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Trade union: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Trade union
The first recorded labor strike in the United States occurred in 1786 when Philadelphia printers demanded $6 per week to oppose a wage reduction, marking the earliest known instance of organized worker resistance in the nation. This event predates the Communist Manifesto by almost a century, proving that the instinct to organize for better conditions existed long before Marxist theory provided a framework for it. The Industrial Revolution transformed the nature of work, shifting the majority of the population from self-sufficient tenant farmers who controlled their own lives to urban workers who sold their labor and took directions from employers. This transition created a new class of people who lacked job security and had to surrender part of their freedom and self-agency to a master, a dynamic critics of the time would later call wage slavery. In the cities, these new workers encountered hostility from employers and government groups, leading to a struggle that would define the next two centuries of labor history.
Banned and Broken
In 1799, the British government passed the Combination Act, which banned trade unions and collective bargaining, subjecting workers to severe repression until the acts were repealed in 1824. Despite these legal barriers, unions were already widespread in cities like London, and workplace militancy manifested itself in movements such as Luddism and the 1820 Rising in Scotland, where 60,000 workers went on a general strike before it was crushed. The first attempts at forming a national general union in the United Kingdom were made in the 1820s and 1830s, with the National Association for the Protection of Labour established in 1830 by John Doherty. This association quickly enrolled approximately 150 unions, consisting mostly of textile-related unions, mechanics, and blacksmiths, reaching a membership of between 10,000 and 20,000 individuals across five counties within a year. The organization started the weekly Voice of the People publication with the declared intention to unite the productive classes of the community in one common bond of union, yet the political climate remained hostile.
The Price of Organization
British trade unions were finally legalized in 1872 after a Royal Commission on Trade Unions in 1867 agreed that the establishment of these organizations was to the advantage of both employers and employees. This period also saw the growth of trade unions in other industrializing countries, including the United States, Germany, and France, where legal recognition came slowly through a series of court decisions and legislative changes. In the United States, the first effective nationwide labor organization was the Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, which began to grow after 1880, while the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions became known as the American Federation of Labor in 1886. In Germany, the Free Association of German Trade Unions was formed in 1897 after the conservative Anti-Socialist Laws of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck were repealed, and in France, labor organization remained illegal until the 1884 Waldeck Rousseau laws. The struggle for legalization was often violent, with events like the Great Southwest railroad strike of 1886 involving more than 200,000 workers, and the 1912 Lawrence textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where demonstrators were held at bay by soldiers.
Common questions
When did the first recorded labor strike in the United States occur?
The first recorded labor strike in the United States occurred in 1786 when Philadelphia printers demanded $6 per week to oppose a wage reduction. This event predates the Communist Manifesto by almost a century and marks the earliest known instance of organized worker resistance in the nation.
When were British trade unions finally legalized after the Combination Act?
British trade unions were finally legalized in 1872 after a Royal Commission on Trade Unions in 1867 agreed that the establishment of these organizations was to the advantage of both employers and employees. The Combination Act had banned trade unions and collective bargaining, subjecting workers to severe repression until the acts were repealed in 1824.
Which countries have the highest trade union density rates?
Trade union density is highest in the Nordic countries, with Denmark reaching 66.5 percent in 2018 and Sweden at 65.5 percent. The Nordic System of labor market regulation features a much more widespread network of collective agreements that covers most industries and most firms.
How does trade union membership affect economic inequality according to academic literature?
Academic literature shows substantial evidence that trade unions reduce economic inequality, with economist Joseph Stiglitz asserting that strong unions have helped to reduce inequality. A 2011 study drew a link between the decline in union membership since 1973 and expanding wage disparity, with Bruce Western, a professor of sociology at Harvard University, noting that these trends have continued.
What is the largest trade union federation in the world and how many members does it have?
The International Trade Union Confederation is the largest trade union federation in the world with approximately 309 affiliated organizations in 156 countries. It has a combined membership of 166 million and unites national federations from across the globe.
Trade union density, or the percentage of workers belonging to a trade union, is highest in the Nordic countries, with Denmark reaching 66.5 percent in 2018 and Sweden at 65.5 percent, creating a stark contrast to the United States where density has hovered around 10 percent. The Nordic System of labor market regulation features a much more widespread network of collective agreements that covers most industries and most firms, unlike the Anglo-Saxon System where collective agreements are not widespread. In Sweden, white-collar unions have a strong position in collective bargaining where they cooperate with blue-collar unions in setting the industry norm in negotiations with the employers' association in manufacturing industry. Research from Norway has found that high unionization rates lead to substantial increases in firm productivity, as well as increases in workers' wages, while research from Belgium also found productivity gains, although smaller. This model encompasses Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, where the government's legislative role is limited but the network of collective agreements is extensive.
The Economics of Inequality
The academic literature shows substantial evidence that trade unions reduce economic inequality, with economist Joseph Stiglitz asserting that strong unions have helped to reduce inequality, whereas weaker unions have made it easier for CEOs to increase it. A 2011 study drew a link between the decline in union membership since 1973 and expanding wage disparity, with Bruce Western, a professor of sociology at Harvard University, noting that these trends have continued. In the United States, the outsourcing of labor to Asia, Latin America, and Africa has been partially driven by increasing costs of union partnership, which gives other countries a comparative advantage in labor. However, other research in the United States has found that unions can harm profitability, employment, and business growth rates, creating a complex picture where unions provide wage premiums and reduce inequality while potentially reducing employment growth and restricting employment flexibility. The decline in unionization since the 1960s in the United States has been associated with a pronounced rise in income and wealth inequality and, since 1967, with loss of middle-class income.
The Political Engine
In the United States, the weakening of unions has been linked to more favorable electoral outcomes for the Republican Party, with legislators in areas with high unionization rates being more responsive to the interests of the poor. Research in the United States found that American congressional representatives were more responsive to the interests of the poor in districts with higher unionization rates, and another 2020 American study found an association between US state-level adoption of parental leave legislation and trade union strength. Public-sector trade unions have been associated with increased cost of government, while higher union density has been linked to lower suicide and overdose deaths and decreased unionization rates have been linked to an increase in occupational fatalities. In the United Kingdom, the trade union movement's relationship with the Labour Party frayed as the party leadership embarked on privatization plans at odds with what unions see as the worker's interests, yet it strengthened after the Labour party's election of Ed Miliband. Unions also engage in broader political or social struggle, with many Labour parties founded as the electoral arms of trade unions, and some unions in countries like Poland emerging as anti-communist movements with religious nationalist overtones.
The Structure of Power
Unions may organize a particular section of skilled workers, known as craft unionism, a cross-section of workers from various trades, known as general unionism, or attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry, known as industrial unionism. These unions are often divided into locals and united in national federations, which themselves affiliate with Internationals such as the International Trade Union Confederation, the largest trade union federation in the world with approximately 309 affiliated organizations in 156 countries and a combined membership of 166 million. In some regions, unions may face active repression, either by governments or by extralegal organizations, with many cases of violence recorded historically. The structure of unions also includes different models of operation, such as the service model which focuses on maintaining worker rights and resolving disputes, and the organizing model which involves full-time union organizers working by building up confidence and strong networks within the workforce. In the United States, state-level right-to-work laws mandate the open shop, where workers who do not contribute to a union may include those who approve of the union contract, known as free riders, and in Germany, only open shops are legal, meaning all discrimination based on union membership is forbidden.