List of striking US workers by year

Throughout the history of labor in the United States, many workers have gone on strike. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the predecessor organizations it cites, have kept track of the number of striking workers per year since 1881.[1][2][3][4][5]

For data from 1881 to 1905 the Commissioner of Labor, then within the Department of Interior conducted four periodic surveys[lower-alpha 1] covering that period. The data is considered likely un-comprehensive but still used the same definition of strikes as later periods. For this era, all strikes with more than six workers or less than one day were excluded.[3]^{: 2–3, 36} No concrete data was collected for the amount of strikes from 1906 to 1913 federally.[3]^{: 2-3, (8-9 in pdf)}

Data from 1915 to 1926 is more comprehensive. In 1915, the Bureau of Labor Statistics had formed a more systemized set of data collection. Data on the number of workers involved remained a rough estimate but more consistent.[5]^{: 195, (203 in pdf)} The data however also included strikes with fewer than six workers involved, likely leading to slightly higher worker estimates.[3]^: 36

Data from 1927 to 1981 is more detailed then the previous periods. In 1927, monthly and yearly strike reports by the department were implemented.[5]^: 203 Any strikes with fewer than six workers or lasting less than a day were excluded from data leading to marginally smaller estimates then the previous period.[3]^: 36 For strike numbers this change could pose issues, however for total worker estimates it is considered to only have small effects.[3]^{: 36, (42 in pdf)} Within this period, with the passing of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, the program was revamped under the work stoppage program, however the criteria remained largely identical.[6]

Data from 1981[lower-alpha 2] to present remains an underestimate of workers striking each year in comparison to all other periods. In February 1982, the BLS had to stop counting strikes with fewer than 1,000 workers, as budget cuts to its Division of Industrial Relations made it infeasible to count them any more.[6]