direct action

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The use of immediately effective acts, such as strikes, demonstrations, or sabotage, to achieve a political or social end.

from The Century Dictionary.

• In mech., characterized by direct action: a term applied to engines which have the piston-rod or cross-head connected directly to, or by a connecting-rod with, the crank, dispensing with working-beams and side levers: as, a direct-action steam-engine.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A form of political activism, in which participants act directly, ignoring established political procedures. This is often (but not always) accomplished by means of strikes, workplace occupations, sabotage, sit-ins, squatting, revolutionary/guerrilla warfare, demonstrations, vandalism or graffiti.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a protest action by labor or minority groups to obtain their demands