Under China’s labor management system, independent unionism is strictly banned, and the state’s official trade union body monopolizes worker representation. That means that all of China’s 806,498,521 workers are barred from forming independent organizations to agitate for their interests — in an economy where the poorest 25 percent of households own just 1 percent of the country’s total wealth, and where long hours, safety hazards, and authoritarian management define life in the factories.

This official antagonism has not stopped the emergence of workers’ resistance. The number of strikes has been increasing over the past two decades, and as Eli Friedman wrote last year, “on a typical day anywhere from half a dozen to several dozen strikes are likely taking place.” Workers’ rights NGOs, while operating from a distinct disadvantage, have become increasingly involved and visible.

The Chinese state denies the legality and even existence of these growing strikes. Thus the landscape of coverage and analysis has been sparse.