For the first time since the company's founding, Samsung workers are on strike. The New York Times reports that Samsung workers in the chip division are expected to make up a majority of the employees skipping work on Friday for the one-day strike. Samsung union representatives explained that negotiations over pay increases and bonuses had broken down. Samsung has five labor unions, and the largest -- the Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union -- was the one that called for a one-day strike.
claims to represent 28,000 employees and said that 75% of its members voted for the strike in April. Vice President Lee Hyun Kuk told the Times that Samsung 'doesn’t value the union as a negotiating partner.' He explained that employees want 'to send a message to the management that we have reached a certain level of maturation.' According to Lee, union workers did not receive any bonuses last year after receiving bonuses representing up to 30% of their salaries in years past. He added that the average union worker earned around 80 million won in 2023.