{"id":2865,"date":"2022-02-15T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=2865"},"modified":"2022-02-14T15:47:50","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T15:47:50","slug":"labor-strikes-late-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/labor-strikes-late-2021","title":{"rendered":"Workers in Action: Notable US Labor Strikes in Late 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ken Green
CEO & President
UnionTrack<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of workers were on strike in the fall of 2021, with a number of strikes lasting longer than a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an uptick that Joseph McCartin<\/a>, a professor of history and executive director at the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University, says is driven by three key factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Post-crisis worker militancy.<\/li>
  2. The labor shortage due to the Great Resignation.<\/li>
  3. A labor-friendly administration.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    No matter the motivation, what\u2019s obvious is that workers have felt more empowered to join together and stand up for themselves. Here are a few of the notable labor strikes that have taken place over the last few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Catholic Health Agrees to Better Pay, Benefits After Five-Week Strike<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    About 2,000 workers at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, New York, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1133, went on strike on October 1, 2021, after their contract expired. They were protesting insufficient staffing levels and unacceptable working conditions at the hospital. It was the latest in a long line of strikes by hospital workers this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The strike lasted for five weeks, until 94 percent of members voted to ratify a new contract and returned to work. \u201cThanks to the steadfast determination and sacrifices of our members over the past five weeks, these Catholic Health hospitals are now the first in New York, and some of the only across the country that will guarantee safe staffing levels,\u201d said CWA Area Director Debora Hayes<\/a>, after the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThis is a tremendous victory not only for our members, but for the patients, their families and the community who can be assured they will receive the highest quality care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Woman<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Kellogg Workers End Two-Tier System After 11-Week Strike<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    On October 5, 2021, approximately 1,400 workers at four Kellogg plants (represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union) went on strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The action was to protest lackluster pay and benefits increases, the threat by the company to send jobs offshore, and the proposed two-tier wage system that would exacerbate wage inequality among workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After more than two months, the union and Kellogg Co. reached a collective agreement that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n