Number of striking US workers more than doubled last year, study shows
ABC News
Nearly 540,000 workers walked off the job in 2023, the report says.
The number of striking workers in the U.S. more than doubled last year due to massive work stoppages carried out by autoworkers, nurses and Hollywood writers and actors, according to a study released by Cornell University on Thursday.
The total number of striking workers climbed 141% in 2023, amounting to nearly 540,000 workers who walked off the job, the report found.
"This rise in strike action after many years of diminished activity indicates a union resurgence that is shifting the balance of power back toward labor," Alexander Colvin, dean of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, told ABC News in a statement.
Four large strikes accounted for more than half of the workers involved in work stoppages last year, the report said, pointing to multi-state campaigns among actors, autoworkers, healthcare employees, as well as an action carried out by school staff in Los Angeles.
SAG-AFTRA, a union representing roughly 160,000 actors, went out on strike for nearly 120 days, culminating in a 3-year contract that raised wages by roughly 14%.
