March 25, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Decrease in major work stoppages in 2001

There were 29 major work stoppages that began in 2001, down from 39 in 2000.

[Chart data—TXT]

Of the major work stoppages beginning in 2001, 24 were in the private sector; the remainder occurred in State and local government. In the private sector, 13 stoppages occurred in goods-producing industries, including 8 in construction. Eleven stoppages occurred in service- producing industries, including six in the health care services industry. Of the five stoppages in the public sector, four were in education.

Three work stoppages beginning in 2001 accounted for more than two-fifths of all workers idled. The first was between the State of Minnesota and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, which jointly represented 24,900 State government employees who went on strike for 14 days. The other two stoppages included a 19-day strike at the State of Hawaii's Department of Education by 12,400 workers represented by the National Education Association and a 1-day stoppage at Seattle public schools involving 6,900 workers, also represented by the National Education Association.

These data are a product of the BLS Collective Bargaining Agreements Program. Learn more about work stoppages from news release USDL 02-153, "Major Work Stoppages, 2001." Major work stoppages are defined as strikes or lockouts that idle 1,000 or more workers and last at least one shift.