Teamsters local 570

Number of Workers on Strike Highest Since 1980s

Posted On: Oct 23, 2019

Oct. 23, 2019 | COLLECTIVE ACTION | With unemployment rates at record lows, the number of people who have gone on strike in the U.S. has soared. The number of striking workers ballooned to nearly 500,000 in 2018, up from about 25,000 in 2017, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the largest number of people who have walked out on work since the mid-1980s. As employment numbers have rapidly risen over the 10-year expansion, wages have struggled to keep up. And as the labor market tightens, workers are becoming more confident about striking for better salaries and benefits…CNBC