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Arizona teachers march toward the State Capitol as part of a rally for the #REDforED movement on April 26, 2018, in Phoenix. Teachers state-wide staged a walkout strike in support of better wages and state funding for public schools.
There was the highest number of “major” work stoppages in 11 years in 2018, according to data released Friday.
The Labor Department reported 20 stoppages involving at least 1,000 workers last year, with the 533,000 workers involved being the highest in 32 years. Stoppages are counted whether they’re strikes or lockouts.
The largest event was the Arizona school strike, a week-long protest that netted the teachers a 19% pay raise. The teachers, however, didn’t get all their demands, such as smaller class sizes and increased pay for school counselors.
Oklahoma teachers had the second-largest stoppage, and like the Arizona teachers, they also didn’t win all the concessions they sought. There were also school-related stoppages in West Virginia, Kentucky, Colorado, and North Carolina.
The gas workers who were locked out by the National Grid NGG, -0.58% in Massachusetts were out of work for six months, the longest major work stoppage, the Labor Department said. They went back to work in January after two unions ratified a new contract.
