As positive social mood gets quieter, the call for fair working conditions grows louder!
On Jan. 28, the world’s largest aerospace company Boeing hit even more turbulence. It reported an “annual loss of $11.83 billion, its largest since 2020, as it grappled with problems at its commercial and defense units and the fallout from a crippling strike by U.S. West Coast factory workers” (USA Today).
Boeing has ample company. Writes the Economic Policy Institute: “The number of workers involved in major work stoppages increased by 280% in 2023,” a 23-year high. Think: Starbucks, SAG-AFTRA, GM, the Writers Guild of America, Kaiser, Hilton, SF Mariott and Hyatt, Samsung, Las Vegas hotels, Longshoremen, Utah’s Park City Mountain Ski Resort, Stellantis —
Amazon Teamsters launching the largest strike against the online retail giant in American History on Dec. 19 –

And now a Kirkland-sized strike by Costco Teamsters is slated for Jan. 31 if its specific demands aren’t met.
Labor strikes are one of the many horsemen of negative social mood. This phenomenon was featured in the November 2023 Socionomist, depicted here in the report’s cover image:

In this excerpt from the March 2022 Elliott Wave Theorist Special Report, “Preparing for Difficult Times,” Robert Prechter wrote:
“The main social influence of negative social mood is to cause society to polarize in countless ways. … Labor strikes, racial conflict, religious persecution, political unrest, trade protectionism, domestic repression, epidemics, coups and wars become more common.”
And here is Robert Prechter’s latest comment on the subject from the October Elliott Wave Theorist:
“Screenwriters are striking. Auto workers are striking. Health care workers are striking. Waffle House workers are striking. Most people ask what impact strikes will have on the economy. We ask a different question: What kind of social mood prompts strikes? The latest strikes are evidence of waning optimism. They should continue throughout the bear market.” The November 2023 Socionomist forces you to rethink a common assumption; namely, that rising labor strikes cause stocks to plunge. In fact, they reflect a shift in mood that has been building long before the picket line breaks.
The November 2023 Socionomist forces you to rethink a common assumption; namely, that rising labor strikes cause stocks to plunge. In fact, they reflect a shift in mood that has been building long before the picket line breaks.
And, the trend isn’t stopping, as Jan. 23 Nerd Wallet reveals:
So far in 2025, there have been four official labor actions, according to the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) Labor Action Tracker… More strikes are expected in the days to come.
It all fits into the larger socionomic picture we see emerging across the globe. When the engine of social mood begins shifting into negative gear, the motto of workers is “Do the Strike Thing.”
Stay in front of major trend changes affecting every area of society – from politics, fashion, economics, sports [turns out, the surge in worker strikes is a bearish bedfellow of head-injury scandals in American football. The February 2025 Socionomist cover story “Concussions in Football – the Hits Keep Coming” has that riveting report!)
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