- Sputnik International, 1920
Americas
Sputnik brings you all the latest breaking stories, expert analysis and videos from North and South America.

America’s Strike Spike: What’s Behind the Spate of Industrial Action?

© AP Photo / Paul SancyaUnited Auto Workers members walk the picket line at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., Monday, Sept. 18, 2023.
United Auto Workers members walk the picket line at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. - Sputnik International, 1920, 15.10.2024
Subscribe
With living and housing costs rising, inflation continuing to eat away at savings, and the economy taking center stage in the run-up to the November 5 election, unionization drives and industrial action have returned to the American political scene in a big way.
Some major strikes are threatening to paralyze entire sectors of the economy amid employers’ stubborn resistance to workers’ push for a bigger slice of the economic pie.
Beleaguered aerospace and defense giant Boeing is holding firm against workers’ demands for wage increases, better pensions and more input into product safety, with a strike by 33,000 unionized West Coast workers entering its second month, and the company hitting back with plans to slash 10% of its workforce as revenues plummet.
A customer walks past empty shelves at Heinen's Fine Foods store, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Pepper Pike, Ohio - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.10.2024
Beyond Politics
Americans Hoard Toilet Paper in Fear of Ports Strike, Rekindling Pandemic Memories
Earlier this month, a strike by 45,000 dockworkers up and down the US East and Gulf Coasts threatened to disrupt trade for the first time in nearly half a century over a contract covering about 25,000 workers seeking better salaries, pensions and health care.
The three-day strike was frozen shortly after starting as the International Longshoremen’s Association agreed to a January 15 deadline to reach a new contract.
On October 1, 200,000 workers with the American Postal Workers Union held a National Day of Action demanding safer working conditions, better pay, an end to a two-tier wage system, and an end to attempts by management to have fewer employees do more work.
A woman looks to get information about job application in front of IDES (Illinois Department of Employment Security) WorkNet center in Arlington Heights, Ill., Thursday, 9 April 2020. Another 6.6 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to the US Department of Labour, as American workers continue to suffer from devastating job losses, furloughs and reduced hours during the coronavirus pandemic.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 29.06.2024
Analysis
Our Weirdly Random Employment System
The growing fortitude of the blue-collar workforce was likely inspired by examples from last year of what successful industrial action looks like, with workers in publishing, education, the United Auto Workers union and even Hollywood striking for better pay and conditions.
The UAW’s month-and-a-half long strike in particular proved that companies have the cash for wage and cost of living adjustments, overtime and retirement benefits, and even protections against plant closures.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала