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The Prevalence of Strikes

Karen/flickr

When many of us were growing up, it was quite customary for someone to be on strike. Over time, the strike or work stoppage has become a rarely used instrument for labor unions to extract better treatment from employers or higher levels of compensation. According to data recently made available by the U.S. Labor Department, fewer major work stoppages occurred over the past ten years than occurred each year from 1947 to 1981.

As indicated by writer Eric Morath, from 2007 to 2016, there were 143 strikes or employer lockouts involving more than 1,000 workers. That ten-year total is less than the 70 year annual average of work stoppages, which stands at 164. The last year that there were more than 100 major work stoppages was 1981, which was the same year that President Ronald Reagan ordered striking air traffic controllers back to work. That order is widely considered a major blow to the labor movement and in the minds of many historians marks the beginning of a period of sharp decline in union power.  

Anirban Basu, Chariman Chief Executive Officer of Sage Policy Group (SPG), is one of the Mid-Atlantic region's leading economic consultants. Prior to founding SPG he was Chairman and CEO of Optimal Solutions Group, a company he co-founded and which continues to operate. Anirban has also served as Director of Applied Economics and Senior Economist for RESI, where he used his extensive knowledge of the Mid-Atlantic region to support numerous clients in their strategic decision-making processes. Clients have included the Maryland Department of Transportation, St. Paul Companies, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Players Committee and the Martin O'Malley mayoral campaign.