Labor Unions Rebirth essays

Labor Unions Rebirth essays Labor unions have been an essential part of American worker culture since their beginnings in the late 1800's. In the beginning, these unions were essential because of the most horrendous circumstances under which workers were kept dangerous factories, unlivable wages, and abusive supervisors were the norm for many hard working Americans. Some of these concepts were touched on in Chapter One of Rekindling the Movement. Originally unions were craft-based like guilds had been, and were social movements more than the business agreements that they have become over the years. Recently, for many unions at least, there has been a trend of returning to that social movement style union. Unions gained strength in the 1930s when working class protest shaped the world, and the wars made the labor unions even stronger as they bonded together in a mutual goal of creating a better American workforce. However, after the wars, new laws restricted what unions could do and people thought they simply weren't necessary like they had once been, and support for the unions seriously faded. While unions have returned to a degree to being political/social organizations, many unions today are still suffering from the negative My union is an example of one that is attempting on some levels to be involved in the politics and social movements that are important to workers, but yet it is still constrained seriously by self-created limitations as well as those forced upon the organization by outside forces. While my union is affiliated with a larger, national union with far more structure and power to accomplish goals, I have witnessed very little interaction between our chapter and the larger group. As a union, my fellow workers and myself feel quite isolated and alone in our struggles, and all attempts to improve our situation are spearheaded by individual workers with little to no support f...