Strike Durations in the United States: Selected Comparisons from the Public and Private Sectors

Abstract

This study examines the durations of strikes in selected occupations of the public and private sectors of the U. S. economy in the late post-World War II period. It asks whether differences in the legitimacy of unions and the legality of strikes alter the speed with which strikes end. Also, it argues that a curvilinear relationship between the institutionalization of strikes and unions and the termination rates of strikes exists. Data support hypotheses linking both the distribution of power resources and the institutional setting to the termination rates of different types of strikes (e.g., strikes under different contract statuses and over different issues). In general, where strikes are moderately institutionalized and precedents are being set, strikes end more slowly; at very high or very low levels of institutionalization, strikes end more rapidly.