Retooling militancy: Labour revitalization and fixed-duration strikes

Despite decades of decline in strike rates, recent scholarship has examined how unions and labour organizations are retooling the strike to confront increasing employer power. This study focuses on a militant labour union and the emergence of an understudied type of strike – the fixed-duration strike – as a source of labour revitalization. Drawing from qualitative data gathered on fixed-duration strikes organized by a union of registered nurses in the United States, I investigate the strategic adaptation of labour militancy and how these strikes overcome the limitations of traditional, indefinite work stoppages. I find that fixed-duration strikes protect the economic interests of nurses and advance their role as patient care advocates, while still imposing financial and reputational costs on employers. These findings suggest that the strategic adaptation of militant tactics, such as the strike, help labour organizations achieve revitalization outcomes like contract victories and enhanced membership activism.