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.
|
1877
|
St. Louis general strike of 1877
|
St. Louis, Missouri
|
United States
|
Organized by the Knights of Labor and the Workingmen's Party during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 for a child labor ban and an eight-hour day; ended with a suppression by the municipal government and the National Guard
|
1877
|
Scranton general strike
|
Scranton, Pennsylvania
|
United States
|
Organized during the Great Railroad Strike; ended with riots, the imposition of martial law by the Pennsylvania Militia, and the strikers returning to work without concessions.
|
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
|
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
|
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.
|
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
|
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
|
Italian anti-Fascist general strike
|
Rome
|
Italy
|
Unsuccessful general strike intended to prevent a seizure of power by Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party
|
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.
|
1934
|
San Francisco general strike of 1934
|
San Francisco, California
|
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.
|
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.
|
1942
|
Luxembourgish general strike of 1942
|
nationwide
|
Luxembourg
|
Campaign of passive resistance against the Nazi occupation during World War II.
|
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
|
General strike against Leopold III of Belgium
|
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
|
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
|
1956
|
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
|
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.
|
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
|
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
|
1992
|
April 1992 general strike in Nepal
|
nationwide
|
Nepal
|
|
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.
|
2002–03
|
Venezuelan general strike of 2002–03
|
nationwide
|
Venezuela
|
General strike against President Hugo Chávez including a large contingent of PDVSA workers.
|
2006
|
2006 democracy movement in Nepal
|
nationwide
|
Nepal
|
|
2007
|
2007 Guinea general strike
|
nationwide
|
Guinea
|
Successful general strike forcing President Lansana Conté to resign.
|
2008
|
2008 Egyptian general strike
|
nationwide
|
Egypt
|
General strike including large contingent of textile workers during the 2007–2008 world food price crisis
|
2011
|
2011 Oakland general strike
|
Oakland, California
|
United States
|
Part of the Occupy Oakland demonstrations
|
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
|
2018–19
|
School strike for climate
|
America, Europe, Australia, and others.
|
Various
|
International movement of students skipping classes to support renewable energy and climate change mitigation
|