The History and Formation of Labor Unions in the Unites States of America

Labor union were crucial in the late 1800’s when the workers were working long hours, doing hard work, without any extra pay. Job security (could be fired at any given time) and safety precautions did not exist in this era, jobs in this day was typically a threat to the workers due to the bad working conditions. When the union was formed in 1866 it was not easy, but if the workers understood how it would benefit them it would have been a greater successes. Due to lack of education, the communication between the union and the works was broken. Some of the religious beliefs created a hardship on getting the union passed. One of the unions called the AFL (American Federation of Labor) was created in 1881 that would try to fight for workers’ rights.

During “the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution triggered a series of radical changes national cultural fabric of state societies, the pressures of modernization were also transforming the way of life in traditional communities of peasant and other rural folk” (Haviland et al. 349). One of these transformations brought about by the Industrial Revolution is the invention of the factory. The factory, like capitalism, originated in England, but eventually made its way to America, specifically the region of New England. The factory caused artisans to lose autonomy, now forced to work

During the Progressive Era of the Gilded Age, many laborers were being mistreated by the companies that they worked for. Because of this, workers started forming labor unions or organized association of workers, formed to protect and further their rights and interests. Many of these labor unions failed, while few of them achieved their goals and still exist today. Many factors contributed to the failure of these labor unions. The labor unions were given a bad image, the reason for this was the media, and they did this by publishing articles depicting the unions as violent, communist groups. The government supported big business during this time, since the government had a lot of power; this was a huge setback in the labor unions’ battles.

The labor relations movement has been one of the most successful driving forces behind such efforts as: providing aid to workers who were injured or retired, better health benefits and to stop the practice of child labor in the workforce. Ostensibly, unions in the United States arose out of the need to better protect the “common interests” of laborers. Today, many of the social movements and alliances forged are created under the guise to better protect the employer from a plethora of interests made against the organization, rather than, increasing wages, improving reasonable employment hours and/or enhancing work conditions.

In the early to mid. 19th century, the world came to life with the introduction of machines that could create products in hours, compared to what it would take skilled craftsmen days to produce. These marvels began in Europe but soon found their way to the American shores. The very first textile mill was produced by an apprentice named Samuel Slater in 1790 after returning with the English secrets of the textile machinery still buzzing in his head (Wallace, 1985). Soon more factories began to rise up armed with the new technology. With the means to produce more products, railroads being built to ship vast amounts of goods between states and the mass amounts of wealth to be made during this revolution, what were once small rural farming towns

Imagine your parents died at work when you were a young child, and your family was in poverty. This happened all of the time in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s because of the lack of rights for workers. It was the job of many early labor unions of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s make working conditions for workers better. Early labor unions such as the Knights of Columbus, the American Federation of Labor, and the National Labor Union were all successful in creating rights for workers and making working conditions better. There are many ways that labor unions have affected modern day society.

In the period immediately following World War I, American workers struggled to earn a living as prices rose and wages stagnated, forcing them to seek union support. Labor unions endeavored to represent the working class against their employers and corporations, who refused to increase wages or improve working conditions. In order to combat the capitalist’s immense political clout, unions made their voice heard through strikes. After the war, capitalists linked unions to the mounting communist threat, stressing that strikes undermined capitalism and threatened a republican form of government. As a result, government sided with capital against labor unions and the struggle of the American workers, who had no voice against corporations. This struggle can be exemplified in a correspondence between union leader, Samuel Gompers and bishop William Quayle, published in “The Twenties in Contemporary Commentary: Labor & Capital”. The letters demonstrate that in the 1920’s, labor unions were necessary as a means to overcome capitalist greed and enhanced the ideals of democracy by empowering the working class.

Most eighteenth century Americans lived in self-maintaining rural areas. The Industrial Revolution saw the advancement of large urban hubs, such as Boston and New York City, and impelled an enormous migration of workers. “From the beginning, cities formed part of the western frontier. Western cities like Cincinnati and St. Louis that stood at the crossroads of inter-regional trade experienced

With the development of factories and manufacturing systems in the late 18th and early 19th century brought with it the need for labor.

During the late 1700’s, the United States was no longer a possession of Britain, instead it was a market for industrial goods and the world’s major source for tobacco, cotton, and other agricultural products. A labor revolution started to occur in the United States throughout the early 1800’s. There was a shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial market system. After the War of 1812, the domestic marketplace changed due to the strong pressure of social and economic forces. Major innovations in transportation allowed the movement of information, people, and merchandise. Textile mills and factories became an important base for jobs, especially for women. There was also widespread economic growth during this time period

The Northeast created factories to speed up the output of cotton goods and other goods. The biggest growth of factories was in the textile industry. More factories were made in order to keep up with demand. The factories also became more efficient with the use of machinery to speed up the making of cotton goods. With machinery doing much of the work, things become much faster and cost efficient for manufacturers. This dropped the prices of goods allowing for a larger profit margin. The larger profit margin allowed those who sold textiles to make more money. This also allowed many merchants a chance to sell their goods elsewhere at a lower cost as well. With the growth of machinery and the need for more people to help move and ship goods, wage workers became a popular idea among the working class. Wage workers were paid by the hour, instead of other methods of payment. Once the textiles were done they would be sent many places, but most of them were sent to the South as the slave population needed clothing as well. This allowed more slaves to be brought to the

The Virginians needed labor to grow corn and tobacco. The rest of the colonies also needed labor to work on similar plantations. Tobacco plantations required thousands of workers meaning the owner wouldn’t be making much profit. In the beginning, indentured white servants were the answer. These were mainly the ones who could not afford a boat trip to America to start a new life so they offered themselves as servants for

Labor Unions were able to protect their rights in the 20th century by means of restricting and destroying the free markets and creating regulations to bring harm to the success of the wealth.

Shipbuilding is one of the oldest industries in the United States. The European settlers bring this job in America. Shipbuilding is improving very fast because many dense forests enough raw materials to build a big, strong ship for a long journey. Shipbuilding is hard during colonial times, it is important for the European settlers and how it becomes one of the most important jobs in America.

The factory system was gruesome. Samuel Slater established America's first factory in 1790.It was based on an outwork system. The first large-scale American factory was constructed in 1814 at Waltham, Massachusetts. The American System of manufactures relied on the mass production of interchangeable parts that could be rapidly assembled into standardized, finished products. The girls who worked in the mills were called "Mill Girls."Early New England textile mills largely relied on female labor. The growth of immigration was getting pretty popular at this time. Economic expansion fueled a demand for labor, which was met, in part, by increased immigration from abroad. Ireland and Germany were popular states people were immigrating from. Many settled in the northern states. Numerous factors inspired this massive flow of population across the Atlantic. Also, while all this was happening, the introduction of the ocean-going steamship was happening. American religious and political freedoms also attracted many Europeans fleeing from the failed revolutions of 1848. The Irish were refugees from disaster, fleeing the Irish potato famine. They filled many low-wage unskilled jobs in America.