# List of striking United States workers by year

Throughout the history of labor in the United States, many workers have gone on strike. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the predecessor organizations it cites, have kept track of the number of striking workers per year since 1881.
For data from 1881 to 1905 the Commissioner of Labor, then within the Department of Interior conducted four periodic surveys covering that period. The data is considered likely un-comprehensive but still used the same definition of strikes as later periods. For this era, all strikes with more than six workers or less than one day were excluded.$^{:2–3,36}$ No concrete data was collected for the amount of strikes from 1906 to 1913 federally.$^{:2-3,(8-9inpdf)}$
Data from 1915 to 1926 is more comprehensive. In 1915, the Bureau of Labor Statistics had formed a more systemized set of data collection. Data on the number of workers involved remained a rough estimate but more consistent.$^{:195,(203inpdf)}$ The data however also included strikes with fewer than six workers involved, likely leading to slightly higher worker estimates.$^{:36}$
Data from 1927 to 1981 is more detailed then the previous periods. In 1927, monthly and yearly strike reports by the department were implemented.$^{:203}$ Any strikes with fewer than six workers or lasting less than a day were excluded from data leading to marginally smaller estimates then the previous period.$^{:36}$ For strike numbers this change could pose issues, however for total worker estimates it is considered to only have small effects.$^{:36,(42inpdf)}$ Within this period, with the passing of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, the program was revamped under the work stoppage program, however the criteria remained largely identical.
Data from 1981 to present remains an underestimate of workers striking each year in comparison to all other periods. In February 1982, the BLS had to stop counting strikes with fewer than 1,000 workers, as budget cuts to its Division of Industrial Relations made it infeasible to count them any more.
| Year | Number of workers on strike by year | Strikes |
| 1881 | 130,176 | 1881 Atlanta washerwomen strike |
| 1882 | 158,802 | |
| 1883 | 170,275 | Camp Dump strike |
| 1884 | 165,175 | |
| 1885 | 258,129 | |
| 1886 | 610,024 | Great Southwest railroad strike of 1886 Bay View massacre Haymarket affair |
| 1887 | 439,306 | Thibodaux massacre (Sugar cane workers' strike) |
| 1888 | 162,880 | |
| 1889 | 260,290 | |
| 1890 | 373,499 | |
| 1891 | 329,953 | Cotton pickers' strike of 1891 Coal Creek War |
| 1892 | 238,685 | Homestead strike Coeur d'Alene labor strike Buffalo switchmen's strike |
| 1893 | 287,756 | |
| 1894 | 690,044 | Pullman Strike Bituminous coal miners' strike of 1894 Great Northern Railway strike Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894 |
| 1895 | 407,188 | |
| 1896 | 248,838 | Leadville miners' strike |
| 1897 | 416,154 | Lattimer massacre |
| 1898 | 263,219 | |
| 1899 | 431,889 | Weight Strike Coeur d'Alene labor confrontation Newsboys' strike |
| 1900 | 567,719 | 1900 Anthracite coal strike St. Louis streetcar strike of 1900 |
| 1901 | 563,843 | U.S. Steel recognition strike of 1901 |
| 1902 | 691,507 | Anthracite coal strike of 1902 |
| 1903 | 787,834 | Oxnard strike of 1903 Carbon County Strike Pacific Electric Railway strike of 1903 |
| 1904 | 573,815 | |
| 1905 | 302,434 | 1905 Chicago teamsters' strike |
| 1906 | Not measured | United Railroads Strike of 1906 by IBEW1245 in San Francisco 1906 GE sit-down strike (Schenectady, NY) |
| 1907 | Not measured | 1907 San Francisco streetcar strike Boston garment worker strike 1907 Skowhegan textile strike |
| 1908 | Not measured | Pensacola streetcar strike of 1908 |
| 1909 | Not measured | New York shirtwaist strike of 1909 Pressed Steel Car strike of 1909 Georgia Railroad strike |
| 1910 | Not measured | Clockmakers' strike 1910 Chicago garment workers' strike Westmoreland County coal strike of 1910–1911 Tampa cigar makers' strike of 1910–11 1910 Columbus streetcar strike Philadelphia general strike (1910) |
| 1911 | Not measured | Illinois Central shopmen's strike of 1911 1911 Grand Rapids furniture workers strike Louisiana-Texas Lumber War of 1911–1912 |
| 1912 | Not measured | 1912 Lawrence "Bread & Roses" textile strike 1912 New York City waiters' strike Paint Creek–Cabin Creek strike of 1912 Seattle Fishermen halibut strike of 1912 Chicago Newspaper strike of 1912 1912–1913 Little Falls textile strike |
| 1913 | Not measured | Colorado Coalfield War 1913 Paterson silk strike El Paso smelters' strike Indianapolis streetcar strike Copper Country strike of 1913–1914 |
| 1914 | Unavailable | 1914–1915 Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills strike |
| 1915 | Unavailable | Bayonne refinery strikes |
| 1916 | 1,559,917 | 1916 Atlanta streetcar strike 1916–1917 northern Minnesota lumber strike |
| 1917 | 1,227,254 | 1917 Twin Cities streetcar strike 1917 Bloomington Streetcar Strike |
| 1918 | 1,239,989 | |
| 1919 | 4,160,348 | 1919 Actors' Equity Association strike 1919 New York City Harbor Strike Boston cigar makers' strike of 1919 Los Angeles streetcar strike of 1919 Steel strike of 1919 UMW Coal Strike of 1919 1919 New England Textile Strike$^{:122}$ 1919 New York Longshoremen strike |
| 1920 | 1,463,054 | 1920 Alabama coal strike Denver streetcar strike |
| 1921 | 1,099,247 | |
| 1922 | 1,612,562 | Great Railroad Strike of 1922 UMW General coal strike (1922) 1922 New England Textile Strike Portland Waterfront strike, 1922 |
| 1923 | 756,584 | 1923 San Pedro maritime strike |
| 1924 | 654,641 | |
| 1925 | 428,416 |
| 1926 | 329,592 | 1926 Passaic textile strike |
| 1927 | 329,939 | 1927 Indiana bituminous strike 1927–1928 Colorado Coal Strike |
| 1928 | 314,210 | 1928 New Bedford textile strike Cantaloupe strike of 1928 |
| 1929 | 288,572 | Loray Mill strike 1929 New Orleans streetcar strike |
| 1930 | 182,975 | Imperial Valley lettuce strike |
| 1931 | 341,817 | Santa Clara cannery strike Ybor City cigar makers' strike of 1931 |
| 1932 | 324,210 | Century Airlines pilots' strike Vacaville tree pruners' strike |
| 1933 | 1,168,272 | 1933 Detroit auto strike California agricultural strikes of 1933 1933 Wisconsin milk strike 1933 Yakima Valley strike El Monte berry strike of 1933 Los Angeles Garment Workers strike of 1933 Santa Clara cherry strike of 1933 |
| 1934 | 1,466,695 | Textile workers' strike (1934) 1934 West Coast waterfront strike Auto-Lite strike Minneapolis general strike 1934 New York Hotel Strike 1934–35 Milwaukee sales clerks' strike 1934 Kohler strike Hardin County onion pickers strike New York Shipbuilding strike Salinas Lettuce strike of 1934 |
| 1935 | 1,117,213 | Pacific Northwest lumber strike 1935 Gulf Coast longshoremen's strike |
| 1936 | 788,648 | Flint sit-down strike SS California strike Gulf Coast maritime workers' strike Remington Rand strike of 1936–1937 1936 Seattle Post-Intelligencer strike Citrus Strike of 1936 |
| 1937 | 1,860,62 | Little Steel strike Lewiston–Auburn shoe strike Fleischer Studios strike 1937 New York City department store strikes Pennsylvania chocolate workers' strike, 1937 Stockton cannery strike of 1937 |
| 1938 | 688,000 | 1938 San Antonio pecan shellers strike 1938 New York City truckers strike |
| 1939 | 1,171,000 | Tool and die strike of 1939 Chrysler Auto Strike |
| 1940 | 576,988 | |
| 1941 | 2,362,620 | Disney animators' strike |
| 1942 | 840,000 | 1942-43 musicians' strike |
| 1943 | 1,981,279 | |
| 1944 | 2,116,000 | Philadelphia Transit Strike Port Chicago mutiny |
| 1945 | 3,467,000 | United Auto Workers strike of 1945–1946 Hollywood Black Friday |
| 1946 | 4,600,000 | 1946 Steel Strike 1946 UMW Mine Strike 1946 Rail Strike 1946 United Electrical GE strike 1945–1946 Charleston Cigar Factory strike |
| 1947 | 2,170,000 | Telephone Strike |
| 1948 | 1,960,000 | 1948 US Meatpacking strike 1948 Caterpillar strike Boeing Strike of 1948 Goodyear strike 1948 Miami Garment workers strike |
| 1949 | 3,030,000 | 1949 New York City brewery strike Puget Sound fishermen's strike of 1949 1949 Calvary Cemetery strike |
| 1950 | 2,410,000 | Atlanta transit strike of 1950 |
| 1951 | 2,220,000 | 1951 Caterpillar strike 1951 Aliquippa steelworkers strike |
| 1952 | 3,540,000 | 1952 steel strike |
| 1953 | 2,400,000 | 1953 Milwaukee brewery strike |
| 1954 | 1,530,000 | |
| 1955 | 2,650,000 | |
| 1956 | 1,900,000 | |
| 1957 | 1,390,000 | 1957 Western Electric strike 1957 Long Island strike |
| 1958 | 2,060,000 | |
| 1959 | 1,880,000 | Steel strike of 1959 |
| 1960 | 1,320,000 | 1960 Writers Guild of America strike |
| 1961 | 1,450,000 | |
| 1962 | 1,230,000 | 1962 New York City newspaper strike |
| 1963 | 941,000 | |
| 1964 | 1,640,000 | 1964–1965 Scripto strike |
| 1965 | 1,550,000 | |
| 1966 | 1,960,000 | 1966 New York City transit strike Texas farm workers' strike St. John's University strike of 1966–67 |
| 1967 | 2,870,000 | 1967 US Railroad strike 1967 US truckers strike November 1967 General Motors strike 1967 Caterpillar strike September 1967 General Motors strike |
| 1968 | 2,649,000 | New York City Teacher's Strike of 1968 Florida statewide teachers' strike of 1968 Chrysler wildcat strike Memphis sanitation strike St. Petersburg, FL sanitation strike 1968 NFL strike/lockout |
| 1969 | 2,481,000 | |
| 1970 | 3,305,000 | 1970 General Motors Strike U.S. Postal Service strike of 1970 Salad Bowl strike 1970 Southern California construction strike 1970 US truckers strike |
| 1971 | 3,279,600 | 1971 Longshore strike 1971 Rail strike 1971 Telephone strike 1971 Bituminous coal strike 1971 Northern and Central California construction strikes 1971 International Harvester strike |
| 1972 | 1,713,600 | |
| 1973 | 2,250,700 | 1973 Chrysler strike 1973 Pennsylvania Central Transportation strike 1973 Caterpillar strike 1973 Chicago teachers strike 1973 Philadelphia teachers strike 1973 Detroit teachers strike 1973 Cleveland teachers strike |
| 1974 | 2,777,700 | Bituminous Coal Strike of 1974 1974 NFL strike |
| 1975 | 1,745,600 |
| 1976 | 2,420,000 |
| 1977 | 2,040,100 | 1977 Atlanta sanitation strike Bituminous Coal Strike of 1977–1978 1977–78 Coors strike |
| 1978 | 1,779,800 | 1978 New York City newspaper strike |
| 1979 | 1,727,100 | 1979 Boston University strike |
| 1980 | 1,366,000 | 1980 actors strike |
| 1981 | 728,900 | Air traffic controllers' strike 1981 Writers Guild of America strike 1981 Schlitz strike 1981 Major League Baseball strike |
| 1982 | 655,800 | 1982 garment workers' strike 1982 animators' strike 1982 NFL strike |
| 1983 | 909,400 | 1983 AT&T strike 1983 Arizona copper mine strike 1983 Greyhound Bus Lines strike in Seattle |
| 1984 | 376,000 |
| 1985 | 323,900 | 1985 Pan Am strike 1985 Major League Baseball strike 1985–1986 Hormel strike 1985–1986 New Bedford fishermen's strike 1985–1987 Watsonville Cannery strike |
| 1986 | 533,100 | Guilford Transportation Industries railroad workers' strike Major Indoor Soccer League lockout |
| 1987 | 174,400 | International Paper strike 1987 NFL strike |
| 1988 | 118,300 | 1988 Writers Guild of America strike 1989 200,000 New England Telephone Company 17 weeks |
| 1989 | 452,100 | Pittston Coal strike |
| 1990 | 184,900 | 1990 Major League Baseball lockout |
| 1991 | 392,000 |
| 1992 | 363,800 | Southern California drywall strike 1992 CSX railroad strike 1992 NHL strike |
| 1993 | 181,900 |
| 1994 | 322,200 | 1994 US truckers strike 1994 Caterpillar strike San Francisco newspaper strike of 1994 1994–95 NHL lockout 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike |
| 1995 | 191,500 | 1995 Boeing Strike 1995 NBA lockout Detroit newspaper strike of 1995–1997 |
| 1996 | 272,700 | 1996 General Motors Strike 1996 NBA lockout |
| 1997 | 338,600 | 1997 UPS Strike |
| 1998 | 386,800 | 1998 General Motors strike 1998 Bell Atlantic strike 1998–99 NBA lockout |
| 1998 | 72,600 |
| 2000 | 393,700 | 2000 commercial actors strike Verizon strike of 2000 2000 L.A. County Workers Strike |
| 2001 | 99,100 | |
| 2002 | 45,900 | |
| 2003 | 129,200 | 2003 Broadway musicians strike Southern California supermarket strike of 2003–2004 2003 Hospitality Congress Plaza Hotel strike |
| 2004 | 170,700 | 2004 SBC Communications workers strike 2004–05 NHL lockout |
| 2005 | 99,600 | 2005 New York City transit strike |
| 2006 | 70,100 | University of Miami Justice for Janitors campaign |
| 2007 | 189,200 | 2007 General Motors strike 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike 2007–2008 CBS News writers strike 2007 Orange County transit strike 2007 Freightliner wildcat strike 2007 Broadway Stagehand Strike Hayward teachers strike |
| 2008 | 72,200 | Boeing Machinists Strike of 2008 |
| 2009 | 12,500 |
| 2010 | 44,500 | 2010 Georgia prison strike 2010 Major League Soccer lockout/strike |
| 2011 | 112,500 | 2011 Verizon Strike 2011 NBA lockout 2011 NFL lockout |
| 2012 | 148,100 | 2012 Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach strike 2012 NFL referee lockout 2012–13 NHL lockout |
| 2013 | 54,500 |
| 2014 | 34,300 | Tacoma nurses strike 2014 |
| 2015 | 47,300 | 2015 United Steel Workers Oil Refinery strike 2015 Kohler strike |
| 2016 | 99,400 | 2016 Verizon workers' strike 2016–2017 video game voice actor strike |
| 2017 | 25,300 | |
| 2018 | 485,200 | 2018 University of California Medical Centers Strike Marriott Hotels strike 2018 DeKalb County School District bus drivers' strike 2018 Alabama Coca-Cola strike 2018 Atlanta sanitation strike 2018 Taylorsville Georgia-Pacific strike 2018–2019 education workers' strikes in the United States |
| 2019 | 425,500 | 2019 General Electric strike 2019 Stop & Shop strike 2019 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers' strike 2019 AT&T strike Wright State University 2019 faculty strike 2019 Alaska ferry workers' strike |
| 2020 | 27,000 | 2020 Bath shipbuilders strike 2020 Michigan graduate students strike 2020 University of Illinois Hospital strikes 2020 Santa Cruz graduate students' strike 2020 New Orleans sanitation strike 2020–2021 Alabama aluminum plant strike |
| 2021 | 80,700 | 2021 Washington state carpenters strike 2021 John Deere strike 2021 Columbia University strike 2021 Virginia Volvo Trucks strike 2021 New York University strike 2021 Mercy Hospital strike 2021 Kellogg's strike 2021 Hunts Point Produce Market strike 2021 Allegheny Technologies strike 2021 Nabisco strike 2021 Cook County nurses strike 2021 Saint Vincent Hospital strike 2021 Frito-Lay strike 2021 Heaven Hill strike 2021 St. Paul Park refinery strike 2021 St. Charles Bend strike 2021 Oregon Tech strike 2021 Kaiser Permanente strike 2021–2023 Warrior Met Coal strike |
| 2022 | 120,600 | 2022 University of California academic workers' strike 2022 Minneapolis teacher's strike 2022–2023 HarperCollins strike |
| 2023 | 477,900 | 2023 Writers Guild of America strike 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike 2023 Rutgers University strike 2023 Starbucks strike 2023 Los Angeles city workers strike 2023 Los Angeles hotel strike 2023 United Auto Workers strike 2023 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers strike |