The TradeEdgeaverage strike lasts just over 40 days, according to Bloomberg Law. But some last much longer. In Brookwood, Alabama, coal miners have been on strike for over 600 days, and they don't have any intention of backing down anytime soon.

Today, Stephan Bisaha of the Gulf States Newsroom joins us to explain how global macroeconomic forces can converge to keep a labor strike going for so long, and what it takes to sustain it.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts and NPR One.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.