Year Company Number of Members Affected Duration of Strike Notes
1955 Southern Bell Telephone Co. 50,000 72 days Strike was in answer to management's effort to prohibit workers from striking.
1968 AT&T 200,000 18 days Wage increases to compensate for cost of living, and medical benefits won
1971 Bell System 400,000 1 week Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) won for workers
1983 Bell System 600,000 22 days Last contract with the Bell System before its breakup. Bell System sought givebacks. The contract resulted in Wage increases, employment security, pension, and health improvements.
1986 AT&T 175,000 25 days COLA clause suspended in contract - former Bell System contracts vary substantially from the AT&T contract.
1989 AT&T 175,000 n/a Child and elder care benefits added to contract. COLA clause removed from contract
1989 NYNEX 175,000 17 weeks Strike was due to major health care cuts by NYNEX
1998 US West 34,000 15 day Strike was due to mandatory overtime demands and forced pay-for-performance plan. Overtime caps were won. [7]
2000 Verizon 80,000 3 weeks Strike was due to mandatory overtime demands. Provisions for stress were won.
2011 Verizon 45,000 13 days Strike was due to major wage and health care cuts by Verizon, a forced pay-for-performance plan and movement-of-work job security provisions. Contract extended.
2012 AT&T 20,000 2 Days AT&T West; California, Nevada, and AT&T East; Connecticut - Unfair labor practice strike during contract negotiations. [8]