The United Auto Workers (UAW) called its first strike since 2007 this week, sending more than 49,000 workers to the picket lines.
The strike is one of the two largest work stoppages at a private company since 2007, when an estimated 74,000 people walked off the job at General Motors facilities for three days, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
The instances of strikes and lockouts, two types of work stoppages, have dwindled considerably since 1981, when 145 work stoppages involving more than 1,000 workers each occurred. In 2018, there were 20 similar work stoppages.
