ABSTRACT
The ability of workers to use the power of an organized strike to express workplace grievances is considered an important civil liberty. The most significant limitation has been legislative and judicial approval of mandatory arbitration clauses that, in effect, substitute for the "right to strike" a guaranteed forum to resolve labor disputes by a neutral third party. The threat of a strike is the most potent weapon in labor's arsenal. This weapon not only has the power to cripple an individual business but has the potential to shut down an entire industry or region as well. During World War II, the War Labor Board, which had been established to minimize strikes and to administer wage controls in key industries, was instrumental in efforts to insert mandatory arbitration clauses into collective bargaining agreements. These clauses were designed to prevent workers from leaving their work station and joining a picket line.
