Strikes more than double in 2022, with workers exerting leverage in tight labor market
CBSAPR 2023
Approval ratings of labor unions are at their highest among Americans for almost six decades. As stoppages become more common — and it becomes clearer that engaging in collective activity gains workers more leverage to improve their conditions and pay — labor organization will only spread and power will become more equitably distributed between employers and employees.
While there has been a rise in stoppages following the pandemic, the levels seen today are nowhere near the scale of the 1960s and '70s. The strikes may also be short-lived, as SCOTUS appears poised to open the door for businesses to sue workers over any strike that causes economic damage to the employer in Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters. The significance of this trend should not be overstated just yet.