Timeline of strikes in 1970
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In 1970, a number of labour strikes, labour disputes, and other industrial actions occurred.
Background
A labour strike is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. This can include wildcat strikes, which are done without union authorisation, and slowdown strikes, where workers reduce their productivity while still carrying out minimal working duties. It is usually a response to employee grievances, such as low pay or poor working conditions. Strikes can also occur to demonstrate solidarity with workers in other workplaces or pressure governments to change policies.
Timeline
Continuing strikes from 1969
- Delano grape strike
- 1969–1970 General Electric strike
- Hot Autumn, wave of strikes in Italy.
- 1969–1970 LKAB conflict, 8-week wildcat strike by LKAB miners in northern Sweden.[1][2]
January
February
- 1970–1971 Newark teacher strikes. Two connected strikes, a 3-week strike in 1970 and an 11-week strike in 1971, by teachers in Newark, United States.[3][4][5]
March
- 1970 Heathrow strike. 19-day strike by firefighters at Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom, over wages and working conditions.[6]
- 1970–1973 Republic of Ireland rent strikes. Series of rent strikes by social housing tenants in Ireland, represented by the National Association of Tenants Organisations, over rent increases and decreases in the levels of services provided to the tenants.
- 1970 United States postal strike. 8-day wildcat strike by postal workers in the United States over low wages and poor working conditions.
- 1970 University of Wisconsin–Madison strike. 24-day strike by graduate students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States, represented by the Teaching Assistants Association. The first staff strike in the university's history.[7][8]
April
- 1970 Goodyear strike. 1,5 month strike by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company workers in the United States.[9]
- 1970 Kansas City construction strike. 196-day strike by construction workers in Kansas City, United States.[10]
- 1970 Minneapolis teachers' strike. 3-week strike by teachers in Minneapolis, United States, represented by the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59, over low wages and excessive class sizes.
- 1970 Pakistan journalists strike. 10-day strike by journalists in Pakistan.[11][12]
May
June
- 1970 Allied Corporation strike, 15-week strike by Allied Corporation workers in Buffalo, United States.[13]
- June 15–16 events (Turkey).
July
- 1970 Granada construction strike. 8-day strike by construction workers in Granada, Spain, the first major strike in the city since the Spanish Civil War in the mid-1930s.[14][15]
- 1970 Jackson strike, 3-week strike by Black municipal workers in Jackson, Mississippi.[16][17]
- 1970 NFL strike
- 1970 United Kingdom dockers' strike
August
- 1970 GKN Sankey strike. 6-week wildcat strike by GKN Sankey workers in the United Kingdom.[18]
- 1970 Rotterdam dockers strike. Major wildcat strike in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[19][20][21]
- Salad Bowl strike
September
- 1970 UK local government strike. 6-week strike by local government workers in the United Kingdom.[22][23][24]
October
November
- Colour Strike
- 1970 Folsom Prison strike
- 1970–1971 Harry Walker strike. 62-day strike by Harry Walker factory workers in Barcelona, Catalonia.[25][26][27]
- 1970 Israeli teachers strike. 6-week strike by high school teachers in Israel.[28][29]
December
Statistics
In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a total of 5716 work stoppages involved 824 000 workers in 1970 (for a total of 66,4 million working days lost), with 34 of those being major working stoppages involving at least 10 000 workers.[30]
Changes in legislation
In the United States, the state of Pennsylvania became the second state (after Hawaii) to guarantee public employees the right to strike.[31]
References
- ^ "IRON MINERS' STRIKE IS ENDED IN SWEDEN". The New York Times. 5 February 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "LKAB-konflikten". Nationalencyklopedin. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Butterfield, Fox (8 April 1971). "At Root of Newark Teacher Strike: Race and Power". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Golin, Steve (1 May 2002). "The Newark Teacher Strikes: Hopes on the Line". Rutgers University Press. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Carter, Barry (29 February 2020). "300 striking teachers were arrested 50 years ago. Today's educators are thanking them". NJ.com. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "London Airport Strike Ends; Operations Back to Normal". The New York Times. 22 March 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Isaac, Jon (28 March 2020). "Shut it Down: The 1970 TAA Strike". Red Madison. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Van Ells, Mark D. (Spring 1999). "More than a Union: The Teaching Assistants Association and Its 1970 Strike against the University of Wisconsin". Michigan Historical Review. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Goodyear and Union Reach 3‐Year Pact To Settle a Strike". The New York Times. 7 June 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "KANSAS CITY HURT BY 196‐DAY STRIKE". The New York Times. 18 October 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Salman, Peerzada (20 April 2020). "This week 50 years ago: Journalists' strike and American sculptures". Dawn. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Salman, Peerzada (13 April 2020). "This week 50 years ago: Newsmen's procession and donation to Urdu College". Dawn. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Dye Workers End Strike". The New York Times. 11 October 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Eder, Richard (25 July 1970). "Granada's Labor Protesters End Sit‐In and City Is Almost Normal". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ TUDELA VÁZQUEZ, Enrique (2006). "Our bread. Origins and development of a strike in the construction sector. Granada 21-29 July 1970". University of Barcelona. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Caldwell, Earl (13 July 1970). "Racial Issues Raised in Strike By Black Workers in Jackson". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Caldwell, Earl (22 July 1970). "Black Workers End Jackson Strike". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "British Auto Parts Workers To Continue Wildcat Strike". The New York Times. 5 September 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Smit, E. (1 December 1994). "'Havenartiesten' in actie. Het mobilisatieproces bij wilde stakingen in de Rotterdamse haven". Semantic Scholar. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Verspeek, Paul (28 August 2020). "Wouter ter Braake leidde als 21-jarige de Rotterdamse havenstaking van 1970". rijnmond.nl. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Knotter, Ad (10 December 2023). "Undermining the 'Polder Model': Workers' Militancy and Trade-Union Leadership in Four Dutch Wildcat Strikes, 1963–1970". Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "The dust settlement". The Spectator. 14 November 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Fetid Streets and Fouled Rivers". Time Magazine. 9 November 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Sedgwick, Roy (September 1976). "A natural pollution experiment: The effects of a sewage strike on the fauna of the Thames estuary". Environmental Pollution. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Huelga de la Harry Walker". Mapas de la Memoria. 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Luz Burgueño, Cynthia (13 November 2025). "La huelga de 62 días de Harry Walker: "Una escuela viva para la clase obrera"". La Izquierda Diario. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Amorós, Miguel (21 November 2018). "Origins and Development of Workers Autonomy in Spain (1970-1976)". LibCom. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Teachers' Meeting with Mrs. Meir Fails to End Strike; Allon Denounces Strikers". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 9 December 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "School Teachers End Strike; Threatened Airport Workers Strike Grounded". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 16 December 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Bachner, Jane H. (1972). "Analysis of Work Stoppages, 1970" (PDF). Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Shafer Signs Law Giving Strike Right To Public Employes". The New York Times. 24 July 1970. Retrieved 6 March 2026.