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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Has US strike activity gone up in recent years?
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
By Austin Tannenbaum
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YES
According to Labor Department data, there were 20 large strikes (involving 1,000 or more workers) in 2018, the most in more than a decade, and 25 in 2019.
Recent totals are low compared to pre-1980s rates. From 1947 to 1980, there were at least 100 large strikes per year. Some years saw 300, 400 or more. Activity plummeted after President Reagan fired 11,000 striking air traffic control workers in 1981. No year since 1989 has seen more than 50 major stoppages.
While large strikes are down in 2020, since March there have been more than 1,100 smaller walkouts and stoppages, spurred by demands for coronavirus protections and police accountability, according to Payday Report, a Pittsburgh-based labor publication.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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