Are union strikes happening more than usual this year?

Professor Peter Orazem was interviewed by The Gazette for the story "Are union strikes happening more than usual this year?" which focuses whether the number of union strikes has grown over the last couple of decades.

Orazem told The Gazette that “The number of strikes is not that big (this year). The ones happening are more publicized, perhaps. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has been tracking the number of large stoppages with 1,000 or more workers since 1947. In 2021, there were 17. In 2020, there were 10, and there were more strikes in 2019, 2018 and so on. (This year,) there have been 21 large strikes — a little more than last year and 2020.