“Most citizens of the United States take for granted labor laws which protect them from the evils of unregulated industry. Perhaps the majority of those who argue for ‘free enterprise’ and the removal of restrictions on capitalist corporations are unaware that over the course of this country's history, workers have fought and often died for protection from capitalist industry. In many instances, government troops were called out to crush strikes, at times firing on protesters.”[1]
The resource of the quote above consists of a timeline that outlines several important events in the history of labor unions in the United States. The first event is placed in 1806 when the union of Philadelphia Journeymen Cordwainers were convicted of and bankrupted by charges of criminal conspiracy after a strike for higher wages, setting a precedent by which the U.S. government would combat unions for years to come. Lots of similar events continue to occur after that year until mid-September of 1989. Many of the occurring events deal with issues such as working hours and wages. Many str
ikes ended in blood.
“Crafts that formed local unions in the late 18th and early 19th cent. included printers, carpenters, tailors, and weavers. Their chief purpose was to keep up craft standards and to prevent employers from hiring untrained workers and importing foreign labor.”[2]
“Although unions during the Revolutionary period were mostly temporary, their movements set the stage for the “modern” unionization of workers. The unionization would lead to many of the benefits that workers enjoy today.”[3]
[1] http://www.lutins.org/labor.html
[2] labor union: In the United States — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/bus/A0861691.html#ixzz18CVu5B6Z
[3] http://ellerbruch.nmu.edu/classes/cs255w02/cs255students/GMURRAY/p11/history.pdf
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