Workers who kept working during the strike were called scabs by their colleagues.

scabs 是名词 scab 的复数形式。scab 本义指"痂、疮痂"，在俚语中引申为"破坏罢工的人"，带有贬义色彩，相当于中文的"工贼"或"罢工破坏者"。 这种用法源于将罢工比作伤口，而继续工作的人被视为阻碍伤口愈合的"痂"。