{{Short description|Form of protest}} {{distinguish|walkout (politics)}} {{For|the movie|Walkout (film) {{!}} ''Walkout'' (film)}}{{More citations needed|date=February 2026}}{{Labor|selected=strikes}} In labor disputes, a '''walkout''' is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zeman |first=Anne |url=https://archive.org/details/everythingyounee00zema_7/page/74/mode/2up?q=walkout |title=Everything you need to know about American history homework |date=1997 |publisher=Scholastic Reference |isbn=9780590493635 |pages=75}}</ref>
A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an organization, especially if meant as an expression of protest or disapproval.
A walkout can be seen as different from a strike in that a walkout can occur spontaneously, and need not necessarily involve all the workers present, whereas a strike is often voted on beforehand by the workers, giving notification both to all of the workers and to the company affected.
Walkouts have often been staged against the presence of a speaker or the content of an in-progress speech at a meeting. The protest, which is often a silent, non-violent means of expressing disapproval, is often interpreted as an exercise of the freedom of association while allowing the speaker to exercise the freedom of speech, albeit with a reduced audience in attendance.
== Notable walkouts == {{Incomplete list|date=March 2022}}
=== 1968 East Los Angeles === {{main|East L.A. walkouts}}
These were a series of 1968 protests against unequal conditions in Los Angeles Unified School District high schools, beginning on March 6. ==See also== {{Portal|Organized labour}} * Strike action * Lockout * Boycott
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Organized labor}}
Category:Labor disputes Category:Protests