Halting production is the ultimate strength of workers over management. However, the use of scabs these days means that simply walking out won't necessarily stop production. Unions are often wary of efforts to block production because of the threat of injunctions and fines. But labor should take a lesson from its own history and countless other protest movements. Commitment to the righteous battle means a willingness to break unjust laws.
Direct action is indispensable in upping our power against that of capital.
Perhaps the best example of what it takes to win these days is found in the battle by the Mine Workers against Pittston Coal in the late 1980s. Bent on destroying the master coal agreement and crippling the union, Pittston was demanding huge concessions from active workers and benefit cuts from retirees. For the year and a half that the miners worked without a contract, they prepared. When they did strike in 1989, the mineworkers varied their strategy and tactics to keep Pittston guessing. In order to build public support they waged a corporate campaign.