work stoppage

noun

: concerted cessation of work by a group of employees usually more spontaneous and less serious than a strike

Examples of work stoppage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In July, the NHL and its Players’ Association ratified a new CBA that will extend the harmony between the sides to 16 seasons, which would be by far the longest stretch without a work stoppage in the tenure of league commissioner Gary Bettman. —Rob Rossi, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025

One instance occurred in 1999, when men at Sing Sing and elsewhere were planning a work stoppage for the first day of the New Year, in part to protest New York’s increasingly harsh parole policies. —Jennifer Gonnerman, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025

Engelbert said Friday that the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association continue to meet and negotiate with the hopes of avoiding a work stoppage. —Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025

Amid the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, the DGA was heavily scrutinized by industry workers and some commentators for not launching a work stoppage but later gaining at least one major contractual perk obtained by those who did. —Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

work stoppage

noun

: a cessation of work by employees as a job action

Note: Work stoppage is often used to refer to a cessation of work that is less serious and more spontaneous than one referred to as a strike. As used in the Labor Management Relations Act strike refers to “any…concerted stoppage of work by employees…and any concerted slowdown or other concerted interruption of operations by employees.”