Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. pertaining to strike-breakers or strike-breaking.

1881		Chicago Times 11 June 2/2: Three hundred saloon-keepers of New York have joined hands with the striking brewers by refusing to purchase scab beer [DA].
1887		Northampton Mercury 1 Oct. 8/3: Messrs. Bateman, of Goldsmith’s Row [...] had killed themselves by employing ‘scab’ labour.
1890		Bulletin (Sydney) 6 Sept. 14/3: Look here, sonny, [...] there’s only two sorts of shearers – Union and Scab. [...] There’s no such thing as a non-union shearer.
1894		Mirror of Life 10 Mar. 2/4: The members of the almond-eyed fraternity revolted against the ‘scab shop’.
1904		L.M. Palmer-Archer Bush Honeymoon 57: ‘It’s a scab shed, you know.’ ‘What is that?’ ‘Non-union,’ he rejoins.
1913		Lumberjack (Alexandria, LA) 10 Apr. 1/2: The Good Citizens can’t get in the Post Office for the scab niggers .
1928		C. McKay Home to Harlem 48: He had not told him at first that the job was a scab job.
1939		A. Bessie Men in Battle 263: It ain’t got no union label; scab printing.
1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 102: He don’t act like he could heat water for a scab barber.
1955		J. Morrison Black Cargo 2165: This ship’s got a scab crew.
1958		(con. 1940s) B. Behan Borstal Boy 84: Irishmen came over to Liverpool to work for scab wages.
1977		J. Sayles Union Dues (1978) 196: I have bought five bottles of scab wine.
1992		R. Price Clockers 33: Someone had plastered on someone else’s door: I WORK FOR A NON-UNION SCAB EMPLOYER.
2000		G.V. Higgins At End of Day (2001) 88: Along with not too many Local Eight guys there’s a lotta scab help, too.
2012		(con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 8: We’ll celebrate stoapin they fuckin scab lorries.

2. thus in fig. use, illegal, e.g. of an after-hours drinking club.

1962

F. Norman Guntz 107: After that he took me off to some scab joint in Shpeherd’s Market.