Number of American workers hitting the picket lines more than doubled last year as unions flexed

NEW YORK — Auto workers sparked waves of strikes. Hollywood actors and writers had been protesting for months. And workers in health care, education and hospitality also suspended work, calling for better pay and working conditions.

The number of striking American workers more than doubled last year. According to an annual report from the Labor Action Tracker, a collaboration between researchers at Cornell University and the University of Illinois, the number of people involved in work stoppages rose 141% in 2023 to a total of 539,000 striking workers – up from 224,000 in 2022.

This jump can largely be attributed to large, high-profile work stoppages, Thursday’s report notes. Strikes by unions such as United Auto Workers, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions and United Teachers Los Angeles accounted for nearly 65% ​​of striking workers.

Johnnie Kallas, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois who founded the Labor Action Tracker in 2021, noted that the U.S. hasn’t seen this many striking workers in years — and pointed to 2023’s strength in the private sector in particular.

“The last time about this many workers went on strike was in 2018 and 2019, sparked by teacher strikes,” Kallas said in a prepared statement. “But this year, the major strikes have been much more widespread across many private sector industries over the past year.”

The Labor Action Tracker documented 470 work stoppages last year (a 9% increase from 2022). This resulted in more than 24 million strike days for all workers involved.

The majority (62%) of all strikes last year lasted less than five days. But about half of the total number of striking workers in 2023 were on the picket line for more than a month, Thursday’s report showed.

“The strike has always been at the heart of bargaining power in the labor market,” said Alexander Colvin, dean of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. “This increase in strike action after many years of reduced activity signals a union resurgence that is shifting. the balance of power back to labor.”

Key demands from those taking part in the 2023 work stoppages included better wages, better health and safety and more staff. And the number of strikes and lockouts with an initial contract demand has more than doubled compared to 2022, the Labor Action Tracker shows.

According to Thursday’s report, accommodation and food services saw more work stoppages than any other sector last year, accounting for 33.4% of total strikes and lockouts. But the information industry had the highest number of striking workers and strike days – accounting for 34.5% of all striking workers and 83.8% of strike days.

Despite the spike in labor activity, union membership rates actually fell slightly last year. Last month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that 10% of salaried and hourly workers would be unionized by 2023 — an all-time low.

These figures show that the percentage of union members did not keep pace with the total workforce. Experts note that gains in organizing continue to be offset by growth in non-union employment, as well as losses in sectors with greater union involvement.