bls_1163_1954.pdf

Analysis of Work Stoppages

1953

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS AND

ANNUAL STATISTICS

Bulletin No. 1163

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Jam es P. Mitchell, Secretary

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Ewan Clague, Commissioner

Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

A n alysis of W ork Stoppages

1953

Major Developments and Annual Statistics

Bulletin No. 1163

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABORJam es P. Mitchell, Secretary

BURKAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Kwor Clagvo, Cosm issiom r

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 30 cents


Letter of Transmittal

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,Bureau of Labor Statistics,

Washington, D. C. , May 28, 1954.

The Secretary of Labor:

I have the honor to transm it herewith a report on work stoppages during the year 1953. A portion of this report was printed in the Monthly Labor Review for May 1954.

This bulletin was prepared by Ann J. Herlihy, Loretto R. Nolan, and Daniel P . W illis, Jr. , with the assistance of other m em bers o f the staff of the B u reau s D ivision of Wages and Industrial Relations, under the d irection o f L ily M ary David.

The Bureau w ishes to acknowledge the w idespread cooperation of em p loyers , unions, the Federal M ediation and Conciliation Service, and various State agencies in furnishing inform ation needed for this report.

Ewan Clague, C om m issioner.

Hon. Jam es P . M itchell,Secretary of Labor.


Contents

Page

Summary ________________________________________________________________________________ 1Stoppages of 10, 000 or more workers ______________________________________________ 2Trends during the year ____________________________________ 3Major issues ____________________________________________________________________________ 3Industry groups affected ______________________________________________________________ 4Stoppages by State______________________________________________________________________ 4Stoppages by metropolitan a r e a ______________________________________________________ 5Unions involved_________________________________________________________________________ 5Size of work stoppages_________________________________________________________________ 5Duration of stoppages _________________________________________________________________ 5Methods of terminating stoppages ____________________________________________________ 5Disposition of is s u e s ___________________________________________________________________ 6

Tables

Work stoppages:

1. In the United States, 1927-53 ________________________________________________ 72. Involving 10,000 or more workers, selected p e r io d s_______________________ 83. Monthly trends _________________________________________________________________ 84. Major issu e s____________________________________________________________________ 95. By industry grou p_____________________________________________________________ 106. By S ta te_________________________________________________________________________ 117. By metropolitan area _________________________________________________________ 128. By affiliation of unions________________________________________________________ 139. By number of workers ________________________________________________________ 14

10. By number of establishm ents________________________________________________ 1411. Involving 10,000 or more workers, analysis of ____________________________ 1512. Duration ________________________________________________________________________ 1813. Method of terminating ________________________________________________________ 1814. Disposition of is s u e s __________________________________________________________ 18

APPENDIX A - Tables

Work stoppages:

1. By specific industry___________________________________________________________ 192. By industry group and major issues ________________________________________ 213. In States having 25 or more stoppages, by industry group________________ 24

APPENDIX B

National Emergency Dispute - East Coast Longshoremen1 s strike ________ 31

APPENDIX C

Methods of collecting work stoppage statistics __________________________________ 33

(v)


1Analysis of Work Stoppages During 1953

Summary

Strike activity in 1953 was lower than in most postwar years when measured in terms of total idleness but relatively high as measured by the number of stoppages.

All stoppages in effect during the year resulted in 28, 300, 000 man-days ofidleness---- lower than in any year sinceWorld War II except 1951. Idleness in 1953 amounted to one-quarter of 1 percent of total time worked, less than one-half the proportion in the previous year. The absence of any prolonged industrywide stoppages accounted for the sharp drop in idleness in 1953 (table 1).

The 5 ,091* work stoppages that began in 1953 were exceeded only in 1952 when 5,117 were recorded. Approximately2 ,400 ,000 workers were directly involvedin disputes which started in 1953-----400,000below the postwar average.

Strikes ending in 1953 lasted an average of 20 .3 calendar days, compared with 19.6 days in 1952. Idleness per worker involved in stoppages, however, was somewhat less (11.8 working days) than in the previous year (16.7 days).

The successful culmination of bargaining in the steel and automobile industries and the absence of a major stoppage in bituminous-coal mining were generally characteristic of industrial relations in key industries. The steel companies and the United Steelworkers (CIO) agreed on an im mediate wage increase of 8 .5 cents an hour in June 1953 and elimination of geographic wage differentials by m id -1954. Major automobile manufacturers and the United Automobile Workers (CIO) agreed to basic wage

1 This is the total number of verified strikes in 1953. It does not include 23 small disputes for which the Bureau was unable to secure information from the parties that an actual work stoppage occurred.

All known work stoppages arising out of labor-management disputes involving six or more workers and continuing a full day or shift or longer are included in this report. Figures on "workers involved" and "man-days idle" cover all workers made idle for one shift or longer in establishments directly involved in these stoppages. They do not measure the indirect or secondary effects on other establishments or industries whose employees are made idle as a result of material or service shortages.

adjustments and liberalized pension plans after a reopening of their 5-year contracts which continue until 1955. With the decline in coal production, the United Mine Workers (Ind. ) deferred reopening of their contracts.

Greater stress was placed by the Federal Government upon 'free bargaining" in settlement of disputes, even in defense industries. Early in the year the Government offered mediation, but did not intercede further in the 63-day strike at the Evendale, Ohio, jet aircraft engine plant of General Electric C o .,2 or, later in the year, in the 54-day stoppage involving North Am erican Aviation, Inc.3 In both instances the parties were urged to settle their differences at the bargaining table.

The emergency provisions of the Labor-Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act were invoked by President Eisenhower only once during 1953 in the strike during October arising, out of the unusual situation involving about 30,000 East Coast longshoremen. This strike followed failure of the International Longshoremen1 s Association (Ind. ) and the New York Shipping Association to agree on a contract to replace the one that expired on September 30. Failure to reach agreement was closely related to the rivalry between this union which had been expelled from the AFL and the new I LA chartered by the AFL. The longshoremen returned to work on October 6 after issuance of a court restraining order. The stoppage was not resumed at the end of the 80-day Taft-Hartley injunction although a new contract had nbt been signed and the results of the NLRB representation election held in December to determine the appropriate bargaining representative were still in doubt at the year1 s end. *

2 This stoppage, involving members of the International Association of Machinists (AFL) and the United Automobile Workers (CIO), was caused by a dispute over the size of a wage increase, union security, and supplementary wage benefits. It began March 16 and lasted until May 18. At its peak about 5,800 workers were idle. A back- to-work movement in the last month of the stoppage substantially reduced the number of workers idle. Agreement reached on May 17 provided a wage increase of 6 to 8 cents an hour, which the company had offered before the stoppage began, and other fringe benefits.

3 See table 11 for further details on this stoppage.

4 See Appendix B for a more detailed discussion of this dispute.


2Economic conditions were prominent among the factors influencing the characteristics of work stoppages in 1953. Prices were relatively stable despite the termination of economic controls in February, and new production records were attained in many industries. Reconversion problems that had attended the end of hostilities in World War II did not recur after the cessation of Korean hostilities. However, inflationary pressures eased and there was some uncertainty over the economic outlook, especially in the latter months of the year. Union demands and settlements were also influenced by increasing competition among manufacturers of many products. Few large strikes of long duration occurred in manufacturing industries. Most of the long, large stoppages which did occur were in construction. This industry experienced the highest level of activity in terms of dollar expenditures and physical volume recorded in the 39 years for which data are available.

No work stoppages of serious proportions developed in the railroad industry during the year, although several emergency boards were created in 1953 by executive order under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act. One strike, however, received widespread attention. It involved a wage dispute between the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks (AFL) and the Railway Express Agency in Pittsburgh, Pa. , Detroit, Mich. , and Milwaukee, Wis. The stoppage lasted 95 days in Pittsburgh and for shorter periods in the other two cities. During the course of the controversy, union employees of the company in over 20 other cities voted to take strike action effective onDecember 18. However, a Presidential emergency board was established on December 16 and the union agreed to terminate the strike in Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Detroit.

Efforts by union leaders to curb unauthorized strike action and interunion disputes were evident in the year s developments. Except for the longshore dispute, the incidence of stoppages resulting from interunion or intraunion conflicts was slightly below the two preceding years. Late in 1953, the AFL and CIO ratified a no-raiding pact applying to international unions which voluntarily agree to be bound by it. The AFL also established a special committee to devise machinery for the more effective settlement of jurisdictional disputes among its affiliates and the CIO reported that its procedure for settling jurisdictional problems was functioning successfully.

In several instances international union leadership took action to curb unauthorized or "wildcat" work stoppages. Notable among these was the action of the officials of the Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers (AFL) in permanently expelling on grounds of insubordination, the business agent of a local union which carried on an unauthorized 29-day strike at a Joppa,111. , powerplant being constructed to supply power for Atomic Energy Commission facilities. In the same action, six other members of the local were suspended from participation in the union s affairs for periods ranging from 7 to 10 years. This stoppage, which continued from the last half of September through the first half of October, grew out of a dispute over the contractor s hiring of ironworkers from outside the Joppa area. The union local did not comply with the instructions of the international to end the stoppage. Work was resumed under a Federal Court order restraining picketing until the NLRB ruled on the dispute.

A 62-day strike involving truckdrivers employed by building materials dealers in New York City was terminated in early September after the international president of the Teamsters Union (AFL) intervened in the dispute. Although this stoppage directly involved fewer than 3, 000 truckdrivers, it indirectly idledabout 100,000 construction workers in the New York metropolitan area and halted work on many p r o j e ct s .

Stoppages of 10, 000 or More Workers

Typically, about 1 stoppage out of 200 involves 10,000 or more workers. This ratio was approximated again in 1953 when 28 such large stoppages were recorded. Most of these were relatively short and none was industrywide in scope. The 650, 000 workers involved and the 7,270,000 man-days of idleness in these stoppages made up about a fourth of the year s totals. The large stoppages accounted for a smaller proportion of strike idleness in 1953 than in all other post-World War II years except 1951. In 1952, primarily because of the steel strike, the 35 large stoppages accounted for almost two-thirds (62.6 percent) of total idleness (table s 2 and 11).

Ten of the stoppages involving 10,000 or more workers were in the construction industry which is essentially local in its operations. However, three relatively brief construction strikes did affect projects of the Atomic Energy Commission. The automobile industry experienced 4 stoppages of


10,000 or more workers; steel, 3; rubber and telephones, 2 each; aircraft, shipping, food products, apparel, dairies, newspapers, and containers, 1 each.

Stoppages of construction workers in northern California and employees of North American Aviation, In c ., produced the largest amount of idleness. Eleven of the major stoppages lasted less than a week; another 5 were concluded in less than 2 weeks; 4 were in effect at least 2 weeks but less than a month; and 7 continued more than a month. The longest involved employees of the New Jersey Bell Telephone Co. ; North American Aviation, Inc.; and construction workers in 5 areasnorthern California and the metropolitan areas of Philadelphia, Detroit, Kansas City, and Indianapolis. One major stoppage which began December 2 continued into January 1954. This dispute involved 30, 000 employees of two major producers of paper and metal containers.

Trends During the Year

Stoppages during 1953 generally followed seasonal trends of other postwar years, with the number of strikes and idleness reaching highest levels in the second and third quarters. The 28 stoppages involving the most workers were rather evenly distributed throughout the year although the largest number (10) began in the second quarter; 7 occurred in the first 3 months, 5 in the third quarter, and 6 in the last 3 months.

The number of new strik es reached its peak of 596 in May, then decreased each month, to the year s low of 145 in December. Idleness, however, was lowest in February (1 ,100,000 man-days), increased to a peak in June (4,530,000), then declined to 1,700,000 days in September and remained close to this level for the rest of the year. A large portion of the June idleness was accounted for by stoppages in the construction trades.

The second quarter of the year was highest in all three measures of strike activity strikes, workers involved, and man- days of idleness. It accounted for a third of the year s stoppages and two-fifths of the year s idleness. Eight of the 10 major strikes that took place in this quarter involved construction workers and 5 of these lasted more than a month.

Third quarter strikes and idleness accounted for 28 percent of the year s strikes and 30 percent of man-days idle. Four large construction strikes that began in the second

quarter carried over into this period. All 5 large stoppages that began in this period lasted less than a half month.

The number of strikes and workers involved reached lowest levels in the fourth quarter, but man-days idle in this period exceeded idleness in the first quarter. Six large strikes occurred in this quarter and one of these, the strike involving 30, 000 workers in the tin can and paperboard container industries, continued into the first half of January 1954. The 54-day North Am erican Aviation stoppage was the longest major strike during this period. The other large strikes were less than half a month long. Notable stoppages involving less than 10,000 workers included that of Railway Express employees, and a strike of employees of Pittsburgh department and furniture stores and package delivery services which began in November and continued into 1954.

Major Issues

About three-fourths of the year s strike idleness was caused by disputes over wages and/or other monetary matters (table 4). As in most recent years, many of the disputes were resolved by package" settlements involving increases in wages and changes in vacations, holiday, pension, insurance, or other benefits.* Among the significant stoppages involving wages alone or in combination with fringe benefits were 10 in the construction industry; 2 telephone strikes; the strike at North American Aviation, Inc.; the 11-day stoppage that suspended publication of 6 major New York City newspapers; and a strike at American Can Co. , and Continental Can Co. , which began in December but continued into the first half of January 1954.

Disputes over other working conditions, such as job security, shop conditions and policies, and workloads, accounted for a fifth of the year s stoppages and a fourth of the number of workers idle. Concern over job security by members of the United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers

3

5 M onetary issu es com bined with union s e cu rity accounted fo r another 4 p ercen t o f the m an- days id le le s s than in other postw ar y e a rs . In 1952 stoppages over these is su e r com bined a c counted fo r n early half o f a ll m an -days becau se they included the nationwide steel strike.

^ M ost of the d isputes involving changes in supplem entary ben efits that w ere unaccom panied by e ffo rts to change wage rates are grouped as "o th er w ages, h ou rs, and fr inge ben e fits " on table 4 . Am ong these issu e s w ere re troa ctiv ity o f pay, holidays, or vacation s. In addition about a third o f the stoppages in this "o th er" group w ere over p ie ce rates or incentive standards.Digitized for FRASER

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4(AFL.) was at issue in a long strike in support of their demand for renewal of a contract clause prohibiting further diversion of work from Norwalk, Conn. , plants of the Hat Corporation of America to other areas.7 The strike began in July and was still in effect at the end of the year.

Union security issues alone were dominant in about a tenth of the strikes in 1953, involving less than 5 percent of both the workers involved and of the total idleness. Most of the stoppages in this group involved attempts to gain union recognition and initial contracts from employers. Outstanding among these were the lengthy strike involving employees of Calcasieu Paper Co. and Southern Industries, Inc., in Elizabeth, La. , which began in September 1952, and the 28-day stoppage of Louisiana sugar cane field workers. Both of these stoppages failed to gain union recognition. The paper strike was accompanied by violence, including dynamiting.

Stoppages involving work jurisdiction, union rivalry, and sympathetic actions accounted for a relatively small proportion of the year*s strike activityabout 5 percent of both strikes and workers and less than 3 percent of total idleness.

Duration of stoppages varied according to the major issues involved. Strikes caused by combined wage and union organization disputes were longest, averaging 29.1 calendar days in 1953, compared with 37.9 days in 1952 and 30 .2 days in 1951. Work stoppages over working conditions such as job security, workload, and shop conditions and policies were shortest, averaging 9 .1 calendar days, compared with about 8 days in both 1952 and 1951. Within this range, stoppages caused by disputes over wages and related matters alone averaged 20.6 calendar days; union organization issues alone, 19.8 days; and inter or intraunion matters, 13.3 calendar days.

Industry Groups Affected

Construction was the only industry group in which idleness exceeded 1 percent of total time worked during 1953. The

7 The company offered to sign a contractual pledge to give 6 month s notice of intent to m ove, but challenged the legal right of the union to strike in order to force a ban on diverting work from one area to another. In order to pay benefits to the strikers the union sold bonds to its m em bership to be repaid by a special assessm ent. It also received financial help from the A FL. Before the end of 1953 it was reported that m ore than a m illion dollars had been paid out in strike benefits.

8 .0 0 0 . 000 man-days idle in this industry was greater than in any other industry group. About half of this idleness resulted from the 10 stoppages involving 10,000 or more workers. This industry also experienced a record number of stoppages 1,039 as compared with the previous peak of 794 in 1952 (table 5).

In contrast to 1952 when idleness in each of 13 industry groups exceeded1.000. 000 man-days, such idleness was found in only 9 groups in 1953. More than 2,000,000 man-days of idleness were recorded in each of 3 industry groups in addition to construction: Machinery (except electrical); transportation equipment; and transportation, communication, and public utilities. In the first two of these groups idleness amounted to about one-half of 1 percent of total time worked and in the third to about one-fifth of 1 percent of total time worked. Idleness of more than 1,000,000 but less than 2,000,000 man-days occurred in fabricated metal products; electrical machineTy, equipment and supplies; primary metals; food and kindred products; and trade.

Idleness in the mining industry was lower than in any year since 1942. The 850, 000 man-days of idleness was about a fifth of the 1952 total. A total of 460 mining stoppages was recorded, a drop from the 650 in 1952. Other industries that had fewer disputes in 1953 than in 1952 included ordnance and accessories; machinery (except electrical); transportation equipment; lumber and wood products; stone, clay, and glass products; textile mill products; apparel and other finished products; leather and leather products; paper and allied products; rubber products; transportation, communication, and other public utilities.

Stoppages by State

More than a million man-days of idleness were recorded in each of 9 industrialized States, as compared with 15 in 1952. The largest was the 3, 070, 000 man- days in New York, followed by 2 ,990 ,000 in Pennsylvania, 2 ,960 ,000 in California,2 ,450 ,000 in Michigan, and 2 ,390 ,000 in Ohio. All of these figures represent significant decreases from 1952; the largest declines, however, occurred in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Compared with 11,800,000 man-days of idleness recorded for Pennsylvania industries in 1952, the 1953 total represented a decline of about 75 percent. Ohio, where steel and coal are also im portant, had 7,260, 000 man-days of idleness in 1952 and only 2, 390, 000 in 1953 (table 6).


5Pennsylvania recorded the largest number of stoppages in 1953 as in 1952 632 compared with 692. There were 585 stoppages in New York compared with 600 in 1952; and 518 in Ohio compared with 444 in 1952. Ten or more stoppages were recorded in all States except South Dakota and V ermont in which 3 and 8 stoppages occurred, respectively.

Stoppages by Metropolitan Area

Five or more work stoppages occurred in each of 135 metropolitan areas in 1953 (table 7). These areas accounted for about three-fourths of all strikes, workers involved, and man-days of idleness in the country.

Leading industrialized centers generally experienced the greatest number of strikes. Eight metropolitan areas had more than 100 work stoppages each; New York- Northeastern New Jersey (586), Detroit (198), Philadelphia (164), Pittsburgh (137), Chicago (126), Los Angeles (122), St. Louis-East St. Louis (115), and Youngstown (110).

The three areas with the most strikes were the only ones to experience more than a million man-days of idleness in 1953; by contrast, in 1952, 12 areas each recorded more than a million days of idleness. Detroit had the highest number of workers involved (248,000).

Unions Involved

More than half (56 percent) of the stoppages, accounting for about 44 percent of the workers and 52 percent of the man- days of idleness, involved affiliates of the AFL (table 8). Of this idleness about one- half was attributable to stoppages in the construction industry. CIO affiliates accounted for a quarter of the strikes. These involved 38 percent of all workers and 34 percent of the yearrs idleness. Unaffiliated unions accounted for about 15 percent of the strikes and the workers affected, but only 8 percent of the idleness.

Size of Work Stoppages

Most work stoppages involve relatively few workers who are employed in one establishment. Almost half the stoppages in 1953 involved fewer than 100 workers each and over four-fifths affected less than 500 workers (table 9).

About 3 out of 4 stoppages in 1953 occurred in a single plant or establishment (table 10). These disputes accounted for almost half of all workers (46.5 percent) and about a third of all idleness. In contrast, although less than 1 stoppage in 10 was widespread (involving 11 establishments or more) these stoppages were responsible for almost a third of the workers involved and two-fifths of the idleness.

Duration of Stoppages

As in earlier years, most stoppages (over 60 percent) lasted less than 15 calendar days although the average strike was somewhat longer in 1953 than in the 2 preceding years. The average length in 1953 was 20.3 calendar days compared with 19.6 days in 1952 and 17.4 days in 1951. In 1953 about 42 percent of the stoppages continued for less than a week compared with 46 percent in 1952 (table 12). This group accounted for 45 percent of the workers involved, but only 9 percent of the total man-days of idleness. About one-fifth of the stoppages lasted a month or more. These accounted for 22 percent of the workers and 66 percent of the total idleness. There was apparently no tendency for the larger strikes to be either shorter or longer than those involving r elatively few worker s .

Methods of Terminating Stoppages

As in previous years, about half of the stoppages ending in 19$3 were terminated through direct negotiations between employers and employees or their representatives (table 13). These directly negotiated settlements accounted for 41 percent of the workers and about a quarter of the total man-days of idleness.


6Government mediation and conciliation agencies assisted in terminating about a third of the stoppages in 1953 as in 1952, compared with about a fourth of the strikes in 1950 and 1951. These were generally the larger stoppages so they accounted for about 45 percent of the workers and 69 percent of the idleness.

Nearly a sixth (15 percent) of the stoppages, involving 12 percent of the workers and 6 percent of the idleness, ended without formal settlement, i. e. , neither settlement of the issues nor agreement to negotiate after work was resumed. This group includes so-called MlostM strikes, with workers returning to their jobs because their cause appeared hopeless or employers hired new workers to replace striking employees.

Establishments involved in 1 percent of the strikes reported the discontinuance of business.

Disposition of Issues

The issues in dispute were settled or disposed of when the strike was terminated in 82 percent of the strikes involving about 75 percent of the workers (table 14). In most of the cases in which some issues remained to be settled after return, they were to be settled by direct negotiations between the employers and the unions. Others were to be settled with the aid of Government agencies, by arbitration, or by referral to a Government agency for decision or election.


7TA BLE 1 . W ork stoppages in the United States, 1927 - 5 3 1

W ork stoppages W ork ers involved in stoppages beginning in year 3 M an-days idle (a ll stoppages)

Year Num berbeginningin year

A verage duration- stoppages

ending in year

(calendar d ays) 2

Num ber(thousands)

P ercen t o f total em ployed 4

Num ber(thousands)

P ercen t o f estim ated

working tim e o f all w ork ers 5

P erw orkerinvolved

1927 __________________ _ 707 2 6 .5 330 1 .4 26 ,200 0. 37 7 9 .51928 _ ___ ________ 604 27 .6 314 1 .3 12,600 . 17 4 0 .21929 ...................................... 921 22.6 289 1.2 5, 350 .07 18 .51930 _ . _ _ _ ___ _ 637 22 .3 183 .8 3, 320 .05 18.11931 _________ 810 18.8 342 1.6 6 ,8 90 .11 20 .2

1932 841 19.6 324 1.8 10,500 .23 3 2 .41933 ............ 1 ,695 16.9 1, 170 6 .3 16,900 . 36 14 .41934 1, 856 19.5 1,470 7 .2 19,600 . 38 13 .41935 2 ,0 14 23 .8 1, 120 5 .2 15,500 .29 13.81936 2, 172 23 .3 789 3. 1 13,900 .21 17.6

1937 ____________________ 4 ,7 40 20 .3 1,860 7 .2 28 ,400 .43 15.31938 _ ___ 2,772 23 .6 688 2 .8 9 ,1 50 . 15 13.31939 ________ ________ _ 2 ,6 13 2 3 .4 1, 170 4 .7 17,800 .28 15.21940 ___ _ _ _ 2, 508 20 .9 577 2 .3 6 ,7 00 . 10 11.61941 _____________________ 4 ,288 18.3 2 ,360 8 .4 23 ,000 .32 9 .8

1942 ____________________ 2 ,968 11.7 840 2 .8 4 , 180 .05 5 .01943 ___________ 3 ,7 52 5 .0 1,980 6 .9 13,500 . 15 6 .81944 _ _ ___________ 4 ,9 56 5.6 2 , 120 7 .0 8 ,7 20 .09 4 . 11945 4 ,7 50 9 .9 3,470 12.2 38 ,000 .47 11.01946 _________________ __ 4 ,9 85 2 4 .2 4 ,6 00 14. 5 116,000 1.43 25 .2

1947 ____ __ ..... 3 ,693 25 .6 2, 170 6 .5 34,600 .41 15.91948 ______________ 3,419 21.8 1,960 5 .5 34,100 .37 17 .41949 ______________ ______ 3,606 22 .5 3,030 9 .0 50,500 .59 16.71950 6_____________________ 4 ,8 43 19.2 2 ,410 6 .9 38,800 .44 16.11951 4,737 17.4 2,220 5 .5 22 ,900 .23 10.3

1952 _____________________ 5, 117 19.6 3, 540 8 .8 59 ,100 .57 16.71953 7 ______19541955 __1956 ... ___ _ _

1957 ____________ ___1958 .1959 ......................................1960 _____________________

5,091 20 .3 2 ,400 5 .6 28 ,300 .26 11.8

1 A vailable in form ation fo r ea r lie r p eriod s is contained in BLS Bulletin N o. 1016, Handbook o f L abor Stat is t ic s , Table E2.

2 F igu res are sim ple av era g es ; each stoppage is given equal weight re g a rd less o f its s ize .3 W orkers are counted m ore than once in these fig u res i f they w ere involved in m ore than 1 stoppage d ur

ing the y ea r . Thus in 1949 365,000 to 400,000 coa l m in ers w ere out on 3 d istin ct o c ca s ion s , accounting fo r 1 ,1 50 ,0 00 o f a total o f 3 ,0 3 0 ,0 0 0 w ork ers .

4 "T ota l em ployed w ork ers" fo r 1927-50 re fe rs to a ll w ork ers except those in occupations and p ro fe ss ion s in which there is little if any union organization or in which stoppages ra re ly if ever o c cu r . In m ost industries, it includes all wage and salary w ork ers except those in executive, m anagerial, or high su p erv isory p osition s, or those p erform in g p ro fe ss ion a l w ork the nature o f which m akes union organization or group action unlikely . It e x cludes all se lf-em p loy ed , d om estic w ork ers , w orkers on fa rm s em ploying few er than 6 p erson s , a ll F edera l and State G overnm ent em ployees, and o ff ic ia ls , both e lected and appointed, in lo ca l govern m en ts.

In 1951, the concept o f "total em ployed w ork ers" was changed to co in cide with the B ureau 's figu res for nonagricu ltural em ploym ent, excluding G overnm ent but including w ork ers in all occupational groups. T ests show that the percentage o f total id len ess com puted on the basis o f these new fig u res usually d iffe rs by le s s than V10 o f a point while the p ercen tage o f w ork ers idle d iffe rs by about 0 .5 or 0 .6 o f a point. F or exam ple, the percentage o f w ork ers id le during 1950 com puted on the sam e base as the fig u res fo r ea r lie r y ears is 6 .9 and the percent o f id leness is 0 .4 4 com pared with 6 .3 and 0 .4 resp ectiv e ly , com puted on the new base .

5 F or each y ea r , "estim ated working tim e" was com puted for p u rposes o f this table by m ultiplying the average number o f em ployed w ork ers (see footnote 4) by the number o f days w orked by m ost em ployees. This number exclu des Saturdays when cu stom a rily not w orked, Sundays, and establish ed holid ays.

6 Beginning in m id -1950, a new sou rce o f strike " le a d s " was added through a coopera tive arrangem ent with the Bureau o f E m ploym ent Security o f the U .S . Departm ent of L abor by w hich lo ca l o ff ice s of State em ploy ment secu rity agen cies supply m onthly reports of w ork stoppages com ing to their attention. It is estim ated that this in creased the num ber of strikes reported in 1950 by perhaps 5 p ercent and in 1951 and 1952 by approxim ately 10 p ercen t. H ow ever, since m ost o f the added stoppages w ere sm all, they in crea sed the num ber o f w ork ers in volved and m an-days of id len ess by le s s than 2 p ercen t in 1950 and by le s s than 3 p ercen t in 1951 and 1952. T ests of the effect o f this added sou rce of in form ation have not been m ade since 1952.

7 The total of 5 ,091 strikes does not include 23 sm all w ork stoppages fo r which the Bureau was unable to secure in form ation from the p arties that an actual w ork stoppage occu rred .Digitized for FRASER

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8TA BLE 2 . W ork stoppages involving 10,000 or m ore w ork ers , se lected p eriod s

Stoppages involving 10, 000 or m ore w orkers

P eriodNum ber

P ercen t of total

fo rp eriod

W orkers involved 1 M an-days idle

Num ber(thousands)

P ercen t of total fo r

p eriodNum ber

{ thousands)P ercen t of

total fo r p eriod

1935-39 average ---------------------------------- 11 0 .4 365 3 2 .4 5,290 31 .21947-49 a v e r a g e -------------------------- ----------- 18 .5 1,270 5 3 .4 23, 800 59 .91945-------- ----------------------------- -------------- 42 .9 1, 350 38 .9 19,300 50 .71946 - .......... ........... ............... 31 o 6 2, 920 63. 6 66,400 57 .21947 ....................................................... - ----- 15 o 4 1, 030 4 7 .5 17,700 51 .21948------------------------------------------------------------ 20 . 6 870 4 4 .5 18,900 55 .31949----------------------- --------------------- ------------- 18 . 5 1,920 63.2 34,900 69.01950......................................................- ............. 22 .5 738 30 .7 21, 700 56 .01951------------------------------------------------------------- 19 .4 457 20 . 6 5, 680 24. 81952- - ....................................................... 35 ,7 1, 690 47. 8 36 ,900 62 .61953.....................................- ........................ - 28 . 5 650 27. 1 7,270 2 5 .7

1 See footnote 3, table 1.

TA BLE 3 . M onthly trends in w ork stoppages, 1952-53

Month

Num ber of stoppages W orkers involved in stoppages M an-days idle during month

Beginningin

month

In e ffect during m onth

Beginning in m onth

(thousands)

In e ffect during month

Number(thousands)

P ercen t of total

em ployed1Number

(thousands)

P ercen t of estim ated working

tim e of all w orkers 2

1952

J a n u a ry ------------ -------------------- -------------------- 438 568 212 251 0. 64 1,340 0. 15F eb ru a ry -------------------------------------------------- 403 585 190 258 .6 5 1,370 . 17M a r c h --------------- ----------------- -------------------- 438 614 303 359 .91 1,610 . 19A p r i l --------------- -------------------------------------------- 529 756 1,040 1, 170 2 .9 4 5,370 . 61M a y ----------------------------- -------- ----------------- 518 800 363 1,200 3. 02 8,020 .9 6J u n e----------- --------------- --------------------------------- 435 719 201 990 2 .4 9 15,000 1.80J u ly --------------------------------------- ------------ ------- 433 694 166 866 2 .2 0 12,700 1 .46August 3 ------------------------------------------------------ 494 786 228 380 .9 4 2 ,810 .33Septem ber' ...... . ..........-.................. - ------- 522 828 250 378 .92 3, 390 .39O c t o b e r --------------- ---------- --------------- --------- 459 768 450 584 1.42 5,000 .53N ovem b er---------------------------------------------------- 269 535 99 215 . 52 1,560 .20D e c e m b e r ----------------------------- ---------------- 179 369 34 82 .20 854 .09

1953

J a n u a r y -------------------------------------------------- 341 492 189 223 . 53 1,360 . 16F ebru ary ------------ --------------------------------- 327 489 131 193 . 46 1, 100 .13M arch ----------- --------------------------------------~ 457 639 196 237 .59 1,260 . 14A p r i l ------------------------------- ------------------------ 560 798 312 413 .9 8 2 , 690 .29M a y ------------- --------------------------------------------- 596 869 313 406 .9 6 3,770 .42J u n e ------------------------ -------------- ------- -------- 567 875 258 448 1.05 4 ,5 30 .4 8J u ly --------------------- --------------------------------------- 534 841 293 491 10 19 3,880 .39August ------------------------ ----------------------------- 484 763 238 393 .91 2 ,880 .32S ep tem b er-------------------------------------------------- 420 721 119 211 .49 1,700 . 19O c t o b e r -------------------------------------- --------------- 379 658 175 240 .5 6 1,650 . 17N ovem ber --------------- ------------------------------- 281 502 100 175 .41 1,570 . 18D ecem ber --------------- ------- -------- ----------- - 145 354 76 173 .41 1,880 .20

See footnote 4 , table 1.See footnote 5, table 1.These fig u res do not include the "m e m o ria l" stoppage in coa l mining,


9TA BLE 4 . M ajor issu es involved in w ork stoppages, 1953

M ajor issu es

W ork stoppages beginning in 1953 Man-cLlys idle g 1953 >ppages)

Num berP ercen t

oftotal 1

W orkers involved (all stc

Num ber 1P ercen t

oftotal 1

Num ber 1P ercen t

oft o ta l1

A ll issu es ----------------- --------------------------- 5,091 100.0 2 ,4 0 0 ,0 0 0 100.0 2 8 ,3 0 0 ,0 0 0 100.0

W ages, hou rs, and fr inge benefits 2 ----- 2, 825 55 .5 1 ,460 , 000 6 0 .8 21, 800,000 77. 1

Wage in crea se ---------------------------- ----- 1, 798 35. 3 836,000 3 4 .8 14 ,500 ,000 5 1 .5Wage d ecrea se ---------------------------------- 23 .5 9 ,2 50 .4 133,000 .5Wage in crea se , hour d ecrea se -------- 89 1.7 78,200 3 .3 1 ,0 60 ,0 00 3 .7Wage in cre a se , pension and/ or

so c ia l insurance b e n e f i t s ---- ---------- 277 5 .4 177,000 7 .4 2 ,5 4 0 ,0 0 0 9 .0P ension a n d /o r so c ia l insurance

benefits --------------------------------- ------- 48 .9 52 ,600 2 .2 234,000 .8O ther3 ........................ - - - - 590 11. 6 307,000 12. 8 3 ,2 8 0 ,0 0 0 11.6

Union organization w ages, hou rs,and fr inge benefits 2 ---------------- ------------ 202 4. 0 45 ,200 1.9 1 ,2 50 ,0 00 4 .4

R ecogn ition , wages a n d /o r h o u r s ----- 119 2. 3 12,000 .5 317,000 1. 1Strengthening bargain ing position ,

wages a n d /o r h o u r s ----- ---------------- 26 .5 17,100 . 7 505,000 1.8C losed or union shop, wages

a n d /o r h o u r s ------------------------------------- 57 1. 1 16,100 . 7 424,000 1.5

Union o r g a n iz a t io n ------------ --------------- ------ 543 10.7 117,000 4 .9 935,000 3 .3

R e c o g n it io n ---- ---------------------------- ----- 361 7. 1 30,500 1. 3 520,000 1.8Strengthening bargain ing p o s it io n ----- 38 .7 6, 500 .3 90 ,100 .3C losed or union s h o p ------------------ 89 1. 7 16, 700 . 7 195,000 .7D iscrim in ation -------------------------------- 10 .2 920 (4) 10,800 (4)O th er ----------------------------- --------------- - 45 .9 62,500 2 . 6 120,000 .4

Other w orking co n d it io n s -------------------- 1, 135 22 .3 638,000 2 6 .6 3, 560,000 12.6

Job secu rity ---------------------------------------- 502 9 .9 235,000 9 .8 1, 730,000 6. 1Shop conditions and p o lic ie s ------------ 540 10. 6 326,000 13. 6 1, 300,000 4 .6W o r k lo a d - - - - - - - ----- - 77 1.5 53, 500 2 .2 493,000 1.7Other 5 -------------------------------------------------- 16 . 3 23 ,600 1.0 35 ,800 . 1

Interunion or intraunion m atters ---------- 275 5 .4 130,000 5 .4 684,000 2 .4

S y m p a th y -------------------------------------------- 64 1. 3 19,700 . 8 107,000 .4Union r iv a lry or fa ct io n a lis m 6 -------- 49 1. 0 50,800 2 . 1 234,000 .8J u r is d ic t io n --------------- ------------------------- 158 3. 1 56, 600 2 .4 327,000 1.2Union regulations --------------------- --------- 3 . 1 900 (4) 11,000 (4)Other --------------------------------------------------- 1 (4) 1, 500 . 1 4 ,5 00 (4)

Not r e p o r t e d --------------------------------------------- 111 2 .2 13,200 . 6 45 ,900 .2

1 The sum of the individual item s m ay not equal the totals fo r the group becau se of rounding the individual figures in this and subsequent tab les.

2 "F rin ge ben efits" has been added to the title only to indicate inclusion o f nonwage ben efits . There has been no change from prev iou s years in definition or content of these groups.

3 Includes stoppages in which the m a jor issue was retroactiv ity , holidays, vacations, job c la ss ifica tion , p ie c e w ork rates,and related m atters .

4 L ess than a tenth o f 1 p ercen t.5 This group includes protest strikes against action , or lack of action , by Governm ent a g en cies .6 This group includes the 5 -day strike involving 30, 000 longsh orem en on the East C oast in O ctober.

Although there w ere other issu es involved in this dispute, the outstanding issu e was the r iv a lry between theInternational L ongsh orem en 's A ssoc ia tion (Ind. ) and the International L ongsh orem en 's A ssoc ia tion (A F L ).


10

TABLE 50 W ork stoppages by industry group, 1953

Industry group

Stoppages beginning in 1953

hian-days idle during 1953 (a ll stoppages)

Number W orkers involved 1 Num ber

P ercen t of estim ated working

tim e of all w ork ers 2

A ll in d u s tr ie s --------------------------------- ------- -------------------- 5 ,091 2 ,4 0 0 ,0 0 0 2 8 ,3 0 0 ,0 0 0 0 .26

MAN UF AC T URING 3 2 ,612 1 ,3 20 ,0 00 15 ,600 ,000 0 .3 6

P rim a ry m etal in d u s t r ie s --------------------------------------------- 312 202,000 1 ,5 10 ,0 00 .45F abricated m etal products (except ordnance,

m ach inery , and transportation e q u ip m e n t )-------------- 291 102,000 1, 690,000 .57Ordnance and a c c e s s o r i e s ---------------------------------------------- 23 21 ,400 164,000 .32E le c tr ica l m ach in ery , equipm ent, and supplies ----- 137 76, 600 1, 620, 000 .53M achinery (except e l e c t r i c a l ) ------------ ------- ------ ----- 286 126,000 2 , 150, 000 .50T ransportation e q u ip m e n t -------------------------------------------- 179 300,000 2 ,7 3 0 ,0 0 0 .55Lum ber and w ood products (except fu r n i t u r e ) ----------- 125 19,800 512,000 .2 6Furniture and f i x t u r e s ---------------- --------------------------- 134 25 ,100 269, 000 .28Stone, c lay , and g lass p r o d u c ts ------------------------ ----------- 128 19,400 316,000 .23T extile m ill p r o d u c ts ------------------------------------------------------ 88 26,600 593,000 . 19A pparel and other fin ished products m ade from

fa b r ics and s im ila r m ateria ls --------------------- ---------- 193 35, 600 296, 000 .09Leather and leather p r o d u c t s ---------------------------------------- 48 11,900 99,100 . 10F ood and kindred products ---------------------------- --------------- 213 98 ,400 1, 210,000 .30T ob a cco m a n u fa c tu r e s ------------------------- ----------------------- 4 480 20 ,800 .08P aper and a llied products ---------------------------- ---------- 45 15,400 222,000 . 16P rin tin g , publish ing, and a llied in d u s tr ie s ---------------- 44 21 ,300 245,000 . 12C hem icals and a llied p r o d u c t s ------------------------------------- 107 36,500 825,000 .43P roducts o f p etro leu m and c o a l ------------------------------------ 19 2 , 610 105,000 . 16Rubber p r o d u c t s ------------------- ---------- --------------- ----------------- 102 141,000 493,000 .71P ro fe ss io n a l, sc ie n t ific , and controllin g

instrum ents; photographic and optica l goods;w atches and c lock s ------------------------ ---------------- ------- ----- 41 11,400 246,000 .29

M iscellaneou s m anufacturing in d u s tr ie s --------------------- 105 21,000 280,000 .22

NON MANUFACTURING _ 3 2 , 479 1 ,0 90 ,0 00 12 ,700 ,000 . 19

A g ricu ltu re , fo r e s try , and f i s h in g ------------------------------- 14 8, 140 113,000 (4)M in in g -------------------- ----------------- ---------- ----------------------------- 460 156,000 846,000 .40C o n s tr u c tio n --------------------------------------------------- ---------------- 1, 039 574,000 8, 000,000 1.22T rade ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 408 71 ,200 1,050 , 000 .0 4F inance, insurance, and rea l e s ta te ---------------------------- 13 950 21, 600 (4)T ransportation , com m unication , and other

public u t i l i t ie s --------------------------------------------------------------- 372 256, 000 2 ,3 8 0 ,0 0 0 .22S erv ices p erson a l, bu sin ess , and o t h e r ------------------- 145 14, 400 202,000 (4)G overnm ent adm in istration , p rotection ,

and sanitation 5 -------------------------------- ------------------- --------- 30 6, 280 53,400 (4)

1 See footnote 3, table 1.2 See footnotes 4 and 5, table 1,3 The sum of the fig u res in this colum n exceeds 5 ,091 becau se a few stoppages extending into two or m ore

industry groups have been counted in this colum n in each industry group a ffected ; w ork ers involved and m an-days idle w ere divided am ong the resp ectiv e groups.

4 Not ava ilab le .5 M unicipally operated u tilities are included under "T ran sp ortation , com m unication , and other public u tilit ie s ".


11

TABLE 6. W ork stoppages by State, 1953

State

A ll States

Alabam a -----------------------A r iz o n a --------------------------A rkansas ----------------------C aliforn ia ---------------------C o lo r a d o -----------------------Connecticut ------------------Delaware ----------------------

D istrict o f C o lu m b ia ----F lorid a --------------------------G eorgia -------------------------

Illinois --------------------------Indiana --------------------------Iowa ------------------------------

Kansas -----------------------K en tu ck y ------------------------Louisiana -------------------Maine -----------------------------M aryland -----------------------M assachusetts --------------M ich ig a n ------------------------

M innesota ---------------------M iss iss ip p i -------------------M is s o u r i ------------------------Montana -------------------------N ebraska -----------------------N evada-----------------------------New H am pshire ------------

New J ersey -------------------New M exico ------------------New Y ork ----------------------North C arolina --------------North Dakota -----------------Ohio --------------------------------Oklahoma ----------------------

O reg on -----------------------------Pennsylvania -----------------Rhode I s la n d ------------------South C a ro lin a ----------------South Dakota ------------------T enn essee ----------------------Texas -----------------------------

U ta h ------------------------------ --V erm ont -------------------------V irgin ia ----------------------W ash in gton ---------------------W est V ir g in ia -----------------W is co n s in ------------------------W yom ing -------------------------

W ork stoppages beginning in 1953 M an-da ys idle ' 1953 ppages)

Num ber

W orkers involved 1 (a ll sto]

NumberP ercen t

oftotal

Num berP ercen t

oftotal

2 5, 09 1 2 ,4 0 0 ,0 0 0 100.0 28, 300,000 100.0

110 36,200 1.5 289,000 1.013 2, 130 . 1 43 ,500 .242 11,700 . 5 132,000 .5

269 210,000 8. 8 2 ,9 6 0 ,0 0 0 10.534 6 ,5 50 .3 69,000 .286 28 ,800 1.2 526, 000 1.912 8,460 .4 316,000 1. 1

16 4, 510 .2 23 ,900 . 175 24 ,400 1.0 217,000 .854 13,400 .6 120,000 .413 3,430 . 1 20 ,900 . 1

316 98,200 4. 1 1 ,4 30 ,0 00 5 .0191 139,000 5 .8 1 ,5 40 ,0 00 5 .5

60 21,200 .9 387,000 1 .4

31 15,400 .6 323,000 1. 1163 85,300 3. 6 422,000 1.570 23,000 1.0 286,000 1.016 5,090 .2 28 ,600 . 145 19,400 .8 191,000 .7

176 46,100 1.9 618,000 2 .2331 297,000 12 .4 2 ,4 5 0 ,0 0 0 8 .7

70 16,000 .7 272,000 1.020 2 ,4 90 . 1 48 ,100 .2

140 61,300 2..6 1, 220,000 4 .310 3,710 .2 98 ,000 .317 4, 680 .2 87 ,400 .317 3, 610 .2 29 ,700 . 116 2 , 110 . 1 21 ,800 . 1

263 80,600 3 .4 1 ,2 80 ,0 00 4 .520 5, 870 .2 41 ,700 . 1

585 208,000 8 .7 3 ,0 7 0 ,0 0 0 10.825 10,100 .4 196,000 .710 930 ( 1 2 3) 13,300 ( 3)

518 218,000 9. 1 2 ,3 9 0 ,0 0 0 8 .553 18,400 . 8 255,000 .9

49 10,200 .4 129,000 .5632 318,000 13.2 2 ,9 9 0 ,0 0 0 10.6

37 11,200 .5 134,000 . 521 25,400 1. 1 114,000 .4

3 500 ( 3) 18,900 . 1125 65, 500 2 .7 605,000 2 . 189 58,100 2 .4 668,000 2 .4

39 23,400 1. 0 246,000 .98 2 ,050 . 1 55,000 .2

65 24,900 1.0 157,000 .666 46,000 1.9 581,000 2 . 1

165 49 ,500 2 . 1 347,000 1.2100 30,300 1.3 771,000 2 .7

16 1,740 . 1 21 ,400 . 1

1 See footnote 3, table 1.2 The sum of the figu res in this colum n exceeds 5,091 because the stoppages extending a cro ss State lines have

been counted in each State a ffected , but the w orkers involved and m an-days idle w ere divided am ong the States.3 L ess than a tenth of 1 p ercen t.


12

TA BLE 7 . W ork stoppages by m etropolitan a rea , 1953 1

M etropolitan area

A kron, O h io ------------ .--------A lbany-Schenectady-

T roy , N. Y. -------------------A llentow n- B eth lehem -

Easton, Pa. -------------------Altoona, P a . ---------------------Atlanta, Ga. ------------ --------

Atlantic City, N. J. --------Augusta, Ga. --------------------B a ltim ore, M d . ----------------B eau m on t-P ort A rthur,

Binghamton, N. Y. ------

B irm ingham , A la . -----------B oston, M ass. -----------------B ridgeport, Conn. -------B rockton , M ass. --------------B uffalo, N. Y . ------------------

Canton, O h io ---------------- Cedar R apids, I o w a --------C harleston, W. V a . ---------Chattanooga, Tenn. ------Cheyenne, W y o . ------- ------

C hicago, HI. ------- -------------C incinnati, Ohio --------------C leveland, O h io -------- ------Colum bus, Ga. -------------C olum bus, O h io ---------------

C um berland, M d. -----------D allas, T e x . ---------------------Davenport, Iow a-R ock

Islan d-M olin e, 111. -------Dayton, O h io --------------------D ecatur, 111. --------------------

D enver, C o l o . -------- ---------Des M oines, I o w a -----------D etroit, M i c h . ------------------Duluth, Minn. -S u p erior ,

W is. --------------------------------E lm ira , N. Y . ------------------

E r ie , P a . -------------------------E vansville , Ind. --------------F a ll R iv er, M a s s . -----------F arg o , N. Dak. --------------F lint, M ich. --------------- -----

F ort Smith, A rk. ------- -----F ort Wayne, Ind. ------------F ort W orth, Tex. -----------F resn o , C alif. ----------------G alveston, Tex. ------- --------

Grand Rapids, M ich . ------H arrisbu rg, Pa. --------------H artford , Conn. ------- ------Houston, T e x .-------------------Huntington, W. Va. -

Ashland, Ky. ------------------

Indianapolis, Ind. -----------Jackson, M ich. ----------------Jackson, M iss . ----------------Ja cksonville , F la . -------Johnstown, Pa. ----------------

W ork stoppages beginning in

1953M an-days id le during

1953 (all stoppages)

M etropolitan area


1953M an-days idle during 1953 (all

stoppages)Num ber 2 W orkersinvolved Num ber 2W orkersinvolved

44 47 ,500 254,000 Kansas C ity, M o. ---------- 40 27 ,000 843,000King s t on - N ewbu r gh -

30 8,770 464 ,000 P oughkeepsie, N. Y . 11 2 ,900 30 ,400K noxville , Tenn. ---------- 32 33 ,300 283,000

25 6,090 72, 100 Lansing, M ic h .--------------- 5 820 5, 1506 590 3, 530 Little R ock , A rk . ---------- 8 2 ,7 60 37 ,500

15 6, 110 32,700Los A n geles , C a lif. ------ 122 57 ,000 957,000

6 840 18,900 L ou isv ille , Ky. -------------- 38 23 ,000 132,00013 23 ,900 81,400 M acon, Ga. -------------------- 5 580 3, 39027 17,200 176,000 M adison, W is. ------------ 11 1,260 7, 830

M em phis, T e n n .------------ 16 9 ,0 40 37,70014 6, 590 164,000

6 820 9 , 090 M iam i, F la . ------------------- 12 1,000 5,060M ilwaukee, W is . ----------- 33 15,800 580,000

42 6, 090 133,000 M inneapolis-S t. Paul,78 14,400 198,000 M in n .--------------------- ----- 42 9, 190 186, 00019 6, 610 135,000 M obile , A la. ------------------- 17 8 ,470 69,8009 2, 150 19,600 M uskegon, M i c h . ----------- 10 1,400 39,000

84 35, 500 401,000N ashville , Tenn. ----------- 15 2 ,2 40 32 ,900

18 4 ,850 71, 100 New B rita in -B r is to l,7 2, 010 31, 700 Conn. ---------------------------- 5 1,080 12,000

12 8,270 132,000 New Haven, Conn. -------- 18 3, 180 33 ,70021 6, 590 50,600 New B edford , M ass. ---- 6 850 11,800

8 540 6, 520 New O rleans, La. ---- 37 13,800 162,000

126 71,400 803,000 New Y ork -N orth eastern54 19,800 449,000 New J ersey ----------------- 586 198,000 2 ,5 1 0 ,0 0 050 14,800 266, 000 N or fo lk P ortsm outh ,

5 1, 370 7, 550 Va. -------------------------------- 13 6, 610 63 ,70022 16,100 368,000 Ogden, Utah -------------------- 5 2 ,450 30,600

Oklahoma City, Okla. 8 2,580 19,4006 310 2, 080 Omaha, N ebr. ----------- 10 4 ,6 10 90 ,300

10 11,600 114,000Paducah, Ky. ----------------- 28 38 ,400 143,000

5 4 ,2 80 147,000 P e o r ia , 111. -------------------- 10 1,980 24 ,4007 3,240 15,700 P hiladelphia, P a . ---------- 164 96 ,600 1 ,240, 0007 250 4, 670 P hoenix, A r iz . --------------- 6 1, 180 22 ,300

P ittsburgh , P a . -------------- 137 107,000 739,00020 5, 120 34,80021 9 , 100 205,000 P ortlan d, M aine ------------ 6 850 11,100

198 248,000 1 ,7 20 ,0 00 P ortland, O r e g . ------------ 19 6 , 890 57 ,400P rov id en ce , R. I. ---------- 34 10,800 129,00015 1, 760 19,900 P ueblo, C olo . ---------------- 5 150 2, 7408 1,360 9,290 I R acine, W is . ------------------- 6 380 48 ,000

21 4, 170 82, 600 Reading, P a. ------------------ 13 4 ,3 50 73,30015 13,300 67,800 R eno, N ev .----------------------- 6 950 10,70013 4, 120 22 ,600 R ichm ond, Va. --------------- 9 2 ,290 26, 300

5 570 7 320 Roanoke, Va. ----------------- 5 390 1,9006 5, 330 47* 700 R och ester, N. Y . ----------- 8 2 ,630 25 ,700

8 1, 870 16, 800 R ock ford , HI. ---------------- 11 1,900 28 ,70010 5, 830 62,600 St. Joseph, M o. ------------ 6 1,300 7, 8107 2,910 19,600 St. L ou is, M o. -E ast

18 9, 630 150,000 St. L ouis, 111. ----------- 115 42 ,700 621,0007 2 , 530 54,200 Sacram ento, C alif. ------- * 17 14,500 199,000Saginaw, M i c h . -------------- 7 2 ,0 60 26, 3005 3, 610 101,000 Salt Lake C ity, U ta h ----- 12 7 ,7 90 81,1008 2, 750 52,900 San A ntonio, T ex . -------- 5 2 ,2 70 18,500

14 3, 710 40 ,900 San Bernardino., C a lif. 14 3 ,920 54,00023 13,200 131,000 San D iego, C alif. 14 4,4 40 73 ,400

San F ra n cisco -O ak la n d ,27 5, 480 31, 300 C alif. --------------------- ------ 81 58,900 731,000

24 18,500 387,000 San J ose , C alif, ------ 13 22 ,400 249,00011 2, 360 83,700 Savannah, Ga. ------------ 8 970 3, 0308 680 3, 300 Scranton, Pa. ---------------- 38 9 ,0 80 72 ,8006 2, 340 45, 800 Seacti-,, Wash. --------------- 20 14,400 249 ,000

12 1,210 15,100 Shrev< nort, La. ------------ 5 1,970 9, 890

See footnotes at end of table.


13

TABLE 7 . W ork stoppages by m etropolitan a rea , 1953 1 - Continued

M etropolitan area


1953M an-days

idle during M etropolitan area


1953M an-days

idle during 1953 (all

stoppages)Num ber 2 W orkersinvolvedstoppages) Num ber 2 W orkersinvolved

South Bend, Ind. --------------- 12 28 ,500 101, 000 T renton , N. J. -------------- 19 2 , 600 34 ,400Spokane, Wash. ---------------- 7 2,980 18,600 T ucson , A r iz . --------------- 5 540 10,500Springfield, 111.----------------- 9 6 ,240 69,100 T ulsa , Okla. ------------------ 15 4 ,880 37,900Sp r ingf ie Id - H olyoke, U tica -R om e, N. Y. ------ 13 1,420 25 ,200

M a s s .--------------------------------- 27 10,400 78, 100 W ashington, D. C . ------- 23 5 ,320 31 ,800Springfield, M o . ---------------- 5 240 1,580 W aterbury, C o n n .---------- 5 6 ,770 40 ,000Stam ford-N orw alk , W heeling, W. Va. -

Conn. -------------------------------- 19 3 ,950 225,000 Steubenville, O h io ------ 29 7 ,790 88,400

Stockton, C alif. ----------------- 18 10,600 115,000 W ichita, K a n s .--------------- 6 1,590 14, 900S yracu se, N. Y. -------------- 22 11,500 355,000 W ilkes B arre -H azleton ,T acom a , Wash. ------- --------- 10 4, 160 112,000 p a . -------------------------------- 25 7, 650 84,300T am pa-St. P etersbu rg , Wilpnington, D el. ---------- 9 7 ,770 300,000

.. . . ...................................... ... 12 4 070 68 500 W orcester M a s s .____ 17 2, 630 38,300T erre Haute, Ind. ---------- 11 1* 460 18*900 Y ork, P a. * ---------------------- 13 2, 650 37,900T oledo , O h io --------------------- 31 7, 820 71, 800 Youngstown, Ohio --------- 110 41 ,200 230,000

1 The table includes data fo r each of the m etropolitan areas that had 5 or m ore stoppages in 1953. B eginning with 1952 data w ere tabulated separately fo r 182 m etropolitan a re a s . The in form ation fo r e a r lie r years was confined to c ity bou ndries . The m etropolitan areas cam e p rin cip a lly fro m the lis ts of Standard M etropolitan A reas com p iled by the Bureau of the Budget as o f January 28, 1949 and June 5, 1950. A few additional areas w ere added, including som e w here m a jor c ities have been included in the strike se r ie s in previou s y ea rs . Some m e tr o politan areas include counties in m ore than one State and hence an area total m ay equal or exceed the total fo r the State in which the m a jor city is located (e .g . , the New Y ork -N orth ea stern New J ersey m etropolitan a rea , which includes greater New Y ork and the surrounding area as w ell as eight counties in N ortheastern New J ersey , equals the total num ber of strikes in New Y ork State in 1953).

L ists o f these areas are available upon request from the D iv ision of W ages and Industrial R elations, Bureau o f L abor S ta tistics.

2 In this table, except as noted below , in ter-m etrop olitan area stoppages are counted separately in each area a ffected , with the w orkers involved and m an-days idle a lloca ted to the resp ectiv e a rea s . In the fo llow in g stoppage it was im p oss ib le to secu re the in form ation n ecessa ry to m ake such a llo ca tion s , and hence it is not included in the figu res fo r any m etropolitan area : the stoppage of about 500 em ployees o f tanker com panies at East and Gulf C oast ports in O ctober.

TA BLE 8. W ork stoppages by a ffilia tion o f unions involved , 1953

A ffilia tion

W ork stoppages beginning in 1953 M an-days id le during 1953 (all stoppages)

Num berP ercen t

o ftotal

W orkers involved 1

NumberP ercen t

o ftotal

Num berP ercen t

oftotal

A ll u n io n s ------------------------------------------------- 5, 091 100. 0 2 ,4 0 0 ,0 0 0 100.0 2 8 ,3 0 0 ,0 0 0 100. 0

A m erican F ederation of L abor 2 ---------- 2,861 56.2 1 ,0 60 ,0 00 4 4 .2 14 ,600 ,000 51. 6C ongress of Industrial O rganizations 1,312 25. 8 901,000 37 .5 9 ,7 0 0 ,0 0 0 34 .3Unaffiliated u n io n s ---------------------------------- 786 15.4 320,000 13.3 2 , 210,000 7 .8Single firm unions ----------- ----------------------- 20 .4 7 ,940 .3 42 ,800 .2D ifferent a ffiliations:

R ival unions 3-------------------------------------- 37 . 7 40 ,500 1. 7 204,000 . 7Cooperating unions 4 --------------------- 18 .4 65,400 2 .7 1 ,5 10 ,0 00 5 .3

No union in v o lv e d ------------------------------------ 46 .9 5,560 .2 19,400 . 1Not r e p o r te d --------------------------------------------- 11 .2 910 ( 5) 3 ,980 (5)

1 See footnote 3, table 1.2 A ll stoppages in 1953 involving the United B rotherhood of C arpenters and Join ers o f A m erica are included in

this ca tegory , although this union withdrew from the A F L from August 12 to Setpem ber 8 .Disputes between unions o f d ifferent a ffilia tions unions which recog n ize no established ju risd iction a l lines

between them and are r iva ls in the sam e fie ld .4 The stoppage involving North A m erican A viation , In c ., is in this group. It involved about 32 ,000 w ork ers .

A pproxim ately 200 of these w orkers w ere represen ted by the United W elders of A m erica (Ind. ); the rest w ere r e p r e sented by the United A utom obile W orkers (CIO).

5 L ess than a tenth of 1 percen t.


14

TA BLE 9 . W ork stoppages by num ber o f w ork ers involved, 1953

Num ber o f w ork ers

Stoppages beginning in 1953 M an-days idle during 1953 (all stoppages)

Num berP ercen t

oftotal

W orkers involved 1

N um berP ercen t

oftotal

Num berP ercen t

o ftotal

A ll w o r k e r s ------- *-------- ---------------------------- 5,091 100.0 2 ,4 0 0 ,0 0 0 100.0 2 8 ,3 0 0 ,0 0 0 o o o

6 and under 20 --------------------------------------- 692 13.6 8, 350 0 .3 141, 000 0 .520 and under 1 0 0 ---------------------------------- 1,740 34 .2 87 ,400 3. 6 1 ,3 20 ,0 00 4 .7100 and under 250 ------------------------------------ 1, 175 23. 1 187,000 7 .8 2 ,5 5 0 ,0 0 0 9 .0250 and under 500 ------------------------------------ 645 12.7 220,000 9 .2 2 , 660,000 9 .4500 and under 1,000 -------------------------------- 402 7 .9 276, 000 11.5 3 ,4 6 0 ,0 0 0 12.31,000 and under 5 ,0 00 ---------------------------- 368 7 .2 692,000 28. 8 7 ,2 9 0 ,0 0 0 2 5 .85, 000 and under 10 ,000 ----------------------- 41 .8 281,000 1 . 7 3 ,5 7 0 ,0 0 0 12. 610, 000 and o v e r ----------------------- ---------------- 28 .5 650,000 27. 1 7 ,2 70 , 000 2 5 .7

1 See footnote 3, table 1.

TA BLE 10. W ork stoppages by num ber o f establishm ents involved, 1953

Num ber o f establishm ents involved 1

Stoppages beginning in 1953 M an-days idle during 1953 (all stoppages)

Num berP ercen t

oftotal

W orkers involved 2

Num berP ercen t

oftotal

NumberP ercen t

oftotal

A ll e s ta b lish m e n ts ------- --------------------------- 5,091 100.0 2 ,4 0 0 ,0 0 0 100.0 2 8 ,3 0 0 ,0 0 0 100. 0

1 e s ta b lish m en t---------------------------------------- 3 ,6 84 7 2 .4 1, 120, 000 46 .5 10 ,300 ,000 36. 32 to 5 esta b lish m en ts------ ------------------------ 672 13.2 311,000 12.9 5 ,2 0 0 ,0 0 0 18.46 to 10 e s ta b lish m e n ts ---------------------------- 232 4. 6 197,000 8.2 1 ,6 00 ,0 00 5 .711 establishm ents or m ore ---------------- 477 9 .4 765,000 31.9 11, 100,000 39. 1Not r e p o r t e d --------------------------------------------- 26 .5 10,900 .5 142,000 .5

1 An establishm ent, fo r purposes of this table, is defined as a single ^physical location w here bu siness is conducted or where se rv ice s or industrial operations are p erform ed ; fo r exam ple, a fa cto ry , m ill , s tore , m ine, or fa rm . A stoppage m ay involve 1, 2, or m ore establishm ents of a single em ployer or it m ay involve d ifferent em ployers .

* See footnote 3, table 1.


15

TABLE 11. A nalysis of individual w ork stoppages involving 10, 000 or m ore w ork ers , 1953 1

Beginningdate

Approxim ate duration (calendar

days) 2E stablishm ent(s) and location . Union(s) in v o lv ed 3

Approxim ate num ber of

w orkers involved

M ajor term s o f settlem en t4

January 15 4 B riggs M anufacturing C o. , D etroit, M ich.

United A utom obile W orkers (CIO)

16,000 W orkers returned after settlem ent o f disputed (w orkload) issu e .

January 21 3 Hudson M otor Car C o ., D etroit, M ich.


11,500 W orkers returned to jobs pending settlem ent of g r ie v ances (including a d isch arge ca se ) under norm al grievance p roced u re .

January 30 5 Inland Steel C o . , East C hicago, Ind.

United S teelw orkers (CIO)

18,000 G rievan ces, involving suspension o f em ployees, to be p ro ce sse d through regular grievan ce p roced u re .

F ebru ary 15 5 7 Interstate Paint C o. , subcon tra ctor , (A tom ic Energy C om m ission construction p ro je c t) , Aiken and Barnw ell Counties, S. C.

B ro . of P a in ters, D ecora tors and Paperhanger s (A FL)

5 20, 000 H ourly wage in crea ses o f 12% cents fo r brush painters; 17% cents fo r spray painters; and 15 cents fo r stee l and sign p a in ters.

F ebru ary 24 3 Studebaker C o r p ., South Bend, Ind.


17,000 W orkers returned to their job s a fter protest o f com pany action in appointment o f sup e rv is o r .

M arch 26 35 New J e rse y B ell Telephone Co. , N. J. , Statewide

Telephone W orkers Union of New J ersey (Ind. ) 6

6 14,000 W eekly wage in crea ses of $2 fo r em ployees earning less than $ 7 4 .5 0 a w eek and $3 fo r other em ployees; wage p ro g re ss io n schedule reduced from 6V2 to 6 y ears .

M arch 30 4 Union R ailroad Co. , (U. S. Steel C o r p .), P ittsburgh , Pa.

B ro . o f R ailroad Trainm en (Ind. )

7 27, 000 A greem ent to prevent a n d /o r elim inate slowdowns; reinstatem ent of suspended em p loy ees .

A p ril 2 2 U. S. Rubber C o .,11 States:

C alif. , Conn. , 111. , Ind. , M a s s ., M ich ., N. J . , P a ., R. I . , Tenn. , W is.

United Rubber W orkers (CIO)

36, 000 E m p loyer-fin an ced h os pita lization , m ed ica l, and su r g ica l insurance plan fo r em p loyees and their dependents; 2 w eek s1 vacation after 3 in stead of 5 years of se r v ice .

A p ril 13 3 C h rysler C orp . , Detroit and T renton , M ich .


48 ,000 T ru ck d riv ers com plied with union request that they term inate unauthorized p r o test stoppage over pickups at strike-boun d su p p lier s plant.

M ay 1 8 50 C onstruction industry, D etroit, M ich.

United B ro . of Carpenters and Joiners (A FL);

B ro . of P a in ters, D ecora tors and Paperhangers (AFL)

30,000 C arpenters* wages w ere in creased 12 cents an hour with an in crea se in em ployer contributions fo r life and hosp ita lization insurance of 3 cents a m an-hour e ffective July 1, 1953 and 2 cents additional e ffective A p ril 1, 1954. P ainters* wages w ere in creased 12% cents an hour with a 2 % -cen t hourly in crease in em ployer contributions fo r hospita lization insurance.

M ay 1 vO oo C onstruction industry, P hiladelphia, P a.

F ive AF L Building Trades Unions:

C arp en ters , Cement

F in ish ers , Ironw orkers, G la z ie rs , and R oofers

20,000 Carpenters* and cem ent fin ishers* w ages in creased 20 cents an hour effective M ay 1, 1953 with an additional 10-cen t hourly in crease e ffective May 1, 1954. M em bers o f the other building trades unions involved rece iv ed vage in crea ses o f varying am ounts.

See footnotes at end of table.Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

16

TABLE l l o A nalysis of individual w ork stoppages involving 10, 000 or m ore w ork ers , 1953 1 - Continued

Beginningdate

A pproxim ate duration

(calendar days 2

E stablishm ent(s) and location U nion(s) in v o lv ed 3App r ox im a t e

num ber of w orkers involved

M ajor term s of settlem en t4

May 1 19 C onstruction industry, K noxville , Oak Ridge, and other location s in E astern Tenn.

A F L Building Trades Unions (Knoxville C ouncil)

15,000 Wage in crea se o f 5.3 percent.

May 11 71 C onstruction industry, Kansas C ity, M o. , and Kansas C ity, Kansas

T hree A F L Building Trades Unions:

T ea m sters , L a b orers , and Operating

E ngineers

22 ,500 Wage in crea ses ranging f r o m 7V2 to I 2 V2 cents an hour; agreem ent on a plan fo r settle m ent o f ju r isd iction a l m atters .

June 2 27 C onstruction industry, Utah

Six A F L Building T rades Unions:

T eam sters , C arpenters, Operating E ngineers,

L a b orers , Cem ent M asons, and Iron w orkers

10,000 Wage in crea ses ranging from 5 to 15 cents an hour, with additional in crea ses ranging from 2 lk to 10 cents e ffe ctive January 1, 1954.

June 3 41 C onstruction industry, N orthern and Central C alif.

Hod C a rr ie rs , Building and Com m on L aborers (A FL)

10 60, 000 Wage in crea se of 15 cents an hour.

June 4 ii 14 F . Ho M cG raw and C o0, (A tom ic E nergy C om m ission con stru ction p ro je c t) , Paducah, K ye

A F L Building Trades Unions (Paducah C ouncil)

l 2 l l ,000 International o ff ice rs of the unions involved ordered m em bers to return to w ork pending negotiations on travel pay and other fr inge ben efits .

June 29 36 C onstruction industry, Indianapolis, Ind.

Int1! . B ro . of C arpenters and Joiners (A FL)

10,000 H ourly wage in crea se of 17 cents e ffectiv e August 5, 1953 with additional 8 cents effective January 1, 1954.

July 28 8 C aliforn ia P r o c e s s o r s and G row ers, Inc. ,Nor them and Central C alif.

Int*l. B ro . of T eam sters (AFL)

33 ,000 Wage in crea ses ranging from 8 to 10 cents an hour; em ployers to contribute $8.65 a month to a health and w e lfa re plan coverin g em ployees w orking 1,600 hours a year and their dependents.

August 10 3 Pennsylvania D ress M anufacturers A ssoc ia tion , N ortheastern Pa.

Int*l. L a d ies1 Garm ent W orkers* Union (A FL)

10,000 R eduction in ba sic w ork w eek from 40 to 35 hours; 6 p ercen t in crea se in p iece rates; 9 -ce n t hourly wage in c rea se fo r tim e w ork ers .

August 19 13 Southwestern B ell Telephone C o. , A r k . , 111, (2 counties), K a n s ., M o. , Okla0, and Texas

Com m unications W orkers of A m erica (CIO)

50,000 Wage in creases ranging from $ 1 .5 0 to $3 a week; som e job re c la ss ifica tion s and upward re cla ss ifica t io n of 13 exchanges.

August 26 2 V arious su b -con tractors(A tom ic E nergy C om m ission construction p ro je ct), Paducah, Ky,

United B ro. of C arpenters and Joiners (AFL)

11,000 Wage issu e to be settled after term ination of stoppage.

August 27 4 F ires ton e T ire and Rubber C o. , C alif. , Ind. , Iowa, M a s s ., Ohio, P a ., and Tenn,

United Rubber W orkers (CIO)

25 ,000 Wage in crea sesa v era g in g 5 cents an hour; em p loy er- paid hospitalization , m ed ica l, and su rg ica l insurance plan fo r em ployees and their d e pendents; in crea sed pensions m onthly, including so c ia l s e - curi,ty;2 w eeks 1 vacation after 3 instead of 5 years of s e r v ice .

See footnotes at end o f table.Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

17

TA BLE 11 . A nalysis o f individual w ork stoppages involving 10,000 or m ore w o rk e rs , 1953 1 - Continued

Beginningdate

Approximate duration (calendar

days)2Establishment(s) and location Union(s) involved3

Approximate number of workers involved

Major terms of settlement4

October 1 5 Shipping industry, East Coast

Intl. Longshoremens A s s n. (Ind.)

30,000 Workers returned after issuance of injunction obtained under the emergency provisions of the Labor-Management Relations Act.

October 23 54 North American Aviation,In c.,Los Angeles and Fresno, C alif., and Columbus, Ohio

United Automobile Workers (CIO); United Welders of America (Ind.)13

13 32,000 Wage increases of 4 percent and other fringe benefits generally as offered by the company prior to the stoppage.

October 25 7 Milk dealers, New York,N. Y . , northern N. J . , and Fairfield County, Conn.

Intl. Bro. of Teamsters (AFL)

13,000 Wage increase of $6 a week; increased vacation and insurance benefits, estimated to cost $2. 50 a week per employee.

November 16 14 Aliquippa and Southern Railroad (Jones and Laughlin Steel C orp ., Aliquippa Works), Pittsburgh, Pa.

United Railroad Workers (CIO); Bro. of Railroad Trainmen, and Bro. of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (Ind.)

1415,000 Hourly wage increase of 8Va cents.

November 28 11 Six newspapers, (Times, Post, Daily News, Daily M irror, Journal-Am eric an, and World-Telegram and Sun), New York, N. Y.

Photo-Engravers * Union (AFL)

15,000 A $3.75 weekly package increase including $3 in wages, liberalized welfare benefits and an extra paid holiday annually, and agreement to submit questions of an additional wage increase and reduction in the regular workweek to a 3-man fact-finding board.

December 2 (1S) American Can Co. and Continental Can C o ., Nationwide

United Steelworkers (CIO)

30,000 i )

1 Inform ation in this table except m a jor term s of settlem ent is based p r im a rily on rep lies from the p a rties , supplem ented by a v ariety of s o u rce s . In m ost ca ses the term s of settlem ent are com p iled fro m the negotiated a g r e e m ent or from new spaper and other secondary so u rce s .

2 Includes nonw orkdays, such as Saturdays, Sundays, and h olidays. Only n orm ally scheduled w orkdays are used in com puting strike id len ess .

3 The unions listed are those d ire ct ly involved in the dispute."W ork ers involved" include a ll w orkers m ade id le fo r one shift or longer in establishm ents d ire ct ly involved

in a stoppage, including m em bers o f other unions or nonunion w ork ers . E m ployees who are m ade idle by m ateria l or s e rv ice shortages in other establishm ents or industries are not included.

4 The B ureau s m onthly C urrent Wage D evelopm ents report d escrib es the wage settlem ents som etim es in greater detail than they are presented h ere .

5 P ainters em ployed by Interstate Paint Company stopped w ork and established p icket lin es . E m ployees of other con tra ctors on the p ro je c t observed the p icket lines but returned to w ork on F ebru ary 19 a fter rem ova l o f p icket lin es . P ainters returned F ebru ary 23 after ratifying the wage agreem en t.

6 P icket lines established by about 7 ,000 plant and accounting departm ent em ployees, represen ted by the Telephone W orkers Union o f New J ersey (Ind. ), w ere resp ected by m em bers of the C om m unications W orkers o f A m erica (CIO) em ployed by New Jersey B ell Telephone C o. and W estern E le ctr ic Co.

7 About 2, 500 em ployees o f the Union R ailroad C o. (a subsid iary o f U. S. Steel C orp. serv icin g steel plants) w ere involved in the dispute and about 24, 500 stee l w orkers em ployed by U. S. Steel C orp . in c lo s e ly integrated operations w ere m ade id le .

8 A m a jor ity o f the w ork ers involved returned to their jobs June 15 but sev era l thousand w ork ers w ere idle until June 19.

9 A m a jor ity of the w ork ers returned to w ork June 18 after C arpenters and Cem ent F in ish ers reached a g r e e m ent with the con tra cto rs . Other cra fts returned betw een June 18 and July 3 as agreem en ts w ere reached .

10 M em bers of the L a b o r e r s Union stopped w ork on June 3. A w eek later approx im ately 30, 000 building trades w orkers w ere id le . The A ssoc ia ted G eneral C ontractors of A m erica , In c ., N orthern and Central C a liforn ia Chapters, ca lled on m em bers in the area to stop a ll construction w ork e ffective with the c lo s e o f w ork on June 23 because of the la b o r e r s strike against som e of its m em b ers . A pproxim ately 60, 000 w ork ers w ere idle by late June.

1 1 The stoppage, initiated by P ainters on June 4, was extended to other cra fts represen ted by the PaducahBuilding and C onstruction T rades C ouncil; by June 9 approxim ately 11, 000 w ere id le .

12 This figure includes em ployees of other con tra ctors who w ere idle becau se of p icket lin es .13 A pproxim ately 200 of the w ork ers involved in this w ork stoppage w ere represen ted by the United W elders of

A m erica (Ind. ); the rest w ere represen ted by the United A utom obile W orkers (CIO). The total number idle declined as the stoppage continued and w ork ers returned to their jo b s . By the end o f the strike approxim ately half of the w orkers had returned.

14 About 7 50 em ployees of the Aliquippa and Southern R ailroad (a su bsid iary of Jones and Laughlin Steel C o rp .) w ere involved in the dispute and about 14, 000 steel w orkers in c lo se ly integrated operations v/ere m ade id le .

15 The union settled with Continental Can Co. on January 5, 1954 and with A m erican Can Co. on January 12,1954. The agreem ents provided a 15 -cent hourly "p a ck a g e ," including an 8V2 - cent ba sic wage in crea se .Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

18

T A B LE 12. Duration o f w ork stoppages ending in 1953

Duration (calendar days)Stoppages W orkers involved M an-days idle

Num berP ercen t

o ftotal

Num ber 1P ercen t

oftotal

NumberP ercen t

oftotal

A ll p eriod s ----------- ---------------------- ------------------------------- 5, 109 100.0 2 ,3 8 0 ,0 0 0 100.0 228, 000, 000 100.0

1 day - ------ 605 11. 8 199,000 8 .4 199,000 0.72 to 3 d a y s ------------------------ -------------------------------------------- 819 16.0 476, 000 20 .0 923,000 3 .34 days and le ss than 1 w e e k ----------- --------------------------- 719 14. 1 388,000 16. 3 1 ,2 70 ,0 00 4. 51 w eek and le s s than V* m onth (7 to 14 d a y s ) -------------- 1,041 2 0 .4 476,000 20 .0 2 ,9 5 0 ,0 0 0 10.5Vz m onth and le ss than 1 m onth (15 to 29 days) --------- 880 17.2 312,000 13. 1 4 ,2 6 0 ,0 0 0 15.21 m onth and le s s than 2 months (30 to 59 d a y s )---------- 628 12.3 360,000 15. 1 8 ,9 1 0 ,0 0 0 31. 82 m onths and le ss than 3 months (60 to 89 days) ------- 224 4 .4 124,000 5 .2 5 ,2 8 0 ,0 0 0 18.93 m onths and ov er (90 days and ov er) ----------------------- 193 3. 8 44 ,000 1.9 4 ,2 2 0 ,0 0 0 15. 0

1 See footnote 3, table 1.2 This figu re d iffers from the total m an-days idle shown in p reced ing tables becau se this and the next two tables

relate to total id len ess in a ll stoppages ending in 1953, including any 1952 id leness in these strik es .

TA BLE 13. M ethod of term inating w ork stoppages ending in 1953

Stoppages W orker's involved M an-day s idleM ethod o f term ination

Num berP ercen t

oftotal

Number 1P ercen t

oftotal

Num berP ercen t

o ftotal

A ll m e th o d s ---------------------------------------------- ----------------------- 5, 109 100. 0 2 ,3 8 0 ,0 0 0 100.0 228, 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 100.0

A greem ent o f parties reached D ir e c t ly -------------------------------------------------- ----------------- 2 ,442 47. 8 978,000 41. 1 6, 610, 000 23. 6With a ss ista n ce o f Governm ent agen cies --------------- 1, 737 34. 0 1 ,080 ,000 45 .2 19 ,300 ,000 68.9With ass ista n ce o f non-G overnm ent m ediators

o r agen cies -------------------------------------------------------------- 26 . 5 17,700 . 7 93 ,100 . 3T erm inated without fo rm a l s e t t le m e n t------------------------ 743 14. 5 290,000 12.2 1, 800,000 6 .4E m ployers discontinued business -------------------------------- 46 .9 2, 150 . 1 87,800 . 3Not rep orted --------------------- ------------------------------------------------ 115 2. 3 16,400 .7 108,000 .4

1 See footnote 3, table 1.2 See footnote 2, table 12.

TA BLE 14 . D isposition o f issu es in w ork stoppages ending in 1953

D isposition o f issu esStoppages W orkers involved 1 M an-day s idle

Num berP ercen t

oftotal

Num berP ercen t

oftotal

Num berP ercen t

oftotal

A ll i s s u e s -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5, 109 100.0 2 ,380,000 100.0 2 28 ,000 ,000 100.0

Issues settled or d isposed of at term ination ofstop p ag e3 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4, 183 81 .9 1,770,000 7 4 .4 2 3 ,700 ,000 84.7

Som e or all issu es to be adjusted after resum ptiono f w ork

By d irect negotiation between em ployer andunion ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------- 536 10.5 415,000 17. 5 2, 220, 000 7 .9

By negotiation with the aid o f Governm entagen cies -------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 .8 38,800 1.6 339,000 1.2

By a r b it r a t io n ------------------------------------------------------------- 115 2 .3 106, 000 4 .5 1 ,080 ,000 3. 8By other m eans 4 -------- ----------------------------------------------- 81 1. 6 27,300 1. 1 402,000 1. 4

Not reported -------------------------------------------------------------------- 152 3. 0 21, 600 .9 241, 000 .9

1 See footnote 3, table 1.2 See footnote 2, table 12.3 Includes (a) those strikes in which a settlem ent was reached on the issu es p r io r to return to w ork , (b) those in

which the parties agreed to u tilize the com p an y^ grievance p roced u re , and (c) any strikes in which the w ork ers returned without fo rm a l agreem ent or settlem ent.

4 Included in this group are the ca ses re fe r re d to the National or State labor relations boards or other agen cies fo r d ecis ion s or e lection s .


App endix A

19

TABLE 1. W ork stoppages by specific industry, 1953

Stoppages beginning in 1953 Man-days idle during 1953

(all stoppages)Number Workers involved 1

25, 091 2,400 ,000 28,300,000

22 , 612 1, 320,000 15,600,000

312 202,000 1,510,000

130 132,000 522,00084 33,000 462,000

15 6,400 60,500

6 660 19,200

17 8,670 174,00022 7,150 63,300

38 14,200 211,000

2 291 102,000 1, 690,0009 28,800 555,000

35 9,540 250,000

37 9,590 180,000

99 25,100 283,000

58 13,500 215,0006 1,440 16,500

18 5,280 38,000

30 8,950 151,000

23 21,400 164,000

1 1,250 24,900

18 17,000 35,5001 1, 300 94,400

1 130 1301 1,460 8,690

1 240 710

137 76,600 1, 620,000

56 30,600 471,00014 7, 620 56, 1006 2,810 15,300

9 7, 180 156,0006 1,890 13,700

34 24,200 789,000

12 2,210 118,000

286 126, 000 2, 150,0009 10,100 157,000

15 15,400 200,000

30 9,620 137,00055 24.600 416,000

31 8,440 185,000

58 18,300 312,000

9 1,830 59,400

31 21,600 248,00048 16,400 433,000

2 179 300,000 2,730,000

101 203,000 781,00031 57,800 1,350,000

32 27,900 308,00014 11,000 289,000

2 280 1,710

Stoppages beginning in 1953 Man-days idle during 1953

(all stoppages)Number Workers involved 1

125 19,800 512,000

13 3,590 105,00039 6,470 190,000

34 6,260 162,00020 1,940 19,40019 1,510 35, 600

m 25,100 269,00099 19,600 187,00011 2,350 32,200

3 270 1,730

17 2,720 47,-400

4 180 670

128 19,400 316,0005 830 2,330

10 2,320 13,100

9 750 8,4105 1,330 19,500

26 3,950 68,40017 3,270 62,500

27 2,950 89,0007 1,150 19,400

22 2,910 33,500

88 26, 600 593,000

11 3,660 80,200

21 11,100 116,000

5 1,700 20,50017 2, 870 129,000

12 3,190 37,700

5 1,270 11,600

3 1,650 190,00014 1,090 7,870

193 35,600 296,000

10 880 5,640

35 6,020 49,200

83 22,200 125,000

11 1,030 23,9006 1,060 13,300

16 990 6,4702 30 800

14 1,830 55,100

16 1,480 16,100

48 11,900 99,100

9 1,320 7,290

1 70 1, 19026 9, 100 67,600

1 40 3204 790 17,300

3 490 4,6304 120 740

Industry Industry

All industries -----------------------

M a n u f a c t u r i n g .

Primary metal industries--------------Blast furnaces, steel works,

and rolling m i l l s ----------------------Iron and steel foundries-------------Primary smelting and refining

of nonferrous metals anda llo y s -----------------------------------------

Secondary smelting and refining of nonferrous m e ta ls ----------------

Rolling, drawing, and alloyingof nonferrous m e ta ls --------------

Nonferrous foundries--------------

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