First Catholic Laity Strike

Date: January 13, 1949 • Location: Maspeth, United States

In the first recorded instance of strike action by Catholic laity against the clergy, gravediggers at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York City, went on strike.

Strike action, also called labour strike, labor strike in American English, or simply strike, is a form of direct action in which employees collectively refuse to work. It is usually a response to employee grievances. Generally, strikes are intended to bring an employer to accede to employees' demands for improved working conditions or unionisation, particularly when other avenues of change, such as negotiations or legal redress, have been exhausted. Strike actions can be called by trade unions or be instigated by rank-and-file activists.