For more than half a year, labor strife has swept the country.
First, Hollywood writers went on strike in May. Then actors joined them in walking off the set a couple months later, in July.
Detroit auto workers began a series of escalating strikes in mid-September.
Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses, ER technicians, and pharmacists participated in the largest health care labor dispute in U.S. history, striking for three days, from October 4 to October 6.
Nearly 35,000 hotel workers at 18 Las Vegas hotels threatened to strike on November 10, but a last-minute deal averted another walkout.
In every case, the disputes have ended with workers declaring victory and securing what Bloomberg called “record-breaking wage hikes.”
How did we get here? Why were there multiple, high-profile labor battles this year? And how are state legislatures responding to the “hot labor summer”?
Read the rest of this story at State Net Capitol Journal. Originally published Nov. 20, 2023; used with permission.