Full text of Major Work Stoppages : 2003 : USDL 04-418 : 2003
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News United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Information: (202) 691-5174 cbainfo@bls.gov Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 hoyle_k@bls.gov Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/cba Washington, D.C. 20212 USDL 04-418 For Release: 10:00 A.M. EST Friday, March 19, 2004 MAJOR WORK STOPPAGES IN 2003 The number of workers idled, the number of days of idleness, and the percent of estimated working time lost because of strikes and lockouts rose in 2003, but were still low by historical standards, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Fourteen major work stoppages began during the year, idling 129,200 workers and resulting in 4.1 million workdays of idleness (about 1 out of every 10,000 available workdays). Comparable figures for 2002 were 19 stoppages, 46,000 workers idled, and 660,000 days of idleness. (See table 1 and charts A-C.) The major work stoppages series, which dates back to 1947, covers strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 workers or more and lasting at least one shift. 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. Of the major work stoppages beginning in 2003, 12 were in private industry and two were in state and local government. In private industry, the largest number of stoppages occurred in the manufacturing sector (three) and in the retail trade sector (three). In state and local government, one stoppage was in the transportation and warehousing sector and one was in public administration. Five work stoppages beginning in 2003 accounted for 82 percent of all workers idled. The largest was between Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, and Vons and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), with 67,300 workers idled. The second largest was a stoppage between General Electric Company and the Communications Workers (IUE-CWA) and the United Electrical Workers (UE-Ind.) that idled 17,500 workers. The third was a stoppage between Dierbergs Markets, Schnucks, and Shop ‘n Save and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) that idled 10,200. The two work stoppages in state and local government were the next largest. A work stoppage between the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the United Transportation Union (UTU-Ind.) idled 6,200 workers while a work stoppage between The County of San Joaquin and the Service Employees (SEIU) idled 5,000 workers. (See table 2.) Industry sectors with the most days of idleness during the year due to work stoppages were retail trade (3,689,000 days), transportation and warehousing (178,700 days), and manufacturing (82,800 days). Nine-tenths of the year’s days of idleness stemmed from three major disputes, including the disputes between Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, and Vons and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) (3,374,200 days), between Dierbergs Markets, Schnucks, and Shop ‘n Save and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) (183,600 days), and between the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the United Transportation Union (UTU-Ind.) (148,800 days). The average length of work stoppages beginning in 2003 was 22 days, and 71 percent of all work stoppages lasted 30 days or less. The longest work stoppage was the dispute between Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, and Vons and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) that began on October 13 and was still in effect on December 31. It also was the only dispute in 2003 that lasted more than 50 days (See Table A.) Table A. Duration of work stoppages beginning in 2002 and 2003 2002 2003 Duration Number Percent Number Percent 1-2 days 2 11 1 7 3-10 days 4 21 6 43 11-20 days 5 26 1 7 21-30 days 3 16 2 14 31-40 days 1 5 2 14 41-50 days 3 16 1 7 Over 50 days 1 5 1 7 Note: Percent totals may not add to 100 because of rounding. The term "major work stoppage" includes both worker-initiated strikes and employerinitiated 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 and state labor market information offices and from media sources such as The Daily Labor Report and the Wall Street Journal. One or both of the parties involved in the work stoppage (employer, union, etc.) is then contacted to verify the duration of and the number of workers idled by the stoppage. 2 Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2003 Days idle2 Number of stoppages beginning in period Number of workers involved1 (thousands) Number (thousands) Percent of estimated working time3 1947 .............................. 1948 .............................. 1949 .............................. 270 245 262 1,629 1,435 2,537 25,720 26,127 43,420 (4) .22 .38 1950 .............................. 1951 .............................. 1952 .............................. 1953 .............................. 1954 .............................. 424 415 470 437 265 1,698 1,462 2,746 1,623 1,075 30,390 15,070 48,820 18,130 16,630 .26 .12 .38 .14 .13 1955 .............................. 1956 .............................. 1957 .............................. 1958 .............................. 1959 .............................. 363 287 279 332 245 2,055 1,370 887 1,587 1,381 21,180 26,840 10,340 17,900 60,850 .16 .20 .07 .13 .43 1960 .............................. 1961 .............................. 1962 .............................. 1963 .............................. 1964 .............................. 222 195 211 181 246 896 1,031 793 512 1,183 13,260 10,140 11,760 10,020 16,220 .09 .07 .08 .07 .11 1965 .............................. 1966 .............................. 1967 .............................. 1968 .............................. 1969 .............................. 268 321 381 392 412 999 1,300 2,192 1,855 1,576 15,140 16,000 31,320 35,367 29,397 .10 .10 .18 .20 .16 1970 .............................. 1971 .............................. 1972 .............................. 1973 .............................. 1974 .............................. 381 298 250 317 424 2,468 2,516 975 1,400 1,796 52,761 35,538 16,764 16,260 31,809 .29 .19 .09 .08 .16 1975 .............................. 1976 .............................. 1977 .............................. 1978 .............................. 1979 .............................. 235 231 298 219 235 965 1,519 1,212 1,006 1,021 17,563 23,962 21,258 23,774 20,409 .09 .12 .10 .11 .09 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 187 145 96 81 62 795 729 656 909 376 20,844 16,908 9,061 17,461 8,499 .09 .07 .04 .08 .04 1985 .............................. 1986 .............................. 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 1989 .............................. 54 69 46 40 51 324 533 174 118 452 7,079 11,861 4,481 4,381 16,996 .03 .05 .02 .02 .07 1990 .............................. 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 1994 .............................. 44 40 35 35 45 185 392 364 182 322 5,926 4,584 3,989 3,981 5,021 .02 .02 .01 .01 .02 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 1997 .............................. 1998 .............................. 31 37 29 34 192 273 339 387 5,771 4,889 4,497 5,116 .02 .02 .01 .02 Period See footnotes at end of table. 3 Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2003—Continued Period Number of stoppages beginning in period Number of workers involved1 (thousands) Days idle2 Number (thousands) Percent of estimated working time3 1999 .............................. 2000 .............................. 2001 .............................. 2002 .............................. 17 39 29 19 73 394 99 46 1,996 20,419 1,151 660 0.01 .06 (5) (5) 2003 .............................. January .............. February ............ March ................. April ................... May .................... June ................... July .................... August ............... September ......... October .............. November .......... December .......... 14 1 0 2 1 1 1 0 3 0 5 0 0 129.2 17.5 0 4.0 4.0 1.3 4.0 0 8.2 0 82.2 8.06 0 4091.2 48.8 0 18.5 40.0 7.8 16.0 12.0 35.9 51.3 1168.5 1219.0 1473.4 .01 (5) .00 (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) .04 .05 .05 1 Workers are counted more than once if they are involved in more than one stoppage during the reference period. 2 Days idle includes all stoppages 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 Data not available. 5 Less than .005. 6 Reflects an increase in the number of workers idled by a work stoppage in effect. 4 Table 2. Work stoppages involving 5,000 or more workers beginning in 2003 Industry code2 Beginning date Ending date Number of workers3 Days idle General Electric Company Communication Workers (IUE-CWA); United Electrical Workers (UE-Ind.) ........... 334612 1/14/03 1/15/03 17,500 35,000 The County of San Joaquin Stockton, CA Service Employees (SEIU) ........................ 921190 8/4/03 8/8/03 5,000 25,000 Dierbergs Markets, Schnucks, and Shop ’n Save St. Louis, MO United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) ..................................................... 445110 10/7/03 10/31/03 10,200 183,600 Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, and Vons Southern CA United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) ..................................................... 445110 10/12/03 (4) 67,3005 3,374,200 Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Los Angeles, CA United Transportation Union (UTU-Ind.) .................................................. 485111 10/14/03 11/17/03 6,200 148,800 Organizations involved and location1 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. 4 As of December 31, 2003, the work stoppage was still ongoing. 5 The number of workers idled on October 12, 2003 was 59,300; on November 24, 2003 the number increased to 67,300 and on December 23, 2003 the number decreased to 61,300. 5 Chart A. Number of major work stoppages, 1947-2003 Number of work stoppages 500 400 300 200 100 0 47 51 55 59 63 67 71 75 79 83 87 91 95 99 03 91 95 99 03 95 99 03 Chart B. Number of workers involved in major work stoppages, 1947-2003 Number of workers (thousands) 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 47 51 55 59 63 67 71 75 79 83 87 Chart C. Number of days of idleness from major work stoppages, 1947-2003 Days of idleness (thousands) 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 47 51 55 59 63 67 71 6 75 79 83 87 91