Research Projects

List of Radio Strikes

This began with a post here. The below image  got me thinking. These days the only strike that shuts down a radio station is a lightning strike. So I began to research strikes at radio stations. There is no canonical source of this data so I have been updating this list as I discover pertinent events in other research. It will be ongoing.
Strikes are traditionally the tool of people that perform manual labor, blue collar workers. In general, white collar workers don't strike. It's a generalization, but it's fairly accurate. This list is a list of exceptions in a way. It's limited to white collar staff: writers, producers, announcers, musicians etc. I have excluded the strikes of TV staff, radio manufacturers, and telegraph operators as those are not strictly broadcasting-related. This is an incomplete list, but I have hopes that readers may make a few additions.

2011 - AFTRA strike on record labels [here]
2005 - CBC Radio Strike
1982 - AFTRA strike on WINS-AM
1981 -  July 1st, KAAR jocks went on strike over working conditions
1979 - WBCN-FM Strike 1978 - AFTRA strike on advertising agencies
1979 - WCCO AM/FM - TV IBEW Engineer strike [SOURCE]
1977 - WBAI Pacifica Radio strike
1974 - WAOK-AM
1974 - KPFA-FM strike against layoffs
1974 - AFTRA strike WWDJ
1971 - WWOM-FM Strike
1970 - KZAP-FM staff sit down strike
1970 - WLIB-AM - staff picketing
1968 - KMPX-AM
1967 - AFTRA100 radio station strike
1965 - WSIM-AM, Radio and Television Broadcast Technicians
1962 - KFWB-AM
1959 - NABET strike on NBC Radio & TV
1958 - CBFT(Radio-Canada CBC) Radio producers strike
1958 - MGA Studio Musicians  (later re-merged into AFM)
1948 - AFM recording  ban
1948 - The Radio Writers' Guild
1947 - WCKY-AM Radio technicians strike  (IBEW)
1944 - NABET engineers at NBC
1942 - AFM recording  ban (2 years)
1941 - ASCAP radio strike
1936 - Marine Radio Operator Strike (MEBA)
1938 - WTCN-AM News Staff
1935 - ARTA strike at Macay Radio & Telegraph Co. 
1921 - Marine Radio Operator Strike (MEBA)