TEXT
Table 1.  Work stoppages involving 1,000 workers or more, 1947-92
Table 2.  Work stoppages involving 5,000 workers or more beginning in 1992

 
 
Technical information:                       USDL 93-36
Michael Cimini         (202) 606-6275
Media contact:         (202) 606-5902        FOR RELEASE:  IMMEDIATE
                                             Wednesday, Feb. 3, 1993
 
 
 
                      MAJOR WORK STOPPAGES:  1992
 
 
     In 1992, the number of major work stoppages and amount of idleness
were at the lowest levels recorded in the 45-year-old series, the U.S.
Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Thirty-five major stoppages began during the year, resulting in 4.0
million days of idleness, or about 1 out of every 10,000 available work
days.  Another measure of work stoppage activity, workers involved
(364,000), included 230,000 workers in a 2-day national railroad
stoppage.  The measure was, nonetheless, among the lowest recorded in
the series, continuing the pattern that has generally prevailed for the
last several years.  (See table 1.)  The series, which dates back to
1947, covers strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 workers or more and
lasting at least one shift.
 
     Of the 35 major work stoppages beginning in 1992, 29 were in the
private sector--including 12 in manufacturing and five each in
construction and services.  In the public sector, five stoppages
involved local government employees, and one involved state government
workers.  Five of the public sector disputes were in education.
 
     Several industries had significant numbers of workers covered by
major collective bargaining settlements that were successfully
negotiated in 1992 without a work stoppage: Communications (472,000
workers); mining (54,000 workers); and finance, insurance, and real
estate (44,000 workers).  Industries with the largest number of workers
idled during the year due to work stoppages were transportation
(243,000), transportation equipment manufacturing (37,000), and
construction (14,000).
 
     The largest stoppage that began in 1992, in terms of number of
workers and number of workdays idle, involved the nation's major rail
freight carriers and the International Association of Machinists and
idled 230,000 railroad workers, resulting in 460,000 days of idleness.
On the second day of the stoppage, Congress enacted back-to-work
legislation mandating a settlement of the dispute.
 
     Other large stoppages beginning in 1992 involved General Motors and
the Automobile Workers (45,100 workers and 217,600 days of idleness),
the Detroit Board of Education and the Teachers (AFT) (10,500 workers
and 199,500 days of idleness), and USAir and the Machinists (8,300
workers and 41,500 days of idleness).  (See table 2.)
 
     The largest stoppage carried over from 1991 involved 12,600 workers
represented by the Automobile Workers at Caterpillar.  It began in
November 1991 and ended in April 1992.
 
     The longest stoppage beginning in 1992 involved the Teamsters and
the Pittsburgh Press.  The job action resulted in the shutdown of the
Press and its intracity rival, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, idling 1,400
newspaper workers.  The stoppage began on May 18 and ended on November
29, 1992.
 
     The longest stoppage in effect during the year involved 1,600
tugboat and barge crew members represented by the International
Longshoremen's Association and employed by companies in the Port of New
York and New Jersey.  The stoppage began February 15, 1988, and
continued into 1993.
 
        --------------------------------------------------------
       |   The term "major work stoppage" includes worker       |
       | initiated  strikes, as well as lockouts of workers by  |
       | their employers, involving 1,000 workers or more.  The |
       | Bureau does not attempt to distinguish between strikes |
       | and lockouts in its statistics.  Annual data are       |
       | reported in this news release after the end of each    |
       | year.  Monthly work stoppage data appear in the BLS    |
       | periodicals, Monthly Labor Review and Compensation and |
       | Working Conditions.                                    |
        --------------------------------------------------------
     Table 1.  Work stoppages involving 1,000 workers or more, 1947-92
     __________________________________________________________________________
                                 |                   |
                                 |   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
 
     __________________________________________________________________________
         1/ The number of stoppages and                2/  Total working time is
     workers relate to stoppages that               for all employees, except
     began in the year.  Days of                   those in private households,
     idleness include all stoppages in             forestry, and fisheries.
     effect.  Workers are counted more                 3/  Not available.
     than once if they are  involved in
     more than one stoppage during the
     year.
 
 
     Table 2.  Work stoppages involving 5,000 workers or more beginning in 1992
 
 
     ___________________________________________________________________________
                                           |      |      |             |
                                           |      |      | Workers     | Estimated
          Employer, location, and union    |Began |Ended | involved 1/ | days idle 1/
                                           |      |      |             | in 1992
     1/
 
     ___________________________________________________________________________
                                           |      |      |             |
      Kroger Co.                           | 4/13 | 6/19 |    7,800    | 388,200
        Michigan                           |      |      |             |
        Food and Commercial Workers        |      |      |             |
                                           |      |      |             |
      Railroad industry ...................| 6/24 | 6/25 |  230,000    | 460,000
        Interstate                         |      |      |             |
        Various unions                     |      |      |             |
                                           |      |      |             |
      General Motors ......................| 8/27 | 9/5  |   45,100    | 217,600
        Lordstown, OH                      |      |      |             |
        Automobile Workers                 |      |      |             |
                                           |      |      |             |
      Board of Education ..................| 8/31 | 9/26 |   10,500    | 199,500
        Detroit, Michigan                  |      |      |             |
        Teachers (AFT)                     |      |      |             |
                                           |      |      |             |
      General Motors ......................| 9/25 | 9/28 |    7,200    | 14,400
        Lansing, Michigan                  |      |      |             |
        Automobile Workers                 |      |      |             |
                                           |      |      |             |
      USAir ...............................| 10/5 | 10/10|    8,300    | 41,500
        Interstate                         |      |      |             |
        Machinists                         |      |      |             |
     ___________________________________________________________________________
 
         1/  Workers and days idle are rounded to the nearest 100.