Workplace Strikes on the Rise in “Historic” Labor Movement

Tens of thousands of U.S. workers from diverse industries participated in strikes during October amid a surge in labor activism, The Washington Post reports.

“Striketober,” as economists are calling it, saw 17,4000 U.S. workers – including 10,000 at John Deere – go on strike last month, per a Bloomberg database.

The work stoppages are being attributed to how the pandemic has caused people to re-examine their relationship with employers, especially if going to work heightened their exposure to the virus. Additionally, workers are enjoying increased leverage as a result of the nation’s competitive job market.

The October walkouts make 119 union strikes so far this year, including 15 classified as “major” strikes involving 1,000 or more individuals. That compares with nine major strikes in 2020 (when the pandemic took hold) and 30 in 2019. “But it is clear, economists say, that the 2021 strike movement is historic in both its size and the way it spans across industries,” the article notes.

Read more at The Washington Post.