Information: USDL 05-598 (202) 691-6127 cbainfo@bls.gov Media Contact: For Release: 10:00 A.M. EDT (202) 691-5902 Friday, April 8, 2005 Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/cba MAJOR WORK STOPPAGES IN 2004 The number of workers idled because of lockouts and strikes in 2004 rose from the prior year while the number of days of idleness fell. As a result, the percent of estimated working time lost remained roughly the same as in 2003, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. These figures were still low by historical standards. Seventeen major work stoppages began during 2004 and one major work stoppage continued from 2003, idling 170,700 workers and resulting in 3.3 million workdays of idleness. Comparable figures for 2003 were 14 stoppages, 129,200 workers idled, and 4.1 million workdays of idleness. (See Tables 1 & 3 and Charts A-C.) The major work stoppages series, which dates back to 1947, covers strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 or more employees and lasting at least one shift. For work stoppages that span two different calendar years, only those days of idleness in calendar year 2004 are counted. Detailed work stoppage statistics are available at (http://www.bls.gov/cba/). Of the 17 major work stoppages beginning in 2004, 14 were in private industry and three were in State and local governments. In private industry, the largest number of stoppages occurred among the service providing industries (seven) and among the manufacturing sector of the goods producing industries (three). Of the stoppages occurring in the service providing industries, four were in the health care and social assistance sector and three were in the accommodation and food service sector. In State and local governments, two stoppages were in the transportation and warehousing sector and one was in the health care and social assistance sector. Four work stoppages, three beginning in 2004 and one that began in 2003, accounted for 83 percent of all workers idled in 2004. The largest was between SBC Communications, Inc. and the Communications Workers of America (CWA), with 102,000 workers idled. The second largest, the stoppage that began in 2003 and continued into 2004, was between Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, Vons and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), with 61,300 workers idled. The third largest was a stoppage between the Home Health Care Agencies in New York City and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which idled 19,000 workers. The fourth largest was a stoppage between the Hotel and Casino Employers in Atlantic City and UNITE HERE, which idled 10,000 workers. These four work stoppages cited above were responsible for 85 percent of the days of idleness in 2004. (See Table 2.) The industries with the most days of idleness during the year due to work stoppages were retail trade (2,447,900 days) and other services (747,700 days). The average length of a work stoppage beginning in 2004 was 14.6 days; 83 percent of all work stoppages lasted 30 days or less. (See Table A.) The longest work stoppage was a dispute between the Automobile Dealers Association in St. Louis, MO, with the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and the International Brother of Teamsters (IBT) lasting 52 days. The dispute between Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, Vons and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) lasted 39 days in 2004 and 56 days in 2003, for a combined 95-day work stoppage (this work stoppage is represented in Table A for 2003 because it was initiated in 2003). There were two major work stoppages still in effect on December 31, 2004: a work stoppage between Ormet and United Steel Workers of America (USWA) and a work stoppage between Jersey Central Power and Light and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Table A. Duration of work stoppages beginning in 2004, 2003, and 2002 2004 2003 2002 Duration Number Per- Number Per- Number Per- cent cent cent 1-2 days 3 18 1 7 2 11 3-10 days 6 35 6 43 4 21 11-20 days 3 18 1 7 4 21 21-30 days 2 12 2 14 3 16 31-40 days 2 12 1 7 2 11 41-50 days 0 0 1 7 3 16 > 50 days 1 6 2 14 1 5 Note: Percent totals may not add to 100 because of rounding. The 2003 and 2002 numbers represent the total duration of all work stoppages initiated during these respective years. The 2004 numbers represent work stoppages initiated in 2004; at the time of this news release, there are two work stoppages still ongoing in 2005. The term "major work stoppage" includes both worker- initiated strikes and employer-initiated lockouts that involve 1,000 workers or more. BLS does not distinguish between strikes and lockouts in its statistics. Information on work stoppages is obtained from reports from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, State labor market information offices, and from media sources such as The Daily Labor Report and the Wall Street Journal. One or both parties involved in the work stoppage (employer or union) is contacted to verify the duration of and the number of workers idled by the stoppage. Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2004 Number of Days idle(2) work Numbers of stoppages workers Period beginning involved Percent of in (thousands) Number estimated period (1) (thousands) working time(3) 2004... ...... 17 171 3,344 .01 2003... ...... 14 129 4,091 .01 2002..... .... 19 46 660 (4) 2001... ...... 29 99 1,151 (4) 2000... ...... 39 394 20,419 .06 1999.... ..... 17 73 1,996 .01 1998.... ..... 34 387 5,116 .02 1997.......... 29 339 4,497 .01 1996.......... 37 273 4,889 .02 1995.......... 31 192 5,771 .02 1994.......... 45 322 5,021 .02 1993.......... 35 182 3,981 .01 1992.......... 35 364 3,989 .01 1991.......... 40 392 4,584 .02 1990.......... 44 185 5,926 .02 1989.......... 51 452 16,996 .07 1988.......... 40 118 4,381 .02 1987.......... 46 174 4,481 .02 1986.......... 69 533 11,861 .05 1985.......... 54 324 7,079 .03 1984.......... 62 376 8,499 .04 1983.......... 81 909 17,461 .08 1982.......... 96 656 9,061 .04 1981.......... 145 729 16,908 .07 1980.......... 187 795 20,844 .09 1979.......... 235 1,021 20,409 .09 1978.......... 219 1,006 23,774 .11 1977.......... 298 1,212 21,258 .10 1976.......... 231 1,519 23,962 .12 1975.......... 235 965 17,563 .09 1974.......... 424 1,796 31,809 .16 1973.......... 317 1,400 16,260 .08 1972.......... 250 975 16,764 .09 1971.......... 298 2,516 35,538 .19 1970.......... 381 2,468 52,761 .29 See footnotes at end of table. Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2004 - Continued Number of Days idle(2) work Numbers of stoppages workers Period beginning involved Percent of in (thousands) Number estimated period (1) (thousands) working time(3) 1969.......... 412 1,576 29,397 .16 1968.......... 392 1,855 35,367 .20 1967.......... 381 2,192 31,320 .18 1966.......... 321 1,300 16,000 .10 1965.......... 268 999 15,140 .10 1964.......... 246 1,183 16,220 .11 1963.......... 181 512 10,020 .07 1962.......... 211 793 11,760 .08 1961.......... 195 1,031 10,140 .07 1960.......... 222 896 13,260 .09 1959.......... 245 1,381 60,850 .43 1958.......... 332 1,587 17,900 .13 1957.......... 279 887 10,340 .07 1956.......... 287 1,370 26,840 .20 1955.......... 363 2,055 21,180 .16 1954.......... 265 1,075 16,630 .13 1953.......... 437 1,623 18,130 .14 1952.......... 470 2,746 48,820 .38 1951.......... 415 1,462 15,070 .12 1950.......... 424 1,698 30,390 .26 1949.......... 262 2,537 43,420 .38 1948.......... 245 1,435 26,127 .22 1947.......... 270 1,629 25,720 (5) 1 Number of workers involved includes only those workers who participated in work stoppages that began in the calendar year. Workers are counted more than once if they are involved in more than one stoppage during the reference period. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. 2 Days idle includes all stopages in effect during the reference period. For work stoppages that are still ongoing at the end of the calendar year, only those days of idleness in the calendar year are counted. 3 Agricultural and government employees are included in the calculation of estimated working time; private households, forestry, and fishery employees are excluded. 4 Less than .005. 5 Data not available. Note: "Number of workers involved" in Table 1 reflects a tabulation of workers involved in a work stoppage that began in a specific year. "Number of workers involved" in Table 3 reflects a tabulation of all workers involved in a work stoppage in that year without making the distinction of when the work stoppage was initiated. Table 2. Work stoppages involving 5,000 or more workers beginning in 2004 Organizations involved Industry Beginning Ending and location(1) code(2) date date American Axle and Manufacturing, Inc MI and NY United Auto Workers (UAW)........ 334350 2/26/04 2/26/04 SBC Communications, Inc. Nationwide Communications Workers of America (CWA)................. 517110 5/21/04 5/24/04 Home Health Care Agencies New York, NY Service Employees International Union (SEIU)....... 621610 6/7/04 6/9/04 City of New York New York, NY American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSME)............................. 664410 6/9/04 6/11/04 Hotel and Casino Employees Atlantic City, NJ UNITE HERE....................... 721120 10/1/04 11/3/04 Sutter Health San Francisco, CA Service Employees International Union (SEIU)....... 622110 12/6/04 12/10/04 See footnotes at end of table. Table 2. Work stoppages involving 5,000 or more workers beginning in 2004 - Continued Organizations involved Number of Days idle and location(1) workers(3) American Axle and Manufacturing, Inc MI and NY United Auto Workers (UAW)....... 6,700 6,700 SBC Communications, Inc. Nationwide Communications Workers of America (CWA).............. 102,000 204,000 Home Health Care Agencies New York, NY Service Employees International Union (SEIU)... 19,000 57,000 City of New York New York, NY American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSME)........................... 7,000 21,000 Hotel and Casino Employees Atlantic City, NJ UNITE HERE................... 10,000 230,000 Sutter Health San Francisco, CA Service Employees International Union (SEIU)... 7,000 35,000 1 Labor organizations are affiliated with the AFL-CIO except where noted as Independent (Ind.). 2 Industry code is from the 2002 NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). 3 The number of workers involved is rounded to the nearest 100. Table 3. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, detailed monthly data, 2004, 2003, and 2002 Number of Number of work work Numbers of stoppages stoppages workers Days idle Period beginning in involved (thousands) in effect (thousands) (3) period during (2) period(1) 2004: January...... 0 1 61 1204 February..... 1 2 67 1147 March........ 1 1 2 44 April............. 0 1 2 26 May............... 2 2 103 204 June............. 3 4 29 94 July............ 0 1 2 3 August............ 2 2 4 53 September........ 2 3 7 57 October........ 1 3 16 300 November........ 2 4 17 115 December........ 3 4 11 98 Annual............ 17 (4) 320 3344 2003: January........... 1 2 19 49 February........ 0 0 0 0 March........... 2 2 4 19 April............ 1 1 4 40 May.............. 1 1 1 8 June.............. 1 1 4 16 July...............0 1 4 12 August............ 3 3 8 36 September......... 0 2 3 51 October............5 5 82 1169 November...........0 3 77 1219 December...........0 2 71 1473 Annual............14 (4) 277 4091 2002: January............0 1 1 21 February...........1 2 3 9 March..............1 1 3 44 April..............2 3 7 81 May................3 5 9 138 June...............1 3 5 36 July...............3 4 8 54 August.............1 3 6 51 September..........3 3 14 40 October............1 3 14 133 November...........2 2 4 24 See footnotes at end of table Table 3. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, detailed monthly data, 2004, 2003, and 2002 - Continued Number of Number of work work Numbers of stoppages stoppages workers Days idle Period beginning in involved (thousands) in effect (thousands) (3) period during (2) period(1) 2002: December...........1 1 1 29 Annual............19 (4) 75 660 1 Includes stoppages that began in prior months and are still active. 2 Includes ongoing work stoppages. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. 3 Days idle includes all stoppages ongoing during the reference period. 4 This column includes all work stoppages ongoing during the month. If a work stoppage continues longer than one month, it will be counted in each of the months. Note: "Number of workers involved" in Table 1 reflects a tabulation of workers involved in a work stoppage that began in a specific year. "Number of workers involved" in Table 3 reflects a tabulation of all workers involved in a work stoppage in that year without making the distinction of when the work stoppage was initiated.