Prior to 1982, the Bureau for Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on all work stoppages that involved at least six workers and lasted for a full shift or longer. Reagan-era budget cuts changed its methodology, and for the past four decades, the institution has only reported on work stoppages it considers “major” — those involving at least 1,000 workers.
An enormous amount of annual labor activity is left out of federal reporting as a result.
According to other BLS data, 60% of private sector employees in the U.S. work for companies with fewer than 1,000 employees, so the strike data that is available only reflects a minority of American workers.
To remedy that disparity, Cornell’s School for Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) published its first Labor Action Tracker Annual Report this week, which chronicled all strike activity across the country last year. The project is in part modeled on a similar project based in Hong Kong called the China Labour Bulletin, which has published its own map of work stoppages since 2011.
According to the report, there were 225 total work stoppages in 2021, with 24 involving 1,000 or more workers.
The Labor Action Tracker also collects information on more variables than the BLS does, including union membership, region, and the workplace issue(s) at stake. Common reasons for striking in 2021 included issues related to pay, health-care benefits, health and safety protocols, contract negotiations, and racial justice, among others.
There’s also…
