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

While rank-and-file writers populated the picket lines and eventually voted through the strike-ending contract, much of the sturm und drang of that work stoppage was also facilitated by the work of internal union staffers in member organizing and legal departments (among others). —Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2025

Both Rob Manfred and Tony Clark spent much of the offseason foreshadowing a potential work stoppage. —Dan Shanoff, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

The unionized Colorado location, in Sloans Lake, voted on February 5 and 6 to greenlight the potential work stoppage, and officially authorized their own strike on February 11. —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 18 Feb. 2025

In the year documented in the filing, the Writers Guild of America went on a 148-day strike beginning in May, while SAG-AFTRA’s members went on their own 118-day work stoppage beginning in July. —Erik Hayden, HollywoodReporter, 28 Mar. 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.”