STORY: U.S. mired in wave of strikes fueled by social inequality, inflation
DATELINE: Oct. 10, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:34
LOCATION: SACRAMENTO, U.S.
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of strikes in the U.S.

STORYLINE:

Union workers at Volvo Group-owned Mack Trucks went on strike Monday after a majority of the company's union members in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida rejected a tentative agreement Sunday.

Recent data showed this year saw a record of labor activities in the United States, as the number of workers involved in strikes has reached at least 453,000, the highest since 2019.

Workers have walked out from various industries such as automobile, healthcare, entertainment, hotel and airlines. This year's strikes also lasted longer than those in recent history, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Cornell University's Labor Action Tracker.

More than 75,000 healthcare workers remain on the picket lines across the United States last Friday, marking the industry's biggest strike in U.S. history.
   
Also on strike are autoworkers from the "Big Three" automakers -- Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. The workers have remained on strike since mid-September.

Analysts said the rise in organized labor movements is partly due to the tight labor market and inflation.
   
The recent low unemployment rates have increased worker leverage, as many employers scrambled to compete for workers amid increasing resignations and early retirements.
   
Elevated inflation has also significantly eroded the buying power of salaries. Although workers' pay has increased, most Americans' income hasn't grown as much as rent and grocery costs.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Sacramento, U.S.
(XHTV)