Trade unions are associations of workers who unite to improve their working conditions and protect themselves from exploitation. Labor Day honors American workers and their contributions. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) made significant contributions to protecting workers’ rights. However, unions have seen a decline in membership and power, with various theories attributing it to factors such as the rise of women and adolescents in the workforce and employer opposition to union formation.
In essence, trade unions are associations of workers who unite for the purpose of improving their working conditions and protecting themselves and their colleagues from economic and legal exploitation. Union members engage in collective bargaining with their employers, as well as general political activism.
Unions are nearly as old as America itself. Although primitive unions of carpenters and other tradesmen made their appearance in various cities of colonial America, the first national unions gained strength in the 1820s. During this time, workers banded together to shorten the work day from 12 hours to grueling to a more manageable 10 hours. In 1866, the Nation Labor Union persuaded Congress to reduce the work day to today’s standard of eight hours.
Labor Day, a holiday observed on the first Monday in September, is a creation of the organized labor movement. The day is meant to honor the achievements of American workers and the contributions they have made to the prosperity and strength of the United States. The first Labor Day celebration was organized by members of the Central Labor Union and was held on September 5, 1882.
The American Federation of Labor (AFL), formed in 1866, has made many contributions to the cause of protecting the rights of American workers. The group was instrumental in establishing the United States Department of Labor and Children’s Bureau in the 1890s. The AFL also worked to pass the Clayton Act of 1914. This important piece of legislation allowed workers to use boycotts, strikes and peaceful pickets as negotiating tools.
In 1935, John L. Lewis created the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO), the first attempt at industrial unionism. In essence, his organization enabled all people employed in a particular sector, regardless of individual skill levels, to unite to improve working conditions as members of trade unions. The CIO, while notably successful in itself, eventually merged with the AFL in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO and eliminate any jurisdictional disputes that would have an adverse effect on the organized labor cause.
Since then, however, unions have seen a sharp reduction in both their membership and power. Researchers have many different theories about the reasons for this change. The rise of women and adolescents in the workforce is believed by some to have weakened the strength of unions, as members of these groups are generally not the sole purveyors of a household and are therefore less likely to be active in efforts to raise wages and benefits . Others believe that employers are to blame, since many companies actively discourage union membership, even going so far as to hire legal counsel to devise strategies to stop employee union formation.
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