American Labor Movement

Labor unions began to develop in America in the nineteenth century because of the need for better safety and job security for workers. Workers formed labor unions in response to dangerous working conditions, low wages, and long hours. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, men, women, and even children worked in unsafe factories for ten to twelve hours daily for a meager pay. These harsh conditions forced workers to look for ways to improve their situation. They eventually learned that by banding together and bargaining as a group, they could pressure employers to respond to their demands.
The development of labor unions follows the development of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution brought about skilled laborers and a huge increase in production, thanks to a better production system. The new factory system brought workers both steady employment in good economic times and bad working conditions and unemployment during depressions. Consequently, the Industrial Revolution changed the American class structure, turning skilled tradesmen into the working class, who found it very difficult to escape factory work. Printers, carpenters, tailors, and weavers formed local craft unions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Their main objective was to maintain craft standards, to prevent employers from hiring unskilled workers and immigrant labor.
The largest labor organizations emerged between 1866 and 1936. The National Labor Union was formed in 1866. It fought for the abolition of convict labor, the establishment of the eight-hour workday, and the restriction of immigration. Though it became a political party and collapsed within six years, it did effectively organize craft unions and reform groups into a national federation.
The first national federation to remain active for more than a few years was the