No More 10 Minute Breaks: Why Workers Are Striking Less Than Ever

Strikes by workers demanding higher pay or better treatment have been dwindling for multiple decades. Last year, they were nearly obsolete.

In 2017, there were seven strikes or lockouts involving at least 1,000 employees, the second lowest annual tally for records dating back to 1947, the Labor Department said Friday. The lowest annual tally came in 2009, when there were five major work stoppages.

The number of work stoppages has declined sharply since the the 1970s. From 2008 to 2017, there were 129 strikes or employer lockouts involving more than 1,000 workers, for an average of 13 major work stoppages annually in the decade. That pace is sharply below the overall annual average since 1947 of 162 a year.

Since 2008, there has been an average of 13 major work stoppages annually.

A major force driving down the number of strikes is the declining strength of unions, said Gary Chaison, professor of industrial relations at Clark University.

“The all-time low in the number of work stoppages is a result of a new militancy by employers in bargaining and a willingness of the public to break strikes [and] to provide striker replacements,” Mr. Chaison said.

The share of American workers in unions was 10.7% last year, about half of the share in 1983.

One major impediment to stoppages, Mr. Chaison noted, is globalization.

Unions know “if they go on strike, it may provide the impetus for the employer to shift production overseas,” Mr. Chaison said.

The unemployment rate is hovering at a 17-year low, meaning the supply of workers available to replace employees on strike is dwindling. But worker stoppages still remain low, pointing to a disconnect between the theory that a tight labor market should encourage union strikes and actual labor union behavior we’re seeing, Mr. Chaison said.

Major work stoppages beginning in 2017 resulted in about 25,000 idled workers, also the second lowest annual number idled since 1947.

The 2017 stoppages led to about 440,000 days of idle work, down sharply from the previous year’s 1.54 million idle days, which was boosted by the Communications Workers of America union strike against Verizon Communications.

The largest major work stoppage by number of workers last year involved AT&T Inc. and Communications Workers of America, with 13,200 workers. Another major stoppage in the information industry occurred between Charter Communications Inc. and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union.

Three of the seven the major stoppages involved government employees in California. Workers struck against City of Oakland, the Riverside County Municipal Government and the University of California.

Labor Department Taps Executives, Union Officials for Apprentice Program (Oct. 16, 2017)

There Were Fewer Worker Strikes and Lockouts in the Past Decade Than Used to Happen Every Year (Feb. 10, 2017)

from Real Time Economics http://ift.tt/2EtszSF