lockout, the tactic of withholding employment, typically used by employers to hinder union organization or to gain leverage in labour disputes. It is often accomplished by literally locking employees out of the workplace, but it can also be achieved through work stoppage, layoffs, or the hiring of nonunion replacement workers.
In the United States, lockouts became a common tactic by employers in the 1880s and ’90s, when unions of silver and lead miners in Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah were fighting for an eight-hour day and higher pay. During this period the lockout was also used against the Knights of Labor (KOL) in industries that included meatpacking, cigar making, knitting, and laundering. In fact, the lockout strategy was central to the KOL’s demise.
A lockout can lead to the permanent replacement of striking workers. This tactic gained national recognition in the United States in 1981 during a strike by the Professional Air Traffic Controllers union (PATCO) for better hours and improved working conditions. The highly skilled air traffic controllers believed they could not be replaced. As federal government employees, however, it was illegal for PATCO members to strike. Pres. Ronald Reagan ordered the replacement of strikers through the hiring of retirees and controllers from other areas such as the military. The success of this strategy led other employers to use the lockout as a tool against labour strikes.