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The Bureau of Labor Statistics has collected information on work stoppages in the U.S. through a few publications dating back to the 1880s. Starting with 1947, the Work Stoppages program captured stoppages involving 6 workers or more lasting at least one full shift or day. Beginning in 1982, the program limited its scope to capture major work stoppages. Major work stoppages are defined as any stoppage that involves 1,000 or more workers and lasts for at least one full work shift.
An annual listing summarizing major work stoppages from 1947-present is maintained, and additional resources and historical publications are available in the Work Stoppages Resources section at the end of this factsheet.
Before we take a look at the work stoppages of the 1950s, let’s consider the economy as a whole. During this time period, the economy grew by 37%, and purchasing power rose by 30%. Unemployment remained relatively low throughout the 50s and the prevalence of unions grew across the country. There were some notable work stoppages that took place during this time period. One of which was the Kohler strike that began in 1954 and would last for around 11 years. Another notable stoppage was the 1959 Steel Strike. This stoppage involved 519,000 workers and was one of the largest stoppages in American history.
As mentioned previously, the work stoppages program changed the scope of included stoppages from “all work stoppages” (those with at least 6 workers involved), to “major work stoppages” (those with 1,000 or more workers involved) in 1982. Across the 1950s, the lowest number of all work stoppages was recorded in 1954 with 3,468 stoppages recorded. 1959 saw the lowest number of major work stoppages with 245 stoppages recorded that met the criteria. The following chart displays the total number of work stoppages beginning each year from 1950-1959 for each criteria of work stoppage.
Year | All work stoppages | Major work stoppages |
---|---|---|
1950 |
4,843 | 424 |
1951 |
4,737 | 415 |
1952 |
5,117 | 470 |
1953 |
5,091 | 437 |
1954 |
3,468 | 265 |
1955 |
4,320 | 363 |
1956 |
3,825 | 287 |
1957 |
3,673 | 279 |
1958 |
3,694 | 332 |
1959 |
3,708 | 245 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Work Stoppages Program |
While there is a specific threshold for capturing work stoppages, the specific number of workers for each stoppage is also recorded. It can be consistently seen that the majority of work stoppages in the US involve fewer than 250 workers. While some stoppages can involve over 10,000 workers, these are a small portion of the total number of stoppages that occur. 1952 had 35 recorded stoppages involving 10,000 or more workers, which was the most of any year across the 1950s. Chart 2 breaks out stoppages for a few ranges based on the number of workers involved.
Year | 10,000 or more | 1,000-9,999 | 500-999 | 250-499 | <250 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 |
22 | 402 | 950 | 576 | 3469 |
1951 |
19 | 396 | 433 | 589 | 3715 |
1952 |
35 | 435 | 411 | 691 | 4015 |
1953 |
28 | 409 | 402 | 645 | 4044 |
1954 |
18 | 247 | 235 | 358 | 2875 |
1955 |
26 | 337 | 304 | 481 | 3535 |
1956 |
12 | 275 | 254 | 468 | 3103 |
1957 |
13 | 266 | 254 | 417 | 3002 |
1958 |
21 | 311 | 234 | 371 | 3089 |
1959 |
20 | 225 | 252 | 380 | 3076 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Work Stoppages Program |
In addition to the number of workers involved, the duration of each stoppage is also published. The duration of a stoppage is recorded as the number of calendar days the stoppage lasted. Chart 3 provides the total number of stoppages with durations of various ranges of days. The data is the sum of all stoppages between 1950-1959, except for stoppages beginning in 1952 as the duration data was not available.
Days | Stoppages |
---|---|
1 |
4,660 |
2-3 |
6,103 |
4-6 |
5,470 |
7-14 |
7,936 |
15-29 |
5,989 |
30-59 |
4,270 |
60-89 |
1,526 |
90+ |
1,424 |
Note: Historic data for stoppage length was not available for 1952. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Work Stoppages Program |
The Work Stoppages program publishes “days of idleness” which captures the total number of man-days lost due to stoppages. This is calculated by combining the number of workers involved and the number of calendar days the stoppage lasted. Chart 4 shows the number of days idled each year from 1950-1959. The days of idleness spiked in both 1952 and 1959 without corresponding spikes in the number of total stoppages those years. In both cases, this is due in large part to the US Steel Strikes that occurred in those years. In 1952, the Steel Strike involved 560,000 workers participating and lasted 59 days. The 1959 Steel Strike involved 519,000 workers in a stoppage lasting 116 days.
Year | Days of idleness |
---|---|
1950 |
38,800 |
1951 |
22,900 |
1952 |
59,100 |
1953 |
28,300 |
1954 |
22,600 |
1955 |
28,200 |
1956 |
33,100 |
1957 |
16,500 |
1958 |
23,900 |
1959 |
69,000 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Work Stoppages Program |
Work stoppages data is published monthly. Up until now, we have only considered what year a stoppage begins in, but next we will organize the data by the month the stoppage began in. In chart 5, the number of stoppages for each month have been added together for the 1950-1959 time period showing that stoppages seem to peak in the warmer months.
Month | Stoppages |
---|---|
January |
2,831 |
February |
2,651 |
March |
3,166 |
April |
4,015 |
May |
4,581 |
June |
4,339 |
July |
4,325 |
August |
4,493 |
September |
4,152 |
October |
3,884 |
November |
2,538 |
December |
1,501 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Work Stoppages Program |
Most of the work stoppages during the 1950s involve just a single establishment, however some stoppages are nationwide and can include over 100 establishments. The 1959 Steel Strike alone spanned across more than 57 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and involved over 470 establishments with participating workers. Chart 6 displays the number of stoppages by the number of establishments involved throughout the 50s. The data in the chart is the sum of all stoppages between 1950-1959, except for stoppages beginning in 1951 as the data by establishment was not available.
Establishments | Stoppages |
---|---|
1 |
28,502 |
2-5 |
4,721 |
6-10 |
1,535 |
11+ |
2,846 |
Note: Historic data for establishments involved was not available for 1951. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Work Stoppages Program |
For more information on the Work Stoppages program see the Questions and Answers page. Detailed data on work stoppages from 1950 to 1959 are available in the historical bulletins: