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Internet Address:  http://stats.bls.gov      Friday, March 22, 2002
                                     
                                     
                                     
                                     
                       MAJOR WORK STOPPAGES IN 2001

     The number of days idle and the percent of estimated working time lost
because of strikes and lockouts were at historic lows in 2001, the U.S. 
Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.  Twenty-nine 
major work stoppages began during the year, idling 99,000 workers and
resulting in 1.2 million workdays of idleness (less than 1 out of every
10,000 available workdays).  Comparable figures for 2000 were 39 stoppages,
394,000 workers idled, and 20.4 million days of idleness.  (See table 1 and
charts 1-3.)  The major work stoppage series, which dates back to 1947,
covers strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 workers or more and lasting at
least one shift.

     Of the 29 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.  (See table 2.)

     Private industries with the most days of idleness during the year due
to work stoppages were air transportation (116,600 days), construction
(115,000 days), health care services (109,700 days), and utilities (102,000
days).

     Fifty-three percent of the year's work stoppage days of idleness
(608,300 days) stemmed from four major disputes, including two of the
previously mentioned disputes: one between the State of Minnesota and the
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and the
Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (242,500 days); and the
second between the State of Hawaii's Department of Education and the
National Education Association (161,200 days).  The third was between
Comair and the Airline Pilots Association (116,600 days), and the fourth
involved the Midwest Generation Company and the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers (88,000 days).

     The average length of work stoppages beginning in 2001 was 22 days,
and a majority of the work stoppages (86 percent) lasted 30 days or less.
Only 10 percent of stoppages extended more than 50 days.  (See chart 4.)
Work stoppages were concentrated in the 11-20 day and 21-30 day ranges.
The longest stoppage beginning in the year was the previously mentioned
dispute between Midwest Generation and the Electrical Workers, where 1,100
workers were on strike for 111 days.  The dispute was also the longest
stoppage in effect in 2001.




   The term "major work stoppage" includes worker-initiated strikes, as
well as lockouts of workers by their employers, involving 1,000 workers or
more.  BLS does not attempt to distinguish between strikes and lockouts in
its statistics.


Table 1.  Work stoppages involving 1,000 workers or more, 1947-2001
__________________________________________________________________________
                            |                   |
                            |   Stoppages 1/    |        Days idle 1/
                             ___________________|_________________________
                            |       |           |           |
            Year            |       |  Workers  |           |  Percent of
                            |Number | involved  |  Number   |  estimated
                            |       |(thousands)|(thousands)|   working
                            |       |           |           |   time 2/
__________________________________________________________________________
                            |       |           |           |
 1947 ......................|  270  |   1,629   |   25,720  |      (3)
 1948 ......................|  245  |   1,435   |   26,127  |     0.22
 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   |    5,020  |      .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
 1999 ......................|   17  |      73   |    1,996  |      .01
 2000 ......................|   39  |     394   |   20,419  |      .06
 2001 ......................|   29  |      99   |    1,151  |      (4)
___________________________________________________________________________
    1/ The number of stoppages and        more than one stoppage during
workers relate to stoppages that          the year.
began in the year.  Days of                   2/ Working time is for all
idleness include all stoppages in         employees, except those in private
effect.  Workers are counted more         households, forestry, and fisheries.
than once if they are involved in             3/ Not available.
                                              4/ Less than .005 percent.
											  
											  
Table 2.  Work stoppages involving 5,000 workers or more beginning in 2001

                                      |  Beginning  |   Ending    |  Number of  |  Estimated days of
  Employer, location, and union       |    date     |    date     |  workers(1) |   idleness in 2001(1)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                      |             |             |             |
Department of Education               |             |             |             |
  State of Hawaii                     |             |             |             |
  National Education Association .....|   4/5/2001  |  4/23/2001  |   12,400    |      161,200
                                      |             |             |             |
Seattle public schools                |             |             |             |
  Seattle, WA                         |             |             |             |
  National Education Association .....|   5/1/2001  |   5/1/2001  |    6,900    |        6,900
                                      |             |             |             |
State of Minnesota                    |             |             |             |
  Minnesota                           |             |             |             |
  American Federation of State,       |             |             |             |
   County, and Municipal Employees    |             |             |             |
   and Minnesota Association of       |             |             |             |
   Professional Employees ............|  10/1/2001  | 10/14/2001  |   24,900    |      242,500
                                      |             |             |             |
Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies  |             |             |             |
 Corporation                          |             |             |             |
  Connecticut                         |             |             |             |
  Machinists .........................|  12/3/2001  | 12/13/2001  |    5,000    |       45,000
                                      |             |             |             |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

1  Workers and days idle are rounded to the nearest 100.