scab labor

     Scab labor was a term once used for strike-breakers. When workers thought that they were being treated unfairly, or that their work was needlessly dangerous, they would go "on strike"--that is, they would refuse to work until management did something about their complaints. Going on strike was risky--workers were not paid while on strike, and a strike might last for weeks or even months. There was always a chance that strikers  would go back to work with no improvement in the situation that caused the strike. They would probably be broke, behind on the rent, and ill-fed. Solidarity was the one thing that could make a strike successful. If enough workers went on strike, and stayed on strike long enough, management was much more likely to give in to strikers' demands. A management technique for "breaking" a strike was to hire unskilled workers--often immigrants--to work just until the strikers agreed to come back to work at their former wages--or even with a wage cut. Temporary "strike-breaking" workers were called "scabs" and were very unpopular with strikers.