Nathan has some really good commentary on strikes and the government:

I believe that government shouldn’t intervene in the market unless there is a case of market failure. As cited before, an example is that of the negative externality impacting the environment, or in English, the hidden costs of pollution. This is a market failure, because the market fails to account for the cost to the environment of the cost of cleanup and general damage to the environment. How do you value a mountain that doesn’t exist anymore because a mining company removed it and dumped the rubble in a valley? Thus, the government should intervene on behalf of the environment.

Labor conflict is not a market failure. Labor conflict is the inevitable result of a heirarchical relationship between the money that runs business and the people that run business.

The government shouldn’t be involved in labor disputes, except to ameliorate dangers to public health that arise.

And, I would add, that if the government does get involved, it also has a responsibilty to those its overriding to get their concerns addressed. That would make the government think twice about intervention.