A-Infos (en) Uk, ACG, Jackdaw #23 - Wildcat or official strike action? (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The best-known form of direct action is the strike, in which workers 
simply walk off their jobs and refuse to produce profits for the boss 
until they get what they want. This is the preferred tactic of 
bureaucratic unions but is one of the least effective ways of 
confronting the boss. ---- The bosses, with their large financial 
reserves, are better able to withstand a long drawn-out strike than the 
workers. In many cases, court orders will freeze or confiscate the 
union's strike funds. And worst of all, a long walk-out only gives the 
boss a chance to replace striking workers with a replacement, or "scab", 
workforce.
Workers are far more effective when they take direct action while still 
on the job. By deliberately reducing the boss's profits while continuing 
to collect wages, you can cripple the boss without giving some scab the 
opportunity to take your job.
Unofficial, or wildcat, action - that is, organised with other workers 
independent of union officials bypasses anti-union laws meaning there 
are no union funds to sequester and there is no obligation to provide 
the bosses with advance warning - giving them the opportunity to arrange 
scabs.
Direct action, by definition, means those tactics workers can undertake 
themselves, without the help of government agencies, union bureaucrats, 
or high-priced lawyers. Running to an Industrial Tribunal (or outside 
the UK the relevant arbitration board in your country) for help may be 
appropriate in some cases, but it is not a form of direct action, and 
they too are generally weighted in the bosses' favour, taking up a great 
deal of time and money.
Every major victory won by labour over the years was achieved with 
militant direct actions that were, in their time, illegal and subject to 
police repression. After all, for much of history the laws surrounding 
trade unions were simple - there were none. Strikers were routinely 
beaten and killed by police and soldiers and imprisoned with extremely 
harsh sentences.
After years of relentless struggle, the legal right of workers to 
organise is now officially recognised, yet so many restrictions exist 
that effective action is as difficult as ever. For this reason, any 
worker contemplating direct action on the job - bypassing the legal 
system and hitting the boss where they are weakest - should be fully 
aware of labour law, how it is applied, and how it may be used against 
labour activists. At the same time, workers must realise that the 
struggle between the bosses and the workers is not a badminton match - 
it is war. Under these circumstances, workers must use what works, 
whether the bosses (and their courts) like it or not.
It is worth bearing in mind that the best weapon is, of course, 
organisation. If one worker stands up and protests, the bosses will 
squash him or her like a bug. Squashed bugs are obviously of little use 
to their families, friends, and social movements in general. But if all 
the workers stand up together, the boss will have no choice but to take 
you seriously. They can fire any individual worker who makes a fuss, but 
they might find it difficult to fire their entire workforce.
Solidarity is strength!

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/jackdaw23c.pdf
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