The year 2011 was the most active in four years in terms of strikes and lockouts across the United States.

 

There were a total of 19 major work stoppages in 2011 involving 1,000 or more employees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

 

Among the 2011 labor disputes, the three largest involved Verizon, the National Football League and the American Crystal Sugar Company. The clash between Verizon and the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers involved 45,000 workers and lasted ten workdays. The lockout by American Crystal Sugar of 1,300 members the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers, Sugar Council Minnesota, Iowa, and North Dakota was the longest of 2011 at 105 workdays and has continued into 2012. Negotiations are scheduled to resume on June 8.

 

Another high-profile labor battle last year involved the National Basketball Association. But the BLS did not include the NBA lockout in its 2011 Work Stoppages data because it involved fewer than 1,000 employees.

 

Last year witnessed the most stoppages since 2007, when 21 strikes/lockouts took place.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Profiles of Significant Collective Bargaining Disputes of 2011 (by Elizabeth A. Ashack, Bureau of Labor Statistics)