A labor union is an organization of workers dedicated to achieving a better employment situation, such as higher wages or safer working conditions.
Unions are often funded through dues paid by members. They can collectively bargain with their employers, and if that doesn't work, they may call on their members to strike.
Unions have been around in America since nearly its creation, but their existence has often been controversial for employers and at times the government. Labor protests led to the end of child labor at the start of the 20th century (some efforts by current lawmakers aim to reverse these protections) and provide health benefits and aid to workers who were injured or retired.
Still, you may be hearing more about unions than you had previously, and seeing more and more articles like Labor movements are seeing historic victories this year. Can unions keep up the momentum? and Only 9 percent of Americans support car companies over striking auto workers, AP-NORC polls shows, it might be fair to see that unions might be on the rise once again.
But the news that may be driving this point home (no pun intended) the most is the tentative agreement reached between United Auto Workers (UAW) and GM whose strike may be wrapping up shortly following the same pattern with Ford and Stellantis.
- The first American union dates back to the 18th century, but it wasn’t an easy start.
Library of Congress
The first labor union in the United States was the the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (leather workers and cobblers), founded in 1794. However, by 1806, requests for wage increases caused factory owners to sue on the charge of “criminal conspiracy,” as labor union law had not yet been firmly established. The court ruled in favor of the owners, the Society was bankrupted, and any union member could be charged with conspiracy until an 1842 case ruled otherwise.
- The government continued to support companies over trade unions.
Library of Congress
In 1894, 250,000 workers in the Pullman railroad line organized a strike to protest wages and treatment, but President Grover Cleveland responded with sending federal troops to prevent the strikers from obstructing the trains, and fights broke out between the soldiers and the strikers.
After dozens of deaths, the army subdued the strikers and ended the strike, with the American Railway Union dissolving as its leaders were arrested for ignoring an anti-strike federal injunction. History repeated itself twenty years later when the National Guard set fire to the tents of striking Colorado mine workers to end the strike, though the union did gain an eight-hour workday and the end of child labor in the mines during negotiations.
- 1914 saw an even deadlier strike.
Library of Congress
Colorado coal miners in Ludlow, Colorado, went on strike against poor working conditions in 1913, with 1,200 of them living in a tent city. In April 1914, the Colorado National Guard and guards hired by the mining companies attacked the tent city, killing 21 inhabitants. The conflict that continued until the arrival of federal troops, with miners attacking back, became known as the Colorado Coalfield War, with estimates of deaths between 69 and 199. The strike ended in December 1914, with no concessions made to the workers.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration gave more support to unions.
Image via Whitehouse.gov
During the Great Depression and the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, unions gained more governmental support than they had in the past, with the National Labor Relations Act ensuring the right for workers to organize into unions and strike and the Fair Labor Standards Act guaranteeing a minimum wage, a forty-hour work week, and the end of child labor. Future executive orders from John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon would expand the former act to include unions for federal workers.
- Ronald Reagan’s administration reversed course.
President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office of the White House via Library of Congress
Reagan’s administration changed past policy about federal workers, arguing that those working for public benefit should not be allowed to strike. When unionized air traffic controllers went on strike in 1981, Reagan responded by simply firing them, dealing a huge blow to unions for the coming decades.
- Public support for unions has only risen since.
United Auto Workers union members march in the Labor Day Parade in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. September 2, 2019. Photo by Rebecca Cook/Reuters.
Gallup’s 2022 poll recorded a 71% support among the public for labor unions, the highest since 1965. Recently, a conflict between UPS drivers and their employers led to a deal some called “historic” for its labor benefits, avoiding a strike.
Screenwriters were on strike for months (while the Hollywood actors' strike continues) demanding protections against AI (Artificial Intelligence) and higher streaming residuals. However it turns out, it's clear that unions and labor conflicts are always going to be a part of American life.
Written by Benjamin Thernstrom, a senior at Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington, Virginia, and intern with PBS NewsHour Classroom, with editing by Vic Pasquantonio.
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