May 1968
|
Nationwide
|
France
|
Student protests which escalated into a nationwide general strike which halted the
French economy and continued with
wildcat strikes after the
Grenelle agreements granted higher wages, leading to fears of a revolution against
Charles de Gaulle; ended with
Gaullist counter-demonstrations and a vote of confidence from the
National Assembly.
|
1971-72
|
Namibian contract workers general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Namibia
|
A general strike by workers under the contract labor system of what was then known as
South West Africa (now
Namibia) under the control of apartheid South Africa. The goal was to end the contract labor system due to slave like conditions and promote Namibian independence. It led to
SWANLA being abolished & replaced with a less punitive but still repressive contract labor system. It also fueled the
war for independence.
|
1972
|
Québec general strike of 1972
[52]
|
Québec
|
Canada
|
|
1973
|
Uruguay general strike of 1973
|
Nationwide
|
Uruguay
|
Unsuccessful general strike against the
1973 Uruguayan coup d'état, leading the
civic-military dictatorship to ban trade unions.
|
1974
|
Ulster Workers' Council strike
|
Northern Ireland
|
United Kingdom
|
Successful
Ulster loyalist general strike against the
Sunningdale Agreement between
Great Britain and
Ireland, which would have attempted to resolve the
Northern Ireland conflict by establishing a power-sharing
Northern Ireland Executive and revived
Council of Ireland
|
1975
|
Icelandic women's strike of 1975
|
Nationwide
|
Iceland
|
|
1976
|
Canadian general strike of 1976
[53]
[54]
|
Nationwide
|
Canada
|
|
1976
|
March 24 strike
|
Nationwide
|
People's Republic of the Congo
|
|
1978
|
Iranian Revolution
|
Nationwide
|
Iran
|
|
1979
|
1979 New Zealand general strike
|
Nationwide
|
New Zealand
|
The Federation of Labour holds a 24-hour general strike held to protest the
Third National Government's intervention in the general drivers'
award.
[55]
[56]
|
1984
|
Uruguayan general strikes of 1984
|
Nationwide
|
Uruguay
|
Successfully ended the Uruguayan dictatorships by forcing free elections to occur under the threat of continued rolling 24 hour general strikes if not allowed.
[57]
|
1988
|
Spanish general strike of 1988
|
Nationwide
|
Spain
|
Workers' Commissions and
Unión General de Trabajadores strike against the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party's policies under Prime Minister
Felipe González
|
1989
|
Velvet Revolution
|
Nationwide
|
Czechoslovakia
|
1990
|
1990 Moroccan general strike
[58]
|
Nationwide
|
Morocco
|
|
1992
|
April 1992 general strike in Nepal
|
Nationwide
|
Nepal
|
|
1995
|
French general strikes of 1995
|
Nationwide
|
France
|
|
1998
|
1998 Danish general strike
[59]
|
Copenhagen
|
Denmark
|
|
1998
|
1998 Puerto Rican general strike
|
Nationwide
|
United States (
Puerto Rico)
|
41-day general strike against the privatization of the
Puerto Rico Telephone Company, accompanied by some violence and sabotage.
|
2000
|
Cochabamba Water War
|
Cochabamba
|
Bolivia
|
|
2002–2003
|
Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003
|
Nationwide
|
Venezuela
|
General strike against President
Hugo Chávez including a large contingent of
PDVSA workers.
|
2003
|
Bolivian gas conflict
|
Nationwide
|
Bolivia
|
|
2006
|
Nepalese Revolution
|
Nationwide
|
Nepal
|
|
2007
|
2007 Guinea general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Guinea
|
Successful general strike forcing President
Lansana Conté to resign.
|
2007
|
2007 South African public servants' strike
|
Nationwide
|
South Africa
|
|
2007
|
2007 Swazi general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Eswatini
|
|
2008
|
2008 Egyptian general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Egypt
|
General strike including large contingent of textile workers during the
2007–2008 world food price crisis
|
2009
|
2009 French Caribbean general strikes
|
Guadeloupe
|
France
|
|
2011
|
2011 Oakland general strike
|
Oakland, California
|
United States
|
Part of the
Occupy Oakland demonstrations
|
2012
|
2012 European general strike
|
Cyprus,
Malta,
Portugal,
Italy,
Spain,
France,
Greece,
Belgium
|
European Union
|
|
2016
|
Indian general strike of 2016
|
Nationwide
|
India
|
24-hour general strike against Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's economic policies
|
2017
|
2017 Brazilian general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Brazil
|
General strike against President
Michel Temer's
labor reform policies during the
Brazilian economic crisis.
|
2017
|
2017 Catalan general strike
|
Catalonia
|
Spain
|
General strike in support of the
Catalan independence movement, accompanied by police repression by the Spanish government.
|
2018
|
2018 Jordanian general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Jordan
|
Anti-austerity general strike
|
2018–2019
|
2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests
|
Nationwide
|
Iran
|
|
2018–present
|
School strike for climate
|
Global
|
Various
|
International movement of students skipping classes to support
renewable energy and
climate change mitigation
|
2019
|
2019 Catalan general strike
|
Catalonia
|
Spain
|
|
2019
|
2019 Hong Kong general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Hong Kong
|
|
2019
|
2019 Indian General Strike
[60]
|
Nationwide
|
India
|
|
2019
|
Sudanese Revolution
|
Nationwide
|
Sudan
|
|
2020
|
2020–2021 Belarusian protests
|
Nationwide
|
Belarus
|
|
2020
|
2020 United States essential workers general strike
|
Nationwide
|
United States
|
General strike involving
essential workers during the
COVID-19 pandemic
|
2020
|
Strike for Black Lives
|
Nationwide
|
United States
|
Mass walkout in support of the
George Floyd protests
|
2020
|
2020 Indian general strike
|
Nationwide
|
India
|
Preceded the
2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest
|
2021
|
2021 Greek general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Greece
|
24-hour general strike against a bill in the
Hellenic Parliament that would give employers more power in regards to their employees.
[61]
|
2021
|
2021 Myanmar strikes
|
Nationwide
|
Myanmar
|
|
2021
|
Striketober
|
Nationwide
|
United States
|
|
2022
|
2022 Iranian general strike
|
Nationwide
|
Iran
|
3 day general strike in response to protestors killed by Iranian security forces.
[62]
|
2022
|
2022 Kazakh unrest
|
Nationwide
|
Kazakhstan
|
|