Strikes and Protests

Strikes, or coordinated cessations of labor to maximize pressure on employers during labor disputes, are one of the main forms of worker collective action. Strikes vary considerably in terms of duration, scope, and participation. Some aim at obtaining better wages, benefits, and working conditions; others attempt to prevent cuts in these and still others are motivated by political objectives. Strikes tend to be less frequent during economic downturns and other periods of high unemployment. Periods of economic recovery see more strike actions as workers attempt to make up ground lost earlier. Strikes are usually called by unions when negotiations fail to satisfy employee demands. Wildcat strikes are those conducted without the approval or against the wishes of union officials. The number of strikes has declined in recent years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) records strikes and work stoppages as well as the numbers involved in strikes. Strikes in private households, forestry, and fishery are not included. According to the BLS, “in 2011, there were 19 major strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 or more workers, compared to 2010 with 11 major work stoppages. The 19 major work stoppages idled 113,000 workers for 1.02 million lost workdays.”

The 1981 Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike saw the Ronald Reagan administration take on a union with the intent of destroying the organization. The defeat of the strike stimulated an assault by private employers against private-sector unions. In the years preceding the PATCO strike, the number of strikes per year had been steadily decreasing. There were 145 strikes in 1981, as opposed to 187 in 1980, 235 in 1979, and 219 in 1978. After PATCO, the number dropped precipitously, and the yearly decline in numbers of strikes accelerated. In 1982, the number of strikes dipped below 100 (96) for the first time since World War II. In 1983, only 81 strikes occurred, falling to 62 in 1984 and 54 in 1985. In 2009, the year following the subprime mortgage crisis and rising unemployment, there were only 15 strikes—the least since World War I. There were 19 strikes in 2011.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), passed in 1935, legalized strikes and picket lines under certain conditions. However, the scope of legal collective action by labor was significantly narrowed with the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. Taft-Hartley placed severe restrictions on strikes. The act allowed the president to seek a federal court injunction to prohibit or prevent the continuation of strikes. The president could request an 80-day “cooling-off” period during which the law prohibited strike action. The act also prohibited secondary boycotts—solidarity strikes held by workers not directly involved with the initial strike as a way to help workers in the primary strike.