Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Information: (202) 691-5174 cbainfo@bls.gov USDL 04-418 

Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 hoyle_k@bls.gov For Release: 10:00 A.M. EST 

Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/cba Friday, March 19, 2004 

MAJOR WORK STOPPAGES IN 2003 

The number of workers idled, the number of days of idleness, and the percent of 

estimated working time lost because of strikes and lockouts rose in 2003, but were still low by 

historical standards, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. 

Fourteen major work stoppages began during the year, idling 129,200 workers and resulting in 

4.1 million workdays of idleness (about 1 out of every 10,000 available workdays). Comparable 

figures for 2002 were 19 stoppages, 46,000 workers idled, and 660,000 days of idleness. (See 

table 1 and charts A-C.) The major work stoppages series, which dates back to 1947, covers 

strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 workers or more and lasting at least one shift. For work 

stoppages that are still ongoing at the end of the calendar year, only those days of idleness in the 

calendar year are counted. 

Of the major work stoppages beginning in 2003, 12 were in private industry and two were 

in state and local government. In private industry, the largest number of stoppages occurred in 

the manufacturing sector (three) and in the retail trade sector (three). In state and local 

government, one stoppage was in the transportation and warehousing sector and one was in 

public administration. 

Five work stoppages beginning in 2003 accounted for 82 percent of all workers idled. 

The largest was between Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, and Vons and the United Food 

and Commercial Workers (UFCW), with 67,300 workers idled. The second largest was a 

stoppage between General Electric Company and the Communications Workers (IUE-CWA) and 

the United Electrical Workers (UE-Ind.) that idled 17,500 workers. The third was a stoppage 

between Dierbergs Markets, Schnucks, and Shop ‘n Save and the United Food and Commercial 

Workers (UFCW) that idled 10,200. The two work stoppages in state and local government were 

the next largest. A work stoppage between the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation 

Authority and the United Transportation Union (UTU-Ind.) idled 6,200 workers while a work 

stoppage between The County of San Joaquin and the Service Employees (SEIU) idled 5,000 

workers. (See table 2.) 

Industry sectors with the most days of idleness during the year due to work stoppages 

were retail trade (3,689,000 days), transportation and warehousing (178,700 days), and 

manufacturing (82,800 days). 

United States 

Department News of Labor 
2 

Nine-tenths of the year’s days of idleness stemmed from three major disputes, including 

the disputes between Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, and Vons and the United Food and 

Commercial Workers (UFCW) (3,374,200 days), between Dierbergs Markets, Schnucks, and 

Shop ‘n Save and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) (183,600 days), and 

between the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the United 

Transportation Union (UTU-Ind.) (148,800 days). 

The average length of work stoppages beginning in 2003 was 22 days, and 71 percent of 

all work stoppages lasted 30 days or less. The longest work stoppage was the dispute between 

Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, and Vons and the United Food and Commercial Workers 

(UFCW) that began on October 13 and was still in effect on December 31. It also was the only 

dispute in 2003 that lasted more than 50 days (See Table A.) 

Table A. Duration of work stoppages beginning in 2002 and 2003 

2002 2003 Duration Number Percent Number Percent 

1-2 days 2 11 1 7 

3-10 days 4 21 6 43 

11-20 days 5 26 1 7 

21-30 days 3 16 2 14 

31-40 days 1 5 2 14 

41-50 days 3 16 1 7 

Over 50 days 1 5 1 7 

Note: Percent totals may not add to 100 because of rounding. 

The term "major work stoppage" includes both worker-initiated strikes and employerinitiated lockouts that involve 1,000 workers or more. BLS does not distinguish between strikes 

and lockouts in its statistics. 

Information on work stoppages is obtained from reports from the Federal Mediation and 

Conciliation Service and state labor market information offices and from media sources such as 

The Daily Labor Report and the Wall Street Journal. One or both of the parties involved in the 

work stoppage (employer, union, etc.) is then contacted to verify the duration of and the number 

of workers idled by the stoppage. 
3 

Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2003

Period

Number of

stoppages

beginning

in period

Number of

workers

involved1

(thousands)

Days idle2

Number

(thousands)

Percent of

estimated

working time3

1947 .............................. 270 1,629 25,720 4 ( )

1948 .............................. 245 1,435 26,127 .22

1949 .............................. 262 2,537 43,420 .38

1950 .............................. 424 1,698 30,390 .26

1951 .............................. 415 1,462 15,070 .12

1952 .............................. 470 2,746 48,820 .38

1953 .............................. 437 1,623 18,130 .14

1954 .............................. 265 1,075 16,630 .13

1955 .............................. 363 2,055 21,180 .16

1956 .............................. 287 1,370 26,840 .20

1957 .............................. 279 887 10,340 .07

1958 .............................. 332 1,587 17,900 .13

1959 .............................. 245 1,381 60,850 .43

1960 .............................. 222 896 13,260 .09

1961 .............................. 195 1,031 10,140 .07

1962 .............................. 211 793 11,760 .08

1963 .............................. 181 512 10,020 .07

1964 .............................. 246 1,183 16,220 .11

1965 .............................. 268 999 15,140 .10

1966 .............................. 321 1,300 16,000 .10

1967 .............................. 381 2,192 31,320 .18

1968 .............................. 392 1,855 35,367 .20

1969 .............................. 412 1,576 29,397 .16

1970 .............................. 381 2,468 52,761 .29

1971 .............................. 298 2,516 35,538 .19

1972 .............................. 250 975 16,764 .09

1973 .............................. 317 1,400 16,260 .08

1974 .............................. 424 1,796 31,809 .16

1975 .............................. 235 965 17,563 .09

1976 .............................. 231 1,519 23,962 .12

1977 .............................. 298 1,212 21,258 .10

1978 .............................. 219 1,006 23,774 .11

1979 .............................. 235 1,021 20,409 .09

1980 .............................. 187 795 20,844 .09

1981 .............................. 145 729 16,908 .07

1982 .............................. 96 656 9,061 .04

1983 .............................. 81 909 17,461 .08

1984 .............................. 62 376 8,499 .04

1985 .............................. 54 324 7,079 .03

1986 .............................. 69 533 11,861 .05

1987 .............................. 46 174 4,481 .02

1988 .............................. 40 118 4,381 .02

1989 .............................. 51 452 16,996 .07

1990 .............................. 44 185 5,926 .02

1991 .............................. 40 392 4,584 .02

1992 .............................. 35 364 3,989 .01

1993 .............................. 35 182 3,981 .01

1994 .............................. 45 322 5,021 .02

1995 .............................. 31 192 5,771 .02

1996 .............................. 37 273 4,889 .02

1997 .............................. 29 339 4,497 .01

1998 .............................. 34 387 5,116 .02

See footnotes at end of table.
4 

Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2003—Continued

Period

Number of

stoppages

beginning

in period

Number of

workers

involved1

(thousands)

Days idle2

Number

(thousands)

Percent of

estimated

working time3

1999 .............................. 17 73 1,996 0.01

2000 .............................. 39 394 20,419 .06

2001 .............................. 29 99 1,151 5 ( )

2002 .............................. 19 46 660 5 ( )

2003 .............................. 14 129.2 4091.2 .01

 January .............. 1 17.5 48.8 5 ( )

 February ............ 0 0 0 .00

 March ................. 2 4.0 18.5 5 ( )

 April ................... 1 4.0 40.0 5 ( )

 May .................... 1 1.3 7.8 5 ( )

 June ................... 1 4.0 16.0 5 ( )

 July .................... 0 0 12.0 5 ( )

 August ............... 3 8.2 35.9 5 ( )

 September ......... 0 0 51.3 5 ( )

 October .............. 5 82.2 1168.5 .04

 November .......... 0 8.06 1219.0 .05

 December .......... 0 0 1473.4 .05

1 Workers are counted more than once if they

are involved in more than one stoppage during the

reference period. 2 Days idle includes all stoppages in effect

during the reference period. For work stoppages

that are still ongoing at the end of the calendar year,

only those days of idleness in the calendar year are

counted.

3 Agricultural and government employees are

included in the calculation of estimated working

time; private households, forestry, and fishery

employees are excluded. 4 Data not available.

5 Less than .005.

6 Reflects an increase in the number of workers

idled by a work stoppage in effect.
5 

Table 2. Work stoppages involving 5,000 or more workers beginning in 2003

Organizations involved

 and location1

Industry

code2

Beginning

date

Ending

date

Number of

workers3 Days idle

General Electric Company

 Communication Workers (IUE-CWA);

 United Electrical Workers (UE-Ind.) ........... 334612 1/14/03 1/15/03 17,500 35,000

The County of San Joaquin

 Stockton, CA

 Service Employees (SEIU) ........................ 921190 8/4/03 8/8/03 5,000 25,000

Dierbergs Markets, Schnucks, and

Shop ’n Save

 St. Louis, MO

 United Food and Commercial Workers

 (UFCW) ..................................................... 445110 10/7/03 10/31/03 10,200 183,600

Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company,

and Vons

 Southern CA

 United Food and Commercial Workers

 (UFCW) ..................................................... 445110 10/12/03 4 ( ) 67,3005 3,374,200

Los Angeles County Metropolitan

Transportation Authority

 Los Angeles, CA

 United Transportation Union 

 (UTU-Ind.) .................................................. 485111 10/14/03 11/17/03 6,200 148,800

1 Labor organizations are affiliated with the AFL-CIO except where noted as Independent (Ind.). 2 Industry code is from the 2002 NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). 3 The number of workers involved is rounded to the nearest 100.

4 As of December 31, 2003, the work stoppage was still ongoing. 5 The number of workers idled on October 12, 2003 was 59,300; on November 24, 2003 the number increased to 67,300 and on December

23, 2003 the number decreased to 61,300.
6 

Chart A. Number of major work stoppages, 1947-2003

Number of work stoppages

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

47 51 55 59 63 67 71 75 79 83 87 91 95 99 03

Chart B. Number of workers involved in major work stoppages, 1947-2003

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

47 51 55 59 63 67 71 75 79 83 87 91 95 99 03

Chart C. Number of days of idleness from major work stoppages, 1947-2003

Days of idleness

(thousands)

Number of workers

(thousands)

0

100

200

300

400

500

47 51 55 59 63 67 71 75 79 83 87 91 95 99 03