Who's on strike in the US — and who's next?

Actors joined the Writers Guild of America in a strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which represents studios including Netflix and Walt Disney, marking the first time in more than 60 years that Hollywood writers and actors struck together.

The announcement — immortalized by the walkout staged by the stars of "Oppenheimer" during its London premiere — shone a light on an already hot topic: This will go down in history as the summer of strikes.

The spike in organized-labor actions has been accelerating since the end of the pandemic. Major strike activity increased by almost 50% in 2022 and the surge has not ebbed. According to the Cornell IRL Labor Action Tracker, so far this year there have been 195 strikes across the U.S. in 303 different locations. This is 68% higher than the same period in 2021.

As the summer of strikes advances, here is a list of who is on the picket line and who is threatening to walk out. 

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Writers Guild of America

The WGA has been on strike since May 2 when talks with Hollywood studios fell apart. The union is demanding an increase in base pay and a greater share of earnings from shows that appear on streaming devices, as well as a minimum of six writers and 13 weeks commitment of work for each show, plus monetary benefits that reflect a show's popularity.Writers and actors alike are demanding protections against AI, which could be poised to take their jobs.

The WGA estimates the strike is costing $30 million a day across the industry.

Screen Actors GuildActors have a very similar list of demands, with the added requirement that they be compensated for auditions they record themselves. The SAG strike has also halted film premieres, awards shows and other events. It also puts reality-TV actors in a bind because although they are not required to join the action they may feel pressured to do so. 

The WGA + SAG walkout already is impacting entertainment industry-adjacent companies, like equipment outfits, caterers and talent agencies. Some studios started cutting payments to producers in early May.

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UPS

There is a potential strike looming for United Parcel Service as it negotiates a five-year labor agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters before the current contract expires at the end of the month. The union, which represents 340,000 UPS workers, is demanding higher starting pay for part-timers.

Starbucks

Some Starbucks employees are pushing to expand unionization at the coffee chain a year-and-a-half after the first Buffalo, New York, store voted to organize. Workers recently enjoyed a win when a U.S. labor board judge ruled that the company illegally shut down a store near Cornell University to "discourage unionization efforts in Ithaca and elsewhere." According to the Labor Action Tracker, there have been 26 strikes so far this year at Starbucks locations across the country.

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Yellow

The union representing 22,000 workers at Yellow plans to strike as soon as July 24 after the short-haul trucking company failed to make a $50 million payment for employee benefits. Benefits like pension accruals will be suspended July 23 if Yellow doesn't make the payment, according to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.Yellow has been struggling financially as it seeks to refinance more than $1 billion in debt that matures next year.