“Collective action” usually brings to
mind images of picket signs held by laborers striking
for better wages and benefits. Collective action, however,
need not be limited to the withholding of labor. Nor need
it involve only the working or middle classes, as airline
pilots have recently demonstrated. Finally, collective
action need not have as its only purpose the self-interest
of the group. Collective action does, however, always involve
a joining together of individuals united by common goals
or interests in order to consolidate power for the purpose
of negotiating with another group or entity. Examples of
collective action obviously include striking, other withholding
labor actions, and slowdowns, but can also include many
other activities. “Paper strikes,” for example,
have been threatened or used by house officer organizations
in the past. In a paper strike, patient care continues
but without documentation, and thus, the institution suffers
from absent or delayed financial remuneration.