Recently, the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations released data that showed the number of striking workers in the United States climbed 141 percent from 2022 to 2023.
That’s numbers-backed proof of the energy and hope that we feel every day, isn’t it? We are in a generation-defining moment—one in which workers are rightfully seizing our power and unrigging our economy so that it works for everyone, not just the ultra-wealthy.
Researchers documented 470 work stoppages involving about 539,000 workers last year. These work stoppages resulted in a total of roughly 24,874,522 strike days.
Across all those millions of days spent walking picket lines — regardless of in which part of the country our shoes hit the concrete — better pay, improved health and safety, and increased staffing were the top three demands.
And that tells me one thing for certain: At the end of the day, we all share the same fight. Regardless of whether we clock in to work in scrubs or a hard hat, whether we are educating the leaders of tomorrow or writing the next award-winning show of the season, or whether we work 9-to-5 or the night shift, our fight for a better future is one and the same. And we’re just getting started.
LIZ SHULER
President
AFL-CIO
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