Why is a strikebreaker called a scab? The term “scab” was first used in the 13th century to mean a nasty, itchy skin disease or the crust that forms on a wound. By 1806, the word “scab” arrived at its current meaning — a strikebreaker who willingly crosses the picket line [source: Lexicon of Labor, Online Etymology Dictionary
Online Etymology Dictionary
The Online Etymology Dictionary is a free online dictionary written and compiled by Douglas Harper that describes the origins of English-language words.
What is a strikebreaking scab?
Just as a scab is a physical lesion, the strikebreaking scab disfigures the social body of labor—both the solidarity of workers and the dignity of work. Smith also points out that the term has mellowed some since it first entered the labor vocabulary.
Why is it called a scab?
John believes it “ [infers] disease and ugliness,” and he’s got it right—but let’s fill in the details. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “scab” was first recorded in English around 1250, and referred to diseases of the skin.
What is a strikebreaker?
Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute, but rather hired after or during the strike to keep the organization running. "Strikebreakers" may also refer to workers (union members or not) who cross picket lines to work.
Is “scab” an insult for picket line crossers?
Last week, readers @amyh914 and @johnjaramillo13 were wondering about the origins of “scab” as an insult for people who cross picket lines. John believes it “ [infers] disease and ugliness,” and he’s got it right—but let’s fill in the details.
Why are non union called scabs?
Trade unionists also use the epithet “scab” to refer to workers who are willing to accept terms that union workers have rejected and interfere with the strike action. Some say that the word comes from the idea that the “scabs” are covering a wound. However, “scab” was an old-fashioned English insult.
Why do they call it a scab?
The term "scab" was first used in the 13th century to mean a nasty, itchy skin disease or the crust that forms on a wound. By 1806, the word "scab" arrived at its current meaning -- a strikebreaker who willingly crosses the picket line [source: Lexicon of Labor, Online Etymology Dictionary].
What does the a in scab stand for?
SCAB. Screen, Code, Alarm & Notation (Aids) Copyright 1988-2018 AcronymFinder.com, All rights reserved.
What is a scab in Australia?
In Australia, a scab, in addition to being a word to describe part of the body's healing process, is also a very derogatory description of a person who breaks ranks with his or her fellows, and refuses to participate in industrial action.
What is a strikebreaker?
Pinkerton agents escort strikebreakers in Buchtel, Ohio, 1884. A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike .
What is strikebreaking in shoe terms?
Strikebreaking is also known as black-legging or blacklegging. American lexicographer Stephanie Smith suggests that the word has to do with bootblacking or shoe polish, for an early occurrence of the word was in conjunction with an 1803 American bootmaker's strike.
What is the difference between a blackleg and a scab?
He defines a scab as an outsider who is recruited to replace a striking worker, whereas a blackleg is one already employed who goes against a democratic decision of their colleagues to strike, and instead continues to work.
Why are strikebreakers banned?
The use of strikebreakers is a worldwide phenomenon; however, many countries have passed laws outlawing their use, as they undermine the collective bargaining process. As of 2002. [update] , strikebreakers were used far more frequently in the United States than in other industrialized countries.
Where did the term "blackleg miner" come from?
However, the Northumbrian folk song Blackleg Miner is believed to originate from the 1844 strike , which would predate Hughes's reference.
Which international agreement protected the right to strike?
The European Social Charter of 1961 was the first international agreement to expressly protect the right to strike. However, the European Union 's Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers permits EU member states to regulate the right to strike.
Do European countries use strikebreakers?
In most European countries, strikebreakers are rarely used. Consequently, they are rarely if ever mentioned in most European national labor laws. As mentioned above, it is left to the European Union member states to determine their own policies.
What is a scab?
Scab as an insult predates its particular use as a synonym for strikebreaker. The basic definition of scab, “the crust that forms over a wound”, seems like a natural fit for an insult. It use as a put-down was general at first; akin to a scoundrel, rascal, or villain. According to etymologists, the first use of the word as an insult is quite old – going back to the 1500s. But it wasn’t until the 1800s that it began to be used specifically for strikebreakers.
What is the synonym for strikebreaker?
It may not be perfectly interchangeable with scab, though; some sources say that a scab is generally an outsider to the company hired specifically for strikebreaking, where a blackleg is a worker who predates the strike and chooses not to participate.
What does blackleg mean in mining?
Other theories suggest that it references miners with pant-legs rolled up, showing coal dust or oil as evidence of work. Like scab, blackleg is also associated with disease. In modern times, it’s more commonly used to indicate a specific disease common to cows and sheep than it is organized labor or strikebreakers.
Is strikebreaker slang specialized?
But some slang is just too specialized to enter the general lexicon. Terms that rose up within the labor organizations of the late 1800s and early 1900s, for example, didn’t quite make it mainstream in the same way. In particular, a handful of synonyms for strikebreaker, while recognized by some, have clearly fallen out of general usage.
Did the Pinkertons send in spies?
The fear of informants wasn’t paranoia either; anti-union groups like the Pinkertons did genuinely send in spies to undermine labor organizations. This is the basis of another etymological theory for the word, which is that a linguistic shift turned “pink”, as a reference to the Pinkertons, into ‘fink’.
