wildcat strike
noun
: a strike that is started by a group of workers without the approval of their union
Examples of wildcat strike in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Until this month, the last time a game had been postponed for reasons that intersected so directly with politics was in 2020, inside the N.B.A.’s bubble during the coronavirus pandemic, when members of the Milwaukee Bucks led a wildcat strike to protest police violence.
—
Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
In June, a wildcat strike by gallery attendants, ticket agents and security staff delayed the museum’s daily opening, leaving thousands of visitors stranded beneath the pyramid.
—Thomas Adamson, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
Staff in June staged a wildcat strike, forcing the Louvre to close temporarily.
—News Desk, Artforum, 8 Dec. 2025
The media generally termed that action a wildcat strike—meaning a strike without union authorization—but that term wasn’t a perfect fit, since the NBPA was not in opposition.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Enough correctional officers had returned to work for the state to declare an end to the wildcat strike, a labor action that violated a state law prohibiting strikes by most public employees.
—Landon Mion, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2025
With 522 vacancies system-wide, mandatory overtime is frequent — one of the issues behind a wildcat strike in its third week at prisons in New York.
—Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2025
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Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
In June, a wildcat strike by gallery attendants, ticket agents and security staff delayed the museum’s daily opening, leaving thousands of visitors stranded beneath the pyramid.
—Thomas Adamson, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
Staff in June staged a wildcat strike, forcing the Louvre to close temporarily.
—News Desk, Artforum, 8 Dec. 2025
The media generally termed that action a wildcat strike—meaning a strike without union authorization—but that term wasn’t a perfect fit, since the NBPA was not in opposition.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Enough correctional officers had returned to work for the state to declare an end to the wildcat strike, a labor action that violated a state law prohibiting strikes by most public employees.
—Landon Mion, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2025
With 522 vacancies system-wide, mandatory overtime is frequent — one of the issues behind a wildcat strike in its third week at prisons in New York.
—Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wildcat strike.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wildcat%20strike. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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