BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1996
RELEASED TODAY: In 1995, the number of work stoppages was at the lowest
level recorded in the 49-year old series. Most of the other measures of
strike activity also were at relatively low levels in 1995
Major collective bargaining agreements reached in 1995 contained, on
average, smaller wage gains than the contracts they replaced, BLS reports.
Contracts negotiated in 1995 called for an average annual increase of 2.5
percent, compared with 3 percent for the pacts they replaced Due to
funding cuts, BLS will no longer publish or collect information on
collective bargaining settlements. BNA also collects, compiles, and
analyzes collective bargaining data, which it publishes in biweekly and
quarterly reports and will continue to do so (Daily Labor Report, Feb.
20, pages 1,D-6).
A New York Times article (Feb. 21, page D1), "Squeezing the Textile Workers;
Trade and Technology Force a New Wave of Job Cuts," cites BLS job figures in
the text and charts -- "After four years of stability, employment in the
apparel industry took a sudden plunge last year, falling by more than 10
percent, to 846,000, from 945,000 at the end of 1994. An additional 42,000
jobs vanished in the fabrics industry, which produces the raw material to
make clothing, for a total shrinkage of 141,000 jobs -- 40 percent of all
manufacturing jobs lost in the United States last year So while
dismantling trade barriers benefits most consumers by lowering prices, it
also deepens blue-collar anxieties in industries that are vulnerable to
foreign competition "
Articles in today's USA Today deal with surviving the decline of job
security (page 2B), workers must hustle to keep up with changes in the
corporate world (page 1B), and CEOs face image problems in wake of layoffs
(page 1B) The article on job security uses BLS figures in charts and
text, including occupational projections, earnings by education and by
training received, and nonfinancial corporate productivityYesterday's
article on "Workers on the edge" (page 1B) dealt with job fears, saying
that, even though two-thirds of workers say they haven't been affected by
the wave of corporate downsizings, and two-thirds say it's unlikely they'll
soon lose their jobs, two-thirds say job fears are tearing at the fabric of
society" Angst makes for "joyless recovery" and poses new challenges
throughout electorate
