Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Information: (202) 691-6275 cbainfo@bls.gov USDL 07-0304

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

Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/cba/home.htm Tuesday, February 27, 2007 

MAJOR WORK STOPPAGES IN 2006 

Major work stoppages idled 70,000 workers with 2.7 million lost workdays in 2006, the U.S. 

Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The number of workers involved declined from 

2005, but the number of workdays lost increased by an additional 1 million over the 2005 figure. The major 

work stoppages series, which dates back to 1947, covers strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 or more 

employees and lasting at least one shift. For work stoppages that began in 2005, only days of idleness in 

calendar year 2006 are counted. 

The total number of lockouts and strikes beginning in calendar year 2006 was 20. For 2005 there were 

22 stoppages, with 1.7 million workdays of idleness involving 99,600 workers. (See table 1 and charts A-C). 

Of the 20 major work stoppages beginning in 2006, 12 were in private industry and eight were in State and local 

governments. In private industry, five work stoppages occurred in both manufacturing and construction, and 

one stoppage each in janitorial services and automotive dealerships. Of the eight work stoppages in State and 

local governments, four work stoppages involved municipal and county workers, two involved educational 

services, and one each in public transportation and health care. 

While the number of work stoppages and workers involved both declined from 2005 to 2006, the 

number of lost workdays rose substantially, due to the length of some work stoppages. The mean length of a 

work stoppage beginning in 2006 was 26.5 days, up from 20 days in 2005 and 14.6 days in 2004. The median 

length of a work stoppage beginning in 2006 was 10 days, up from 6 days in 2005, and 5 days in 2004. Most 

work stoppages are relatively short in duration, but the mean is influenced by several long work stoppages. The 

longest work stoppage beginning in 2006 lasted 211 days and involved the AK Steel Corporation and the Armco 

Employees Independent Federation. 

The largest work stoppage in terms of idleness was between Northwest Airlines and the Aircraft 

Mechanics Fraternal Association, with 812,100 workdays lost in 2006 and 1,183,800 workdays lost in total 

since the work stoppage began on August 20, 2005. The second largest work stoppage in terms of idleness, and 

the largest in terms of worker participation with 12,600 employees involved, was between the Goodyear Tire 

and Rubber Company and the United Steelworkers of America, with 718,000 days idled in 2006. 

 

United States 

Department News of Labor 
2

 Table A. Duration of work stoppages beginning in 2006, 2005, and 2004 

Duration 2006 2005 2004 

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 

1-2 days 5 25 4 18 3 18 

3-10 days 6 30 8 36 6 35 

11-20 days 5 25 5 23 2 12 

21-30 days 1 5 1 5 1 6 

31-40 days 1 5 1 5 2 12 

41-50 days 0 0 0 0 0 0 

>50 days 2 10 3 14 3 18 

 Note: Percent totals may not add to 100 because of rounding. The 2004 and 2005 numbers represent the total 

 duration of all work stoppages initiated during those respective years. The 2006 numbers represent work stoppages 

 initiated in 2006. 

 Table B. Number of work stoppages by the number of workers idled in 2006, 2005, and 2004 

Number of workers 2006 2005 2004 

idled Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 

1,000 to 1,999 10 50 11 50 6 35 

2,000 to 2,999 2 10 5 23 3 18 

3,000 to 4,999 3 15 2 9 2 12 

5,000 to 7,499 2 10 2 9 3 18 

7,500 to 9,999 2 10 0 0 0 0 

10,000 to 14,999 1 5 0 0 1 6 

15,000 to 19,999 0 0 1 5 1 6 

20,000 or more 0 0 1 5 1 6 

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

 Table C. Number of work stoppages by number of work days idled in 2006, 2005, and 2004 

Number of days of 2006 2005 2004 

idleness Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent 

1,000 to 4,999 2 10 3 14 0 0 

5,000 to 9,999 5 25 4 18 4 24 

10,000 to 14,999 2 10 1 5 1 6 

15,000 to 19,999 2 10 4 18 1 6 

20,000 to 29,999 2 10 2 9 2 12 

30,000 to 49,999 2 10 2 9 1 6 

50,000 to 74,999 1 5 1 5 2 12 

75,000 to 99,999 0 0 1 5 1 6 

100,000 to 199,999 2 10 2 9 2 12 

200,000 to 299,999 0 0 0 0 2 12 

300,000 or more 2 10 2 9 1 6 

 Note: Percent totals may not add to 100 because of rounding. The 2004 and 2005 numbers represent the number 

 of work days idled of all work stoppages initiated during those respective years. The 2006 numbers represent work 

 stoppages initiated in 2006. 
3

 The term “major work stoppage” includes both worker-initiated strikes and employer-initiated lockouts 

that involve 1,000 workers or more. BLS does not distinguish between lockouts and strikes in its statistics. 

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

Service, State labor market information offices, BLS Strike Reports from the Office of Employment and 

Unemployment Statistics, and from media sources such as the Daily Labor Report and the Wall Street 

Journal. One or both parties involved in the work stoppage (employer or union) is contacted to verify the 

duration and number of workers idled by the stoppage. 

 Days of idleness is calculated by taking the number of workers involved in the strike or lock-out and 

multiplying it by the number of days workers are off the job. 

 For detailed work stoppage statistics, please visit http://www.bls.gov/cba 
4

Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2006

Period

Number of

work

stoppages

beginning

in

period

Numbers of

workers

involved

(thousands)1

Days idle2

Number

(thousands)

Percent of

estimated

working time3

2006 ............................................................ 20 70 2,688 .01

2005 ............................................................ 22 100 1,736 .01

2004 ............................................................ 17 171 3,344 .01

2003 ............................................................ 14 129 4,091 .01

2002 ............................................................ 19 46 660 4 ( )

2001 ............................................................ 29 99 1,151 4 ( )

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

1999 ............................................................ 17 73 1,996 .01

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See footnotes at end of table.
5

Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2006 — Continued

Period

Number of

work

stoppages

beginning

in

period

Numbers of

workers

involved

(thousands)1

Days idle2

Number

(thousands)

Percent of

estimated

working time3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1947 ............................................................ 270 1,629 25,720 5 ( )

1 Number of workers involved includes only those

workers who participated in work stoppages that began in

the calendar year. Workers are counted more than once if

they are involved in more than one stoppage during the

reference period. Numbers are rounded to the nearest

thousand. 

2 Days idle includes all stopages 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 Less than .005. 

5 Data not available. 

Note: "Number of workers involved" in Table 1 reflects a

tabulation of workers involved in a work stoppage that

began in a specific year. "Number of workers involved" in

Table 3 reflects a tabulation of all workers involved in a

work stoppage in that year without making the distinction of

when the work stoppage was initiated. 
6

Table 2. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers beginning in 2006 (listed by date stoppage began).

Organizations involved

 and location

Industry

code1

Beginning

date

Ending

date

Number of

workers2 Days idle

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

 Stratford, CT, West Palm Beach, FL

 International Brotherhood of Teamsters

 Local 1150

 Private Industry ......................................... 336411 2/20/06 4/03/06 3,600 108,000

AK Steel Corp.

 Middletown, OH

 Armco Employees Independent

 Federation

 Private Industry ......................................... 331111 3/01/06 3 ( ) 2,3004 468,000

Santa Cruz County Government,

 Santa Cruz, CA

 Service Employees International

 Union Local 415

 Local Government .................................... 921190 3/14/06 3/15/06 1,600 1,600

Denver Regional Transportation District

 Denver, CO

 Amalgamated Transit Union

 Local 1001

 Local Government .................................... 485110 4/03/06 4/09/06 1,700 8,500

Greater Metropolitan Automotive Dealers

Association of Minnesota

 Minneapolis, MN

 International Brotherhood of Teamsters

 Local 974

 Private Industry ......................................... 441110 4/17/06 5/09/06 1,400 23,800

General Building Contractors Association

(GBCA)

 Philadelphia, PA

 United Brotherhood of Carpenters

 Metropolitan Regional Council of

 Philadelphia

 Private Industry ......................................... 238350 5/01/06 5/02/06 5,000 5,000

MidAmerica Regional Bargaining

Association,

 Chicago, IL,

 Laborers International Union

 Private Industry ......................................... 237310 6/01/06 6/04/06 2,000 4,000

Mason Contractors Association and

Independent Employers,

 St. Louis, MO and Vicinity

 International Union of Bricklayers and

 Allied Craftworkers

 Private Industry ......................................... 238140 6/01/06 6/08/06 1,200 7,200

Grove Masory Maintenance Inc.,

Tuckpointing Contractors Association

 Chicago, IL

 International Union of Bricklayers and

 Allied Craftworkers

 Private Industry ......................................... 238140 6/12/06 6/17/06 1,600 8,000

See footnotes at end of table.
7

Table 2. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers beginning in 2006 (listed by date stoppage began). —

Continued

Organizations involved

 and location

Industry

code1

Beginning

date

Ending

date

Number of

workers2 Days idle

Contra Costa County

 Danville, CA

 Service Employees International Union

 Local 535

 The Association of Federal,

 State and Municipal Employees

 Locals 512 and 2700

 Public Employees Local 1

 The Western Council of Engineers,

 Physicians and Dentists of

 Contra Costa

 Local Government .................................... 921100 6/27/06 6/28/06 6,000 6,000

General Contractors Association of Greater

New York

 New York, NY

 International Union of

 Operating Engineers

 Private Industry ......................................... 237990 7/01/06 7/07/06 3,000 12,000

Gary School District

 Gary, IN

 Gary Teachers Union

 Local Government .................................... 611110 8/21/06 9/01/06 1,400 14,000

City of Los Angeles, CA

 Los Angeles, CA

 The Engineers and Architects Association

 Local Government .................................... 921100 8/22/06 8/23/06 7,500 15,000

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

 New Brunswick, NJ

 United Steelworkers Health Care

 Workers Council, Local 4-200

 Local Government .................................... 622110 8/24/06 9/21/06 1,200 24,000

Detroit School District

 Detroit, MI

 Detroit Federation of Teachers, Local 231

 Local Government .................................... 611110 8/28/06 9/13/06 9,500 104,500

Sacramento County, CA

 Sacramento, CA

 Stationary Engineers Local 39

 American Federation of State, County

 and Municipal Employees

 District Council 57

 Local 146

 United Public Employees Local 1

 Local Government .................................... 921100 9/05/06 9/18/06 3,900 39,000

Bombardier Learjet

 Wichita, KS

 International Association of Machinists

 Local 639

 Private Industry ......................................... 336411 10/02/06 10/23/06 1,100 16,500

See footnotes at end of table.
8

Table 2. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers beginning in 2006 (listed by date stoppage began). —

Continued

Organizations involved

 and location

Industry

code1

Beginning

date

Ending

date

Number of

workers2 Days idle

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.

 AL, NE, NY, NC, OH, KS, TN, TX, VA, WI

 United Steelworkers

 Private Industry ......................................... 326210 10/06/06 12/29/06 12,600 718,200

ABM Janitorial Services, GCA Services

Group

 Sanitors Services of Texas, Pritchard

 Industries Southwest

 Houston, TX

 Service Employees International Union

 Local 5

 Private Industry ......................................... 561720 10/23/06 11/20/06 1,300 26,000

Raytheon Missle Systems

 Tucson, AZ

 International Association of Machinists

 Local 933

 Private Industry ......................................... 336414 11/06/06 3 ( ) 1,900 70,300

1 Industry code is from the 2002 NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). 2 BLS rounds figures to the nearest 100. Companies and unions may have rounded the figures before providing them to BLS. 3 This work stoppage was still active as of December 31, 2006. All data presented are for the 2006 calendar year. 4 Work stoppage began with 2,600 workers in March 2006. It later decreased to 2,400 workers in April; 2,300 workers in July; 1,900 workers

in October; and 1,800 workers in November. Average number of workers is reported in the table.
9

Chart A. Number of major work stoppages in effect, by month, 2002-2006

Number of work stoppages

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

02 03 04 05 06 07

Chart B. Number of workers involved in major work stoppages in effect, by month, 2002-2006

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

02 03 04 05 06 07

Chart C. Number of days of idleness from major work stoppages in effect, by month, 2002-2006

Days of idleness

(thousands)

Number of workers

(thousands)

0

2

4

6

8

10

02 03 04 05 06 07
10

0

100

200

300

400

500

45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 00 05

Chart D. Number of major work stoppages beginning in period, 1947-2006

Number of work stoppages

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 00 05

Chart E. Number of workers involved in major work stoppages beginning in period, 1947-2006

Number of workers

(thousands)

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 00 05

Chart F. Number of days of idleness from major work stoppages beginning in period, 1947-2006

Days of idleness

(thousands)