Timeline of strikes in 1983

In 1983, a number of labour strikes, labour disputes, and other industrial actions occurred.

A labour strike is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. It is usually a response to employee grievances, such as low pay or poor working conditions. Strikes can also occur to demonstrate solidarity with workers in other workplaces or pressure governments to change policies.

Timeline

Continuing strikes from 1982

• 1982-83 Caterpillar strike, 206-day strike by Caterpillar Inc. workers in the United States, represented by the United Auto Workers, one of the longest strikes in UAW history. ^{[1] [2] [3]}
• 1982-84 French auto strikes fr strikes led by immigrant workers in the automobile industry in France against low salaries and discrimination. ^[4]
• 1977-83 Madison Newspapers strike ^[5]

January

• 1983 Independent Truckers Association strike, 11-day strike by Independent Truckers Association truckers in the United States. ^{[6] [7]}
• 1983 Québec teachers' strike, including solidarity strikes by other public sectors workers. ^{[8] [9]}

February

• Strikes by followers of the anti-immigration Assam Movement in India following the 1983 Assam Legislative Assembly election. ^[10]
• 1983-84 Sagunto strikes, series of strikes and protests in Sagunto, Spain, over the closure of the Altos Hornos del Mediterráneo steel plant in the city. ^{[11] [12]}
• 1983 Whirlpool Corporation strike, 109-day strike by Whirlpool Corporation in the United States. ^[13]

March

• One-day general strike in Argentina called by the General Confederation of Labour against the government of Reynaldo Bignone. ^[14]
• 1983 French internists' strike, by internists in France over lack of jobs. ^[15]
• 1983 Israel doctors' strike, 4-month strike by doctors in Israel over wages. ^{[16] [17]}
• 1983 SEPTA Regional Rail strike
• Wide Comb dispute, by sheep shearers in Australia, represented by the Australian Workers' Union, over new regulations on shearing equipment.

April

• 1983 Aqueduct Racetrack strike, 25-day strike by Aqueduct Racetrack maintenance workers in the United States. ^[18]
• 1983 Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center strike, 8-day strike by at the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in the United States. ^[19]

May

• Jornadas de Protesta Nacional, including slowdown strikes, against the Military dictatorship of Chile. ^[20]

June

• 1983 Arizona copper mine strike, 3-year strike by Phelps Dodge copper miners, represented by the United Steelworkers.
• 1983 Financial Times strike, 10-week strike by the Financial Times pressroom over wages and staffing levels. ^{[21] [22]}
• 1983 Wilson Foods strike, 3-week strike by Wilson Foods workers in the United States. ^{[23] [24]}

July

• 1983 New York City Opera strike, 54-day strike by New York City Opera musicians. ^[25]
• 1983 Pacific Coast Metal Trades Union strike

August

• 1983 AT&T strike
• 1983 Briggs & Stratton strike, 13-week strike by Briggs & Stratton workers in the United States. ^{[26] [27] [28]}
• 1983-85 Continental Airlines strikes, series of strikes by Continental Airlines workers, including a 25-month pilots' strike. ^{[29] [30]}
• La grève de la fierté, strike by garment workers in Montréal, Canada; the first strike by International Ladies Garment Workers Union members in Montréal in 43 years. ^{[31] [32]}

September

• 1983 Belgian public sector strike, by public sector workers in Belgium against austerity measures proposed by Wilfried Martens' government. ^{[33] [34]}

October

• 1983 Vauxhall strike, by Vauxhall Motors workers in the United Kingdom. ^[35]

November

• 1983 Greyhound Bus Lines strike in Seattle
• NGA Dispute, strike by National Graphical Association members in the United Kingdom. ^{[36] [37] [38]}

December

• 1983 Suriname bauxite strike, by bauxite miners in Suriname against tax increases designed to qualify the country for an International Monetary Fund loan. ^{[39] [40]}
• Tunisian bread riots

Commentary

The Australian government calculated that an average of 249 working days were lost to work stoppages per 1000 workers in 1983, the lowest number since 1967. ^[41]

References

1. "Workers at Caterpillar Strike in Five States". The New York Times. 2 October 1982. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
2. Sawyer, Kathy (22 April 1983). "UAW Votes to End Bitter Caterpillar Co. Strike After 206 Day". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
3. "UAW Strike Against Tractor Company Ends; 20,000 Will Return to Work After 6 Months". The Harvard Crimson. 25 April 1983. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
4. Gay, Vincent (16 April 2022). "Avril 1982, la révolte des OS pour la dignité". L'Humanité. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
5. "Long strike settled at Madison Newspapers Inc". UPI. 21 April 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
6. "VIOLENCE SPREADS IN TRUCKER STRIKE". The New York Times. 2 February 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
7. Noble, Kenneth B. (11 February 1983). "11-DAY TRUCKER STRIKE CALLED OFF AMID SIGNS PROTEST HAD COLLAPSED". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
8. "History Through Our Eyes: Jan. 26, 1983, Common Front strike begins". Montréal Gazette. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
9. "La loi 111 de 1983, la loi matraque du Parti québécois contre les enseignants". Radio Canada. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
10. "ASSAM HOLDS SESSION AMID STRIKE". The New York Times. 22 March 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
11. Roberts, Lawrence (14 September 1983). "Spanish steel town fights for its life". UPI. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
12. Muñoz, Manuel (5 March 1983). "Cronología de un largo de conflicto". El Pais. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
13. "Whirlpool Union Votes To End 109-Day Strike". The New York Times. 6 June 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
14. "ARGENTINA IS PARALYZED BY A ONE-DAY STRIKE". The New York Times. 29 March 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
15. "French Internists on Strike". The New York Times. 30 March 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
16. "ISRAELIS ACT TO END DOCTOR STRIKE". The New York Times. 27 June 1983. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
17. Grosskopf, I.; Buckman, G.; Garty, M. (1985). "Ethical dilemmas of the doctors' strike in Israel". Journal of Medical Ethics. 11 (2): 70–71. doi:10.1136/jme.11.2.70. PMC   1375149 . PMID   4009636.
18. "Pact Reached At Aqueduct". The New York Times. 15 May 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
19. "Pact Reached in Strike By Kingsbrook Nurses". The New York Times. 17 April 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
20. Bernath-Plaistad, Shandra (31 October 2008). "Chileans overthrow Pinochet regime, 1983-1988 Chileans overthrow Pinochet regime, 1983-1988". Global Nonviolent Action Database. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
21. "Financial Times Is Back". The New York Times. 10 August 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
22. Feder, Barnaby J. (20 June 1983). "Long Financial Times Strike". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
23. "A tentative settlement was reached Friday in the 3-week-old..." UPI. 24 June 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
24. Townsend, Ed (7 June 1983). "Wilson Foods hit by strike; two other walkouts settled". CS Monitor. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
25. Rockwell, John. "OPERA SETTLEMENT: WEIGHING THE GAINS AND LOSSES". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
26. "Briggs & Stratton Strike". The New York Times. 2 August 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
27. Rosen, Michael (28 September 2020). "Why Briggs & Stratton Went Bankrupt". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
28. Chambers, Joe (17 January 2019). "LOCAL 2-232 HISTORY". USW Local 2-232. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
29. "Pilots strike against Continental ends". UPI. 1 November 1985. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
30. "Continental Pilots Refuse to Back Strike By Airline Mechanics". The Washington Post. 14 August 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
31. ""La Grève de la fierté": Resisting Deindustrialization in Montréal's Garment Industry, 1977–1983".
32. Lipsig-Mummé, Carla (1987). "Organizing Women in the Clothing Trades: Homework and the 1983 Garment Strike in Canada". Studies in Political Economy. 22: 41–71. doi:10.1080/19187033.1987.11675573.
33. "La grève des services publics en Belgique entraîne des perturbations dans les communications avec la France". 21 September 1983.
34. "1983, la grève générale des services publics". 14 February 2021.
35. "Strike Starts At Vauxhall". The New York Times. 4 October 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
36. "Striking printers clash with police at newspaper plant". UPI. 30 November 1983. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
37. Livingstone, Morag (23 January 2023). "A brutal prelude to the miners' strike". Northwest Bylines. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
38. "National Graphical Association dispute, 1983-04 - 1984-01 | ArchiveSearch".
39. Lemoyne, James (22 December 1983). "SURINAME SHAKEN BY LABOR UNREST". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
40. "SECOND REPORT ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SURINAME". Inter-American Commission on Human Rights . 2 October 1985. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
41. "Australian Strikes Ebb". The New York Times. 16 March 1983. Retrieved 9 October 2024.