Unions in America: An Evolutionary Journey - Essay Sample

Introduction

The United States is undergoing an evolution in the Unified Labor, and individuals are seeking for a hand that will rule the world, which will be one big union. Labor Unions were formed from the 1800s and are still functional in the present. Between the 1800s to the present, a lot of changes have taken place in the unions (Reynolds, 2009). This essay looks into The Origins of Unions in America, the Early Labor Movement, the Changing of the Labor movement, and the Decline in Union Memberships in present days.

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The Origins (The Early 1800s and Prior)

The American Industrial revolution in the 18th century led to a need for unions, through a growing workforce. The unions fought for a working environment that was safe, adjustable working hours, and better payments. Labor Unions have existed in America since the birth of the country, and their administration and efforts a has played an effective role in its development.

The Early Labour Movement (the Mid-1800s to 1900)

The early labor movement in America started by the beginning of a public 10 hour day petition by the Lowell Female Reform in 1843 (Mattina, 1996). In 1886, the Haymarket riot saw a collapse of unions with the death of o police officer and the American Federation of Labor that had been set up by Samuel Gompers that also acted as a National Federation for Skilled Workers (Mattina, 1996). The labor Unions started becoming forces to be reckoned, which is still seen today.

The Changing of the Labor Movement (1900 - 1950)

In 1903, the Women's Trade Union League was formed at the AFL convention. The events that followed led to changes in the Labor movement with the Triangle Shirtwaist killing 146 workers due to unsafe conditions at work, and the bread and roses strike of 1912 that led to at least 23000 women, men and children on strike (Prieto, Phipps, Thompson & Smith, 2016). Frances Perkins became the first woman appointed for the position of the U.S secretary in 1933 (Prieto, Phipps, Thompson & Smith, 2016). One of the challenges which were spoken of by Frances Perkins for the labor industry was the creation of more long-range jobs for male and females to feel more secure in their positions.

The Decline of Union Membership (1950-2000) Present Day Unions (2000-Present Day)

In America, membership in unions started declining through a loss of jobs and a loss of interest in Unions. In the mid-1950s, the unions in the United States had established at least one of three workers who were not farmers, and the time had presented the growth of labor's power; however, the rank of unionized workers decreased in recent years (Robins, 2012). From 1980 to 1990, there was a further decline due to political and economic establishments (Robins, 2012). Present Unions are filled with corrupt leaders with membership continuously declining.

Conclusion

Present days American Public and workers have a low opinion concerning Unions and their leaders. The workforce keeps changing due to globalization, demographic changes, and migration, and the Unions, despite the efforts made, do not seem to contain many workers in America. The Unions are facing harder problems with the organization of young workers who have little knowledge of their roles and existence.

References

Mattina, A. F. (1996). "Corporation Tools and Time-Serving Slaves": Class and Gender in the Rhetoric of Antebellum Labor Reform. Howard Journal of Communications, 7(2), 151-168. https://doi-org.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/10.1080/10646179609361721

Prieto, L. C., Phipps, S. T. A., Thompson, L. R., & Smith, X. A. (2016). Schneiderman, Perkins, and the early labor movement. Journal of Management History, 22(1), 50-72. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/10.1108/JMH-01-2015-0003

Reynolds, M. O. (2009). A History of Labor Unions from Colonial Times to 2009. Retrieved from https://mises.org/library/history-labor-unions-colonial-times-2009#part1.

Robbins, M. W. (2012). Bread, roses, and other possibilities: The 1912 Lawrence textile strike in historical memory. Historical Journal of Massachusetts, 40(1), 94-XIII. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1027933 534?pq-origsite=summon