February 25, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Work stoppages at 53-year low

Seventeen major work stoppages began in 1999, the lowest number in the 53-year history of the series.

[Chart data—TXT]

Of the 17 major work stoppages beginning in 1999, 12 were in the private sector; the remainder occurred in State and local government, all in educational services. In the private sector, seven stoppages occurred in goods-producing industries and five occurred in service-producing industries.

There were three stoppages that each idled more than 10,000 workers. In Atlantic City, 12,000 workers represented by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union struck various casino hotels for 2 days. The other large stoppages involved 11,000 teachers in various school districts in the State of Washington and 11,000 teachers in Detroit, Mich.

These data are a product of the BLS Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, Collective Bargaining Agreements. Learn more about work stoppages from news release USDL 00-51, "Major Work Stoppages, 1999." Major work stoppages are defined as strikes or lockouts that idle 1,000 or more workers and last at least one shift.