Labor Unions

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Term Paper Title	Labor Unions
# of Words	4273
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	17.09

Labor Unions

Labor Unions

GROWTH OF THE FACTORY

In colonial America, most of the manufacturing was done by hand in a home. Labor
took place in workshops attached to the side of a home. As towns grew into
cities, the demand for manufactured goods increased. Some workshop owners began
hiring helpers to increase production. Relations between the employer and helper
were generally harmonious. They worked side by side, had the same interests and
held similar political views.

The factory system that began around the mid 1800's brought great changes. The
employers no longer worked beside their employees. They became executives and
merchants who rarely saw their workers. They were less concerned with their
welfare than with the cost of their labor. Many workers were angry about the
changes brought by the factory system. In the past, they had taken great pride
in their handicraft skills, and now machines did most of the work, and they were
reduced from the status of craft workers to common laborers. The were also
replaced by workers who would accept lower wages. The Industrial Revolution
meant degradation rather than progress.

As the factory system grew, many workers began to form labor unions to protect
their interests. The first union to hold regular meetings and collect dues was
organized by Philadelphia shoemakers in 1792. Soon after, carpenters and
leather workers in Boston and printers in New York also organized unions.
Labor's tactics in those early times were simple. Members of a union would
agree on the wages they thought were fair. They pledged to stop working for
employers who would not pay that amount. They also sought to compel employers
to hire only union members.

CONSPIRACY LAWS

Employers found the courts to be an effective weapon to protect their interests.
In 1806, eight Philadelphia shoemakers were brought to trial after leading an
unsuccessful strike. The court ruled that any organizing of workers to raise
wages was an illegal act. Unions were "conspiracies" against employers and the
community. In later cases, courts ruled that almost any action taken by unions
to increase wages might be criminal. These decisions destroyed the
effectiveness of the nation's early labor unions.

Not until 1842 was the way opened again for workers to organize. That year
several union shoemakers in Boston were brought to trial. They were charged
with refusing to work with non-union shoemakers. A municipal court judge found
the men guilty of conspiracy. But an...

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