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Internet Address:  http://stats.bls.gov                         Friday, February 9, 2001




MAJOR WORK STOPPAGES IN 2000

	Major work stoppage activity rose in 2000 after hitting record lows in 1999, the U.S. Department of 
Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.  Thirty-nine major work stoppages began during the year, idling 
394,000 workers and resulting in 20 million workdays of idleness (about 6 out of every 10,000 available 
workdays).  Comparable figures for 1999 were 17 stoppages, 73,000 workers idled, and 2 million days of 
idleness.  (See table 1 and charts 1-3.)  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 39 major work stoppages beginning in 2000, 31 were in the private sector; the remainder occurred 
in State and local government.  In the private sector, 14 stoppages occurred in goods-producing industries and 
17 occurred in service-producing industries, including 8 in the health services industry. In the public sector, 4 of 
the 8 stoppages were in education.

	Three work stoppages beginning in 2000 accounted for two-thirds of all workers idled.  The largest 
involved the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild, representing 
135,000 actors working in radio and television commercials, who went on strike against the Association of 
National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies.  This work stoppage dominated 
the labor dispute scene for half of the year.  The other two stoppages involved an 18-day strike at Verizon 
Communications by 85,000 workers represented by the Communications Workers of America and the 
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and a 1-day stoppage at Los Angeles County by 47,000 
workers represented by the Service Employees International Union.  (See table 2.)

Industries with the most days of idleness during the year due to work stoppages were business services 
(17.3 million days), communications (955,000 days), and transportation equipment manufacturing (748,800 
days).

Ninety-four percent of the year's work stoppage idleness (19.2 million days) stemmed from four major 
disputes, including two of the previously mentioned disputes:  one involving actors in commercials (17.3 
million days), and the second involving Verizon Communications (955,000 days).  The third was between the 
Kaiser Aluminum  and Chemical Corporation and the United Steelworkers (543,000 days).  The fourth involved 
the Boeing Company and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (459,000 days). 

	The average length of work stoppages beginning in 2000 was 21 days, but a majority of the work 
stoppages (67 percent) lasted less than 3 weeks, and only 10 percent extended more than 50 days.  Work 
stoppages were concentrated in the 1-2 day and 11-20 day ranges.  (See chart 4.)  The longest stoppage 
beginning in the year was at the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of 
Advertising Agencies, where 135,000 workers were on strike for 183 days.  The longest stoppage in effect in 
2000 was at Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation; the stoppage began in October 1998 and ended in 
September 2000 (719 days).




   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, 1947-2000
__________________________________________________________________________
                            |                   |
                            |   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
 
___________________________________________________________________________
    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.

Table 2.  Work stoppages involving 5,000 workers or more beginning in 2000

                                      |             |             |     Workers    |   Estimated days 
  Employer, location, and union       |    Began    |    Ended    |    involved1   |    idle in 20001
                                      |             |             |                |
Boeing Company                        |   2/9/2000  |  3/19/2000  |      17,000    |      459,000
  Interstate                          |             |             |                |           
  Society of Professional Engineering |             |             |                |
   Employees in Aerospace             |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
Los Angeles janitorial                |   4/3/2000  |  4/24/2000  |       8,500    |      103,800
 maintenance contractors              |             |             |                |
  Los Angeles county, CA              |             |             |                | 
  Service Employees                   |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
Building Owners and Managers          |  4/17/2000  |  4/17/2000  |       5,000    |        5,000
 Association                          |             |             |                |         
  Chicago, IL                         |             |             |                |
  Service Employees                   |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
University of California              |  4/18/2000  |  4/18/2000  |       5,000    |        5,000
  California                          |             |             |                |
  Automobile Workers                  |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
Association of National Advertisers   |   5/1/2000  | 10/30/2000  |     135,000    |   17,280,000
 and American Association of          |             |             |                |
 Advertising Agencies                 |             |             |                |
  Interstate                          |             |             |                |
  American Federation of Television   |             |             |                |
   and Radio Artists and Screen       |             |             |                |
   Actors Guild                       |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
Verizon Communications                |   8/6/2000  |  8/23/2000  |      85,000    |      955,000
  Interstate                          |             |             |                |
  Communication Workers  and          |             |             |                |
   Electrical Workers (IBEW)          |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
Los Angeles County Metropolitan       |  9/16/2000  | 10/16/2000  |       7,400    |      148,000
 Transportation Authority             |             |             |                |
  Los Angeles County, CA              |             |             |                |
  United Transportation Union         |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
Los Angeles County                    | 10/11/2000  | 10/11/2000  |      47,000    |       47,000
  Los Angeles County, CA              |             |             |                |
  Service Employees                   |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
Hospitals (18)                        | 12/14/2000  | 12/14/2000  |       6,000    |        6,000
  California                          |             |             |                |
  Service Employees                   |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
                                      |             |             |                |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

1  Workers and days idle are rounded to the nearest 100.