general strike

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Women's March Organizers Announce Date of General Strike

The action for gender equality takes place on International Women's Day

(Newser) - An estimated 2.6 million people worldwide took part in the Women's March on Washington and its sister marches last month, Bustle reports. Now the organizers of that event are hoping similar numbers will stay home—or at least not show up to work. According to an announcement Tuesday,...

Mass Strikes Sweep Europe
 Mass Strikes Sweep Europe 
Nov 14, 2012 7:42 AM CST

Mass Strikes Sweep Europe

700 flights grounded, minor scuffles break out in Spain

(Newser) - Anti-austerity protests in Europe have usually been relatively localized affairs, confined to one country or another—until now. Labor leaders in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece all called for strikes and demonstrations today, the New York Times reports, and people in France, Belgium, and elsewhere took to the streets as...

Strike, Protests Paralyze Spain
 Strike, Protests Paralyze Spain 
Mar 30, 2012 3:21 AM CDT

Strike, Protests Paralyze Spain

Millions protest austerity drive, labor laws changes

(Newser) - Spain's leaders insist that the country will not become the next Greece, although yesterday's events certainly looked familiar to residents of Athens. Police clashed with demonstrators who torched trash bins and cars in Barcelona amid a nationwide general strike called by unions in response to labor law changes...

Greek Workers Strike Over Austerity

Protesters clash with police in Athens

(Newser) - Greece's major unions launched a 48-hour general strike today, protesting the latest austerity cuts designed to appease international creditors. Thousands of people poured into the streets of Athens, the AP reports, and demonstrations occasionally got ugly; outside of Parliament, dozens of youths hurled fire bombs and stones at police,...

Syria Votes Amid Strike, Violence

At least 31 killed in latest wave; opposition holds general strike

(Newser) - Syria's official news agency says voters are "flocking" to the polls to vote in today's local elections—but with activists calling for a voting boycott, the actual turnout is likely to be small. Some 43,000 candidates are running for more than 17,500 seats, al-Jazeera reports....

Protesters Paralyze Oakland
 Protesters Paralyze Oakland 
Nov 3, 2011 4:24 AM CDT

Protesters Paralyze Oakland

Port shut down, police firing tear gas, says Trib

(Newser) - A nation away from New York's Wall Street, thousands of sympathetic California protesters thronged the streets of Oakland yesterday and shut down the city's port in the most vigorous anti-corporate demonstration of the past weeks. Moms and dads, the jobless, students and union members joined together for a...

Occupy Oakland: Police Face Probe Over Wounding of Iraq War Vet Scott Olsen
 Oakland Cops 
 Face Inquiry Over 
 Wounded Iraq Vet 
big strike tomorrow
Nov 1, 2011 5:08 PM CDT

Oakland Cops Face Inquiry Over Wounded Iraq Vet

City prepares for general strike

(Newser) - A city panel is launching a formal investigation into Oakland police following the wounding of an Iraq veteran in last week’s clash with Occupy Oakland protesters . The inquiry, sparked by a complaint to the Citizens’ Police Review Board, is due to begin within days and run “several months,...

Greek Unions Call for More Strikes

 Greek Unions 
 Call for More 
 Strikes 
austerity bill passes
Oct 21, 2011 8:03 AM CDT

Greek Unions Call for More Strikes

Austerity bill passes, but socialist party sheds another member

(Newser) - The so-called “ mother of all strikes ” didn’t stop Greece’s parliament from enacting harsh new austerity measures yesterday, so today labor unions are threatening yet more strikes next week to protest the move. The secretary general of the Adedy civil servant union vowed that the law "...

As Vote Looms, Strike Shutters Greece 2nd Day

Austerity measures likely to pass despite enraged public

(Newser) - A general strike paralyzed Greece a second day as outraged protesters gathered by the tens of thousands outside parliament today, where lawmakers prepared to vote on intensely unpopular austerity measures needed to secure the next $11 billion installment from the international rescue loans that have so far prevented the country...

Massive Strike Shuts Greece
 Massive Strike Shuts Greece 
Oct 19, 2011 7:01 AM CDT

Massive Strike Shuts Greece

An estimated 50K protest in Athens

(Newser) - Workers across Greece walked off the job today for a crippling 48-hour general strike, closing shops, schools, courts, ports, and more. A host of flights were canceled—though mercifully airline workers shortened their strike to just 12 hours—and public transportation was functioning with a reduced staff, according to the...

Greece Braces for 'Mother of All Strikes'

Prime minister orders garbage crews back to work

(Newser) - Don’t try to get anything done in Greece tomorrow: A coalition of unions representing roughly half of the country’s 4 million workers has called for a 48-hour general strike starting tomorrow to protest upcoming austerity measures, Reuters reports. One Greek newspaper has dubbed it “the mother of...

As Default Looms, Strike Paralyzes Greece

'We've lost everything,' says striker as thousands protest austerity measures

(Newser) - The biggest strike in months has brought Greece to a standstill and tens of thousands of workers are taking to the streets of Athens. The strike, organized by the country's two biggest unions, is in response to the tough austerity measures unveiled earlier this week , reports the Los Angeles ...

Britain Hit By Massive Public Worker Strike

Hundreds of thousands leave jobs over pensions

(Newser) - Britain’s public sector ground to a halt today as hundreds of thousands of workers walked off the job in protest of changes to their pension plans. Roughly a third of the country’s schools had to close, with many of the rest running on skeleton staffs, the New York ...

Youths Hurl Rocks as Greeks Begin 2-Day Strike

20,000 march on Parliament

(Newser) - Greek workers launched a 48-hour general strike today to protest government austerity measures as 20,000 demonstrators headed to Parliament and another 7,000 marched in the country’s second-biggest city. Some 5,000 police guarded Athens, and while the initial protests were peaceful, things are heating up. Young people...

Portugal Screeches to Halt as Unions Strike

Trains, planes, banks shut down in unions' joint effort

(Newser) - The largest Portuguese unions banded together and went on joint general strike today, the first of its kind since 1988, the New York Times reports. The unions, protesting a government austerity plan amid a debt crisis, halted trains, buses, planes, health care, and banking services. “What’s coming for...

Dow Plunges 980, Then Rebounds

Fears of Greek chaos contributes

(Newser) - The Dow was in freefall today as protests again roiled Greece. Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Athens after lawmakers approved drastic austerity cuts needed to secure international rescue loans worth $140 billion. Fears over the debt crisis helped send the Dow plunging to nearly 1,000 points in...

Flights Grounded, 3 Killed in Greek Strike, Protests

Violence hits Athens just as Berlin weighs $28B loan

(Newser) - Greece was paralyzed by a 24-hour general strike that grounded all air traffic today, and 3 people died in a fire set by protesters trying to storm the parliament, MSNBC reports. Street battles were breaking out in the capital just as Angela Merkel was busy asking the German parliament to...

'Black Thursday' Strike Staggers France

Biggest action in decades tests President Sarkozy

(Newser) - More than a million protesters in France are taking to the streets today in the country's biggest general strike in decades, reports the Times of London. The so-called "Black Thursday" job action is bringing together public and private sector workers, along with students, who are angered by President...

Blasts Accompany Crippling Lebanon Strike

Casualties unclear as workers demand higher wages amid government crisis

(Newser) - Explosions and gunfire sounded throughout Beirut today as a politically charged workers' strike turned violent. A Hezbollah-led opposition party had called for a one-day general strike, ostensibly for higher wages, the BBC reports. But things soon turned ugly, with flaming barricades along major roads, and gunfire between various factions in...

Zimbabwe Strike Fizzles
Zimbabwe
Strike Fizzles
Apr 15, 2008 11:24 AM CDT

Zimbabwe Strike Fizzles

Opposition party's 'stay away' strategy fails to force release of election results

(Newser) - A strike Zimbabwe's opposition party called in hopes of forcing the release of election results mostly fizzled today, reports the AFP. Businesses remained open, and the heavy security presence the government prepped in anticipation was eased during the day. Said a merchant who wants the results released but opened his...

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