American longshoremen, who went on strike early Tuesday morning, are the latest union group to back up their demands for better contracts by walking off the job to illustrate their value to both the national economy and employers’ bottom lines.

Unions representing auto workers, actors, hotel housekeepers and aircraft assembly workers called strikes amid the news of organized labor last year. Members argued that they had made the sacrifices their companies had asked them to make during the pandemic and difficult economic conditions, and now was the time to catch up, especially after several years of elevated inflation.

According to data kept by the IRL School at Cornell University, the number of work stoppages increased by 9% in 2022-2023 to 466 strikes and four lockouts. But the number of workers affected by furloughs, around 539,000, was more than double the previous year, according to the school’s research.

A database maintained by Cornell and the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recorded 250 strikes and other labor actions in 2024 as of Monday.

Here are some recent clashes between companies and organized labor

American Ports and the International Longshoremen’s Association

Longshoremen at 36 ports from Maine to Texas began picketing early Tuesday, marking their first strike in decades over wages and automation, even as progress was made in contract talks. At midnight, the contract between the ports and the approximately 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired.

The alliance said it had increased its offer to 50% increases over six years and committed to maintaining automation limits under the old contract. The alliance also said its offer tripled employer contributions to retirement plans and strengthened health care options. In a statement early Tuesday, the union said it rejected the alliance’s latest proposal because it “falls far short of the demands of rank-and-file ILA members for wages and protections from automation.” The two sides have not held formal negotiations since June.

Philadelphia port workers walked in a circle in front of the port and chanted, “No job without a fair contract.” The union, on strike for the first time since 1977, posted notice boards on the side of a truck that read: “Automation Harms Families: ILA Stands for Labor Protection.”

If the strike drags on, companies will be forced to pay shippers for delays and cause some goods to arrive late during the peak holiday shopping season, which could impact shipments of everything from toys and artificial Christmas trees to cars, coffee and fruit.

Boeing and the International Association of Machinists

Aircraft assembly workers walked off the job at Boeing plants near Seattle and elsewhere on Sept. 12 after union members voted overwhelmingly to reject the proposed contract and go on strike. Boeing and negotiators from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers held three negotiating sessions with federal mediators. The company unveiled a revised contract last week, but the union declined to put it to a vote after a survey of members found it did not meet their demands for wages and pensions.

Video games and SAG-AFTRA

Earlier this month, video game contractors reached agreements with 80 individual games that signed interim or tiered budget agreements with the contractors’ union and accepted the artificial intelligence provisions they sought.

The artists went on strike for over a month.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike in July after negotiations with gaming giants, which began more than a year and a half ago, were halted over protection against artificial intelligence.

The transition agreement provides pay increases, protection against artificial intelligence “exploitation” and safety measures that take into account the strain of physical performances as well as vocal stress. The tiered budget agreement is intended to make it easier for independent game developers or smaller budget projects to work with union talent, while also providing contractors with protection under a transitional agreement.

Las Vegas Resorts and the Culinary Workers Union

Last month, thousands of unionized hospitality workers on the Las Vegas Strip reached a tentative agreement with the Venetian and Palazzo resorts. It was the first agreement for employees of the sprawling Italian-inspired complex, which opened 25 years ago.

The Culinary Workers Union announced on the X social media platform that the agreement had been reached after a year of negotiations. It includes more than 4,000 hotel and casino workers, from housekeepers and waiters to bartenders and porters.

Union spokeswoman Bethany Khan said the deal reflects major victories secured in recent contracts awarded to 40,000 hospitality workers at 18 Strip properties owned or operated by casino giants MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts.

These victories included a 32% pay rise over five years, reduced household workload, and improved workplace safety thanks to advances in technology and artificial intelligence.

According to the union, the wage increase resulting from these contracts will average $35 per hour at the end of the contracts. Workers at these properties earned about $26 an hour with benefits before they won their latest contract in November.

Hotel chains and UNITE Here

More than 10,000 workers at 25 hotels across the United States staged a Labor Day weekend strike to amplify their demands for higher wages, a fairer workload and a reversal of pandemic-era cuts. Most striking housewives and other hospitality workers represented by the UNITE Here union were off work for several days. On September 24, approximately 2,000 unionized workers at Hawaii’s largest resort, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, joined another several thousand hotel workers who continued to strike at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott hotels in Honolulu, San Diego and San Francisco, according to data. relationship.

Kaiser Permanente and health care workers

Unions representing 85,000 health care workers reached a tentative agreement with industry giant Kaiser Permanente in October 2023 after a strike over pay and staffing levels.

The agreement included setting the minimum hourly wage at $25 in California, where most of Kaiser’s facilities are located, and $23 in other states. Employees will also see a 21% wage increase over four years.

The pre-contract agreement included a three-day strike involving 75,000 workers in multiple states.

The deal also included protective terms on subcontracting and outsourcing, as well as initiatives to invest in the existing workforce and address the staffing crisis.

Automakers and the UAW

Late last year, the United Auto Workers union overwhelmingly ratified new contracts with Ford and Stellantis, as well as a similar deal with General Motors, that would have raised wages across the industry and forced automakers to absorb higher costs.

The agreements, which run until April 2028, ended contentious talks that began in the summer of 2022 and led to six weeks of strikes at all three carmakers.

The new contract agreements were widely seen as a victory for the UAW, although Ford’s chief executive said the company would reconsider where it would make cars in the future. The companies agreed to dramatically increase the wages of key assembly plant workers, implementing raises and cost-of-living adjustments that would translate into a 33% wage increase.

Top assembly plant workers were to receive an immediate 11% raise and earn about $42 an hour when their contracts expire in April 2028.

Under the agreements, automakers also eliminated many of the multiple wage tiers they used to pay various workers. They also agreed in principle to include new electric vehicle battery factories in the national union contract.

UPS and Teamsters

UPS workers who are members of the Teamsters union approved a tentative contract with the package delivery company last year before they began picketing as promised. The run-up to approval was not smooth, with contentious labor negotiations threatening to disrupt package deliveries to millions of businesses and households across the country.

After negotiations broke down in early July 2023, the Atlanta-based company reached a tentative agreement on a contract with the Teamsters just days before the August 1 deadline.

At the time of the agreement, full-time and part-time union workers would earn $2.75 more per hour in 2023 and a total of $7.50 more through the end of the five-year contract. The starting hourly wage for part-time workers also increased to $21, but some workers said it fell short of their expectations.

UPS said at the time that the average full-time UPS driver would earn about $170,000 a year in pay and benefits when the new contract expires. It was unclear how much of that amount was benefits.

As part of the deal, the delivery company agreed to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day, among other things. full holiday, end compulsory overtime on drivers’ days off and stop using driver-facing cameras in the cab. It eliminated the two-tier pay system for drivers and also reached preliminary agreements on safety issues, including equipping more trucks with air conditioning.

Hollywood Studios and SAG-AFTRA

In December 2023, Hollywood actors voted to ratify an agreement with the studios, ending their strike after nearly four months, officially ending the labor conflict that rocked the entertainment industry for much of last year.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists approved the three-year contract.

Control over the use of artificial intelligence was the most hotly contested issue in long, methodical negotiations. The agreement provided for a 7% increase in overall remuneration, with further increases to take place in the second and third years of the agreement.

The agreement also included a hard-won provision that put a temporary halt to the talks: the creation of a fund to pay performers for future viewing of their works on streaming services, in addition to the traditional residuals paid for showing films or series.