I would hardly call striking over poor conditions abusing your powers. You could say the same thing about the rationale for any government crackdown.
In politics, understandably, everyone believes that their actions are right. Those beliefs inevitably lead to warfare. That's why I don't believe in politics.
I stick to philosophy now, knowing that the quiet contemplation of the world, without taking sides, will yield some lasting benefits, without reckless wars destroying the insights about ourselves that we have already collected and named 'progress'.
Who succeeded in doing that? There is Confucius, and Norman Borlaugh, and many others ...
But if local involvement has taught me anything, people always have their own incentives, and it's really impossible to be anodyne it unless you're just letting them run over you.
Not taking sides is a political action in itself. Not wanting to be involved doesn't mean you aren't involved.
Strikes and unionization are ways that individuals can become in parity with the owner class. Each side has something the other needs.