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General overview of work stoppages in the U.S.

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Between 1947 and 2021 there were 11,568 major work stoppages. The decade of 1947-1956 was the most active with the average of 344 stoppages per year. The 2007-2016 decade averaged 14 work stoppages, while the period of 2017-2021 averaged 15. (See chart 1).

Chart 1. Average annual number of work stoppages by decade 1947-2021

See table for chart 1 ▸

Table 1. Average annual number of work stoppages by decade, 1947-2021
Decade	Average number of work stoppages by decade
1947-1956	344
1957-1966	250
1967-1976	332
1977-1986	145
1987-1996	40
1997-2006	24
2007-2016	14
2017-2021*	15
* This period is less then 10 years Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

Several factors, such as the growth of the service industry, technology, and declining union membership have led to a significant reduction in the number of work stoppages. While the percent of union members [1] decreased from 20.1 percent in 1983 to 10.3 percent in 2021, the number of work stoppages have fallen from 81 to 16 in corresponding years. (See chart 2.)

Chart 2. Percent of employed union members and number of work stoppages (1983-2021)

See table for chart 2 ▸

Table 2. Percent of employed union members and number of work stoppages, 1983-2020
Year	Percent of employed, members of unions	Number of work stoppages
1983	20.1%	81
1984	18.8%	62
1985	18.0%	54
1986	17.5%	69
1987	17.0%	46
1988	16.8%	40
1989	16.4%	51
1990	16.0%	44
1991	16.0%	40
1992	15.7%	35
1993	15.7%	35
1994	15.5%	45
1995	14.9%	31
1996	14.5%	37
1997	14.1%	29
1998	13.9%	34
1999	13.9%	17
2000	13.4%	39
2001	13.3%	29
2002	13.3%	19
2003	12.9%	14
2004	12.5%	17
2005	12.5%	22
2006	12.0%	20
2007	12.1%	21
2008	12.4%	15
2009	12.3%	5
2010	11.9%	11
2011	11.8%	19
2012	11.3%	19
2013	11.3%	15
2014	11.1%	11
2015	11.1%	12
2016	10.7%	15
2017	10.7%	7
2018	10.5%	20
2019	10.3%	25
2020	10.8%	8
2021	10.3%	16
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

Decreases in the number of work stoppages and the number of workers involved are especially noticeable during and right after recessions, and hit an all-time low (5) in 2009. Chart 3 demonstrates the number of annual work stoppages with grey bars indicating the recession periods.

Chart 3. Number of work stoppages, 1947-2021

See table for chart 3 ▸

Table 3. Annual work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947 - 2021
Period	Number of work stoppages beginning in a period
1947	270
1948	245
1949	262
1950	424
1951	415
1952	470
1953	437
1954	265
1955	363
1956	287
1957	279
1958	332
1959	245
1960	222
1961	195
1962	211
1963	181
1964	246
1965	268
1966	321
1967	381
1968	392
1969	412
1970	381
1971	298
1972	250
1973	317
1974	424
1975	235
1976	231
1977	298
1978	219
1979	235
1980	187
1981	145
1982	96
1983	81
1984	62
1985	54
1986	69
1987	46
1988	40
1989	51
1990	44
1991	40
1992	35
1993	35
1994	45
1995	31
1996	37
1997	29
1998	34
1999	17
2000	39
2001	29
2002	19
2003	14
2004	17
2005	22
2006	20
2007	21
2008	15
2009	5
2010	11
2011	19
2012	19
2013	15
2014	11
2015	12
2016	15
2017	7
2018	20
2019	25
2020	8
2021	16
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program.

Of the 606 major work stoppages that occurred between 1993 and 2021, 449 occurred in the private industry, 106 in local government, 50 in state government, and 1 in state and local government.

Chart 4. Total number of work stoppages by ownership 1993-2021

See table for chart 4 ▸

Table 4. Number of work stoppages by ownership, 1993-2021
Ownership	Number of work stoppages
Private industry	449
Local government	106
State government	50
State and local government	1
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

The vast majority of stoppages during that time period, 500, occurred within individual states while 107 occurred in two or more states. California, the state with the largest share of national labor force (nearly 12 percent), had a largest share of work stoppages at about 17 percent, whereas Texas which accounts for around 9 percent of national labor force accounted for around 2 percent of all work stoppages (excluding interstate and nationally reported stoppages). (See chart 5.)

Chart 5. Share of national employment and share of major work stoppages (in percent) by state, 1993-2021

See table for chart 5 ▸

Table 5. Annual work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1993 - 2021
State	Work stoppages
California	147
Illinois	59
New York	53
Pennsylvania	48
Ohio	42
Michigan	37
Washington	36
Minnesota	26
Indiana	22
Interstate	22
New Jersey	21
Oregon	19
Missouri	18
Texas	17
Massachusetts	17
Connecticut	15
Tennessee	15
Colorado	15
Kentucky	13
West Virginia	13
Iowa	13
Virginia	13
Alabama	12
Maryland	11
Wisconsin	11
Kansas	11
Rhode island	10
Hawaii	10
Georgia	10
North Carolina	8
Dist. of Columbia	8
Louisiana	7
Florida	7
Nevada	6
Arizona	6
Nationwide	6
Mississippi	6
Maine	5
Nebraska	4
New Hampshire	4
Oklahoma	4
Vermont	4
Delaware	3
South Carolina	3
Utah	3
Arkansas	3
Alaska	2
New Mexico	2
Idaho	1
Montana	1
North Dakota	1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program.

These data also allow users to evaluate differences in the number of annual work stoppages by industry. Chart 6 demonstrates that from 1993 to 2021, there were as many stoppages in manufacturing (167) as in construction (62), transportation and warehousing (54), public administration (24), and retail trade (25) industries combined. Healthcare and social assistance had a total of 96 work stoppages while educational services had 98 work stoppages.

Chart 6. Total number of annual stoppages by industry between 1993 and 2021

See table for chart 6 ▸

Table 6. Number of major work stoppages by industry, 1993 - 2021
Industry	Number of stoppages
Manufacturing	167
Educational services	98
Healthcare and social assistance	96
Construction	62
Transportation and warehousing	54
Public administration	24
Retail Trade	25
Information	21
Utilities	14
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	12
Accommodation and food services	10
Mining	10
Wholesale trade	4
Finance and insurance	4
Real estate and rental and leasing	3
Professional, scientific, and technical services	2
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	2
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program.

Top 5 longest work stoppages that occurred between 1993 and 2021 lasted for over a year. The longest one, the Marine Towing and Transportation Employers' Association, lasted for almost 6 years. One thousand six hundred workers were kept from their jobs resulting in 2,895,200 days idle.

Chart 7. Longest work stoppages, 1993 and 2021

See table for chart 7 ▸

Table 7. Longest work stoppages, 1993 - 2021
Organization(s) involved	State(s)	Area(s)	Ownership	Industry code	Union	Work stoppage beginning date	Work stoppage ending date	Number of workers	Calendar days	Work days lost in work stoppage
Marine Towing and Transportation Employers' Association & International Longshoremen's Association^[1]	NY	New York	Private Industry	488330	International Longshoremen's Association	2/16/1988	12/20/1993	1,600	2135	1476
Kaiser Aluminum Corp. & United Steelworkers	LA, OH, WA	Multiple States	Private Industry	331312	United Steelworkers	10/1/1998	9/18/2000	14,000	719	493
Ormet & United Steelworkers	OH	Hannibal	Private Industry	331310	United Steelworkers	11/22/2004	7/16/2006	2,500	602	435
Detroit Newspapers & International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other Metropolitan Council of Newspaper Unions	MI	Detroit	Private Industry	51111	International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other Metropolitan Council of Newspaper Unions	7/13/1995	2/19/1997	3,000	588	405
Caterpillar, Inc. & United Automobile Workers^[2]	IL, MI, PA, CO	Multiple States	Private Industry	3331	United Automobile Workers	6/20/1994	12/3/1995	1,200	532	368
Footnotes: ^[1] The number of workers decreased to 2,000 in December 1989, and to 1,600 in December 1990. ^[2] Number of workers involved decreased from initial 14,000 to 11,000 as 3,000 returned to work by 06/27/1994. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

The 5 largest work stoppages by number of workers involved between 1993 and 2020 included four private industry companies and one state government. Together, these 5 stoppages included over 700,000 workers.

Chart 8. Longest work stoppages by number of workers involved, 1993 and 2021

See table for chart 8 ▸

Table 8. Largest work stoppages by number of workers involved, 1993 - 2021
Organization(s) involved	State(s)	Area(s)	Ownership	Industry code	Union	Work stoppage beginning date	Work stoppage ending date	Number of workers	Days idle, cumulative for this work stoppage
United Parcel Service & International Brotherhood of Teamsters^[1]	Interstate		Private Industry	49211	International Brotherhood of Teamsters	8/4/1997	8/21/1997	180,000	2,032,500
General Motors Corp. & United Automobile Workers^[2]	Interstate		Private Industry	3361	United Automobile Workers	6/5/1998	7/29/1998	152,200	3,313,000
General Motors Corp. & United Automobile Workers^[2]	OH	Dayton	Private Industry	3361	United Automobile Workers	3/8/1996	3/22/1996	136,000	1,260,000
Association of National Advertisers; American Association of Advertising Agencies & American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild	AR, MA, IL,	Multiple	Private Industry	54181	American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild	5/1/2000	10/30/2000	135,000	17,280,000
North Carolina State Legislature & North Carolina Association of Educators^[3]	NC	Statewide	State Government	611110	North Carolina Association of Educators	5/16/2018	5/16/2018	123,000	123,000
Footnotes: ^[1] All workers returned to work on 08/17/1997, with the exception of two locals in Chicago. ^[2] Excludes workers in Canada and Mexico. ^[3] Estimates based on identified school closings and employee data from North Carolina Board of Education reports. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

The 5 major work stoppages with the most days of idleness occurred in private industry. The largest one, between Association of National Advertisers; American Association of Advertising Agencies and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild, accounted for over 17 million days of idleness.

Chart 9. Largest work stoppages by days idle from 1993 to 2021

See table for chart 9 ▸

Table 9. Largest major work stoppages by days idle, 1993 - 2021
Organization(s) involved	State(s)	Area(s)	Ownership	Industry code	Union	Work stoppage beginning date	Work stoppage ending date	Number of workers	Days idle, cumulative for this work stoppage
Marine Towing and Transportation Employers' Association & International Longshoremen's Association	NY	New York	Private Industry	488330	International Longshoremen's Association	2/16/1988	12/20/1993	2,500	2,879,500
General Motors Corp. & United Automobile Workers	Interstate		Private Industry	3361	United Automobile Workers	6/5/1998	7/29/1998	152,200	3,313,000
Caterpillar, Inc. & United Automobile Workers	IL, MI, PA, CO	Multiple States	Private Industry	3331	United Automobile Workers	6/20/1994	12/3/1995	14,000	4,063,000
Albertsons, Ralphs, and Vons Markets & United Food and Commercial Workers & United Food and Commercial Workers	CA	Southern CA	Private Industry	445110	United Food and Commercial Workers	10/12/2003	2/29/2004	67,300	5,718,100
Association of National Advertisers; American Association of Advertising Agencies & American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild	AR, MA, IL, OH, TX, CO, NV, NM, UT, MI, FL, GA, HI, MN, MO, TN, NC, PA, OR, CA, WA, DC, MD	Multiple States	Private Industry	54181	American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild	5/1/2000	10/30/2000	135,000	17,280,000
Footnotes: ^[1] The number of workers decreased to 2,000 in December 1989, and to 1,600 in December 1990. ^[2] Excludes Canada and Mexico. ^[3] Number of workers involved decreased from initial 14,000 to 11,000 as 3,000 returned to work by 06/27/1994.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program.