ANALYSIS: Strike Wave Is Subsiding as Unions Scale Back Walkouts

The current era of heightened labor unrest in US workplaces is winding down. Unions initiated 222 strikes in 2025, a four-year low that establishes a decidedly downward trend, according to a new report that analyzes labor data from Bloomberg Law’s database of work stoppages.

Strike totals had soared in 2022 and 2023, as labor sought to reverse a power imbalance exposed by the 2020 Covid-19 recession. Stung by such unilateral management decisions as furloughs, closings, and other cost-cutting measures, unionized workers began walking out in droves as they negotiated terms to replace those in their ...