Sometimes, a strike can be good for business.

A picketing Verizon worker yesterday helped cops in Astoria, Queens, nab an accused shoplifter who had bolted from a next-door Skechers shoe store.

“A woman from the store was chasing her, yelling, ‘Stop her!’ so I grabbed her and held her until the police were able to get her,” said John Smith, a 30-year Verizon employee on strike.

Martha Toro, 42, had allegedly stashed five pairs of sneakers worth $225 into her bag and waltzed past the registers.

“I’m lucky they were out there today,” store manager Yessica Chavez said of the picketing workers.