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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).
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.)
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. |
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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program. |