History of Labor
Austin Hooker
Conditions Before Unions
Before labor unions were formed in the United States, working conditions were very bad. Many children under the age of 16 had worked dangerous jobs for long hours and low wages. Many of the equipment workers used were dangerous and there wasn't restrictions of how long a worker could work, so many times a worker would become so tired and were more prone to accidents. Weather conditions inside the work places was very horrible. Sometimes when injured on the job workers would still continue working.
Why Unions Formed
In the beginning labor unions were formed in order to bring the work day from 12 hours to 10 hours. But this did not happen because labor unions were not very popular, but years later when the Knights of Labor was formed it was more popular and they were able to fight for their goal.
Examples of Unions
The knights of labor unions were one of the largest most popular groups at this time. But for every industry there is a different union. The industrial industry labor union is the NIW, and the teacher's union is the AFT.
Conditions after the formation of unions
Once labor unions were formed they successfully created a minimum working age and a working day length. Conditions in factories also was changed by safety regulations
History of Unions in Wisconsin
In the beginning of labor unions in Wisconsin the protestors were mostly of mining or lumber types of jobs with manual labor. Wisconsin unions didn't usually have strikes in order to get what they wanted from the companies. When they did go on strike, the business would higher African Americans to take the jobs, which prevented success.
Current State of Unions
Labor unions have over 20 million workers, workers in a labor union tend to make more money compared to those who are non-union. A majority of workers in labor unions are colored, Most members of labor unions are males as well.
Work Cited
"CURRENT STATE OF LABOR UNIONS AND POLITICAL ASPECT OFTHE NLRB." CURRENT STATE OF LABOR UNIONS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2013.
"History of Labor Unions Summary & Analysis." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2013