With everything that has been going on this year it is easy to get lost in the hurricanes and political candidates. However, while all of that has been happening, there have been great developments in the work force. This year has been a great year for work strikes in all sorts of industries. These strikes have had great repercussions in many sectors of the American economy and will most likely continue to be the driving force for change in the labor market.
Boeing is a company that has garnered itself some level of infamy over the years. From the criticism for the unreliability of their planes to political lobbying for profit, they are a company who have known scorn from many places. It should be unsurprising then that they have just recently wrapped up negotiations with the representatives of their worker's union. The economic impact of this strike was noticeable. Thousands of people were protesting which lead to a freezing in the supply chain. Around 38,000 jobs were taken out of the economy at this time. Surrounding business also stalled as their regulars were busy at the picket line. It is estimated that this strike cost Boeing over $6 billion before the talks were resolved.
Meanwhile, the tech workers of the New York Times have began to protest. 600 individuals have walked out and began their protest of the newspaper. The main asks of the workers are as follows: for their contracts to have a "just cause" provision (that they can only be fired because of misconduct or another reason of a similar nature), increases in pay, equal pay for all, and return-to-office mandates. The last point is particularly pressing since many tech workers of the New York Times work outside of New York City and would have to move in order to continue working. This, among other issues not resolved, led to stage a strike. As the days pass, many of the software technologies are predicted to stop working reliably.
This October, dockworkers also had their own strike, which caused ripple effects on the entire economy. The parties involved included the dockworkers of the East and Gulf coast negotiating with their bosses. As per usual, after months of employer-employee talks going nowhere, the dockworkers began their strike. 45,000 workers ended joining this effort. Their main asks were increase in wages for their contracts and for dock operators to address some concerns about automation. Fortunately for the consumer, companies had accelerated their shipments in anticipation for this and built a surplus. Although the surplus would have eventually ran out, the operators and port workers were able to hash out a plan that worked for everyone.
These strikes have had a tremendous impact in their particular fields. And as more strikes succeed, the more people will use strikes in the future. We should see that in the future, employers may have to treat their employees on more equal grounds or they might have to contend with labor strikes that could greatly impact their business.
