Notable general strikes

The largest general strike that ever stopped the economy of an advanced industrial country – and the first general wildcat strike in history – was May 1968 in France. The prolonged strike involved eleven million workers for two weeks in a row, and its impact was such that it almost caused the collapse of the de Gaulle government. Other notable general strikes include:

•           494 BC: The Aventine Secession, Ancient Rome, creating the Tribune of the Plebs

•           449 BC: A secessio plebis leading to the adoption of the Twelve Tables

•           287 BC: A secessio plebis leading to the adoption of the Lex Hortensia

(Note: "plebeian secession" was a tactic used by the Roman plebs of vacating a city entirely and leaving its ruling elite to fend for itself, thus an even more radical action than a "general strike", yet unlike the latter term, it does not pertain to withholding labor within a wage-system. General strikes in the current sense of the term only begin to take place in a context where in which labor is treated as a commodity, and wage workers collectively organize to halt production.)

•           1835: 1835 Philadelphia General Strike, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

•           1842: 1842 General Strike, Great Britain

•           1862-1865: The plantation general strike in the Confederate States of the U.S.

•           1877: St. Louis general strike, St. Louis, Missouri, an outgrowth of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 in the United States

•           1886: Walloon jacquerie of 1886 Wallonia

•           1892: New Orleans General Strike, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

•           1893: Belgian general strike of 1893, Belgium

•           1902: Geneva General Strike of 1902, Switzerland

•           1905: The Great October Strike, Russia; see 1905 Russian Revolution. World's largest general strike.

•           1907: Geneva General Strike of 1907, Switzerland

•           1907: New Orleans Levee General Strike, United States

•           1909: A general strike coupled with a major uprising in Barcelona

•           1909: Swedish General Strike

•           1909: Uprising of the 20,000, New York, NY, U.S.

•           1912: Brisbane General Strike, Australia

•           1912: Zurich General Strike of 1912, Switzerland

•           1917: Australian General Strike

•           1917: Brazilian General Strike

•           1917: Spanish General Strike

•           1918: Swiss General Strike

•           1919: Barcelona General Strike, Spain

•           1919: Winnipeg General Strike, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

•           1919: Seattle General Strike, Seattle, Washington, U.S.

•           1919: General Strike in Basel and Zurich 1919, Switzerland

•           1920: General strike in Germany to stop Kapp Putsch.

•           1920: Romanian general strike

•           1922: Italian General Strike

•           1920: German passive resistance strikes at the Ruhr

•           1926: UK General Strike of 1926

•           1933: French general strike of 1933

•           1932: Geneva General Strike of 1932, Switzerland

•           1934: West Coast Longshoremen's Strike, US

•           1934: Minneapolis Teamsters Strike, US

•           1934: Toledo Auto-Lite Strike, US

•           1936: Palestinian general strike

•           1936: French general strike of 1936

•           1936: Syrian General Strike

•           1938: French general strike of 1938

•           1941: February Strike, Netherlands

•           1942: Luxembourgian General Strike

•           1946: Indian General Strike

•           1946: Oakland, California General Strike

•           1950: Austrian General Strikes

•           1950: General strike against Leopold III of Belgium

•           1953: Hartal 1953, Ceylon

•           1954: General strike of 1954, Honduras

•           1956: Finnish General Strike

•           1958: Bahamas General Strike

•           1960: 1960-1961 Winter General Strike in Belgium

•           1968: French General Strike

•           1973: Uruguayan General Strike

•           1974: Ulster Workers Council Strike, Northern Ireland.

•           1984: Uruguayan General Strike

•           1988: Spanish General Strike

•           1989: Two-hour general strike of all citizens of Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution

•           1992: Nepalese General Strike

•           1995: French Public Sector Strikes

•           1995: Days of Action, Canada

•           2000: Cochabamba General Strike, Bolivia

•           2002: Italian General Strike

•           2002–2003: Venezuelan General Strike

•           2005: Bolivian Gas Conflict

•           2006: April 2006 Nepalese General Strike

•           2007: Guinea General Strike

•           2009: French Caribbean General Strikes

•           2010: Spanish General Strike

•           2012: Spanish General Strike the 29th of March

•           2012: The 14th of Novembre took part a European General Strike in countries as Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus ...

•           2013: Slovenian Public Sector General Strike