Auto, healthcare and restaurant workers striking. What to know about these labor movements
The summer of strikes continues into fall for several industries throughout the country. Autoworkers at the three major Detroit automakers have been on strike since mid-September, Hollywood actors are on month three of striking and most recently Kaiser Permanente workers walked off the job on Wednesday.
The Cornell-ILR Labor Action Tracker estimates approximately 43 labor strikes have occurred in the past month spanning across 87 locations. This statistic includes labor movements as small as 15 food service workers striking at a local Starbucks to thousands of autoworkers on strike.
Here is a roundup of recent major labor strikes across the US:
Kaiser Permanente workers make history
More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees walked off the job Wednesday morning, instigating the largest health care worker strike in U.S. history, according to union officials.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions represents eight unions in five states and Washington, D.C., including California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Virginia. After Kaiser Permanente and the coalition were unable to reach a deal, nursing assistants, house keepers, X-ray technicians, phlebotomists, pharmacists, optometrists and other support staff walked off the job.
The strike is expected to last through Saturday morning. Doctors and most nurses are not part of the strike.
More than 90% of union members work in California facilities, serving more than 9 million patients, according to the Associated Press.
Autoworkers on strike
Nearly 13,000 workers represented by UAW began striking on Sept. 15. The strike began at assembly plants in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. Another 5,600 workers halted work a week later at 38 GM and Stellantis-owned parts distribution centers in 20 states.
The number of striking UAW members rose to 25,000 as of last week, according to UAW president Shawn Fain. Workers at Ford Motor Co. Chicago Assembly and at General Motors Lansing Delta Township assembly will walk off the job.
Writers strike ends, actors strike could end soon
After nearly three months of work stoppages from Hollywood actors, the 160,000-member Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is expected to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
Both sides met five days after the Writers Guild of America leadership voted to affirm a deal with the AMPTP to end the Hollywood writers' strike that lasted 148 days.
Who is likely to go on strike next?
Some Waffle House employees in Atlanta threatened to strike for higher wages, 24/7 security and an end to mandatory meal deductions, news reports show.
Earlier this week, there were several tweets and videos on social media showing rallies at restaurants in Atlanta, held largely in part by the Union of Southern Service Workers.
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UAW membership through the years:Membership peaked at 1.5 million workers in the late 70s.
Strike activity is high, union membership remains low
Worker stoppages have kept up, but labor union rates have steadily declined for decades.
The overall rate of union membership is much lower than it was 40 years ago. Between 1983 and 2022, union membership fell by half, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In the 1950s, 1 in 3 workers were represented by a union. Now it’s closer to 1 in 10.
Looking at more recent years, unions won 662 election, covering a total of 58,543 workers in the first half of 2022. This was the most election won in nearly 20 years, according to data from National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
