Title: History and Impact of Unions Labor unions exist to protect and advance workers’ rights and interests. Through collective bargaining, they negotiate contracts with employers to secure better pay, fairer working hours, improved health and safety standards, and benefits such as healthcare and retirement support. Unions are therefore instrumental in establishing and maintaining fundamental workplace protections.
In the United States, unions have played a crucial role in securing broader social reforms, such as eliminating child labour. Their influence extends beyond the workplace, significantly shaping American political, economic, and cultural systems.
According to a Gallup study, 70% of Americans supported unions in 2024, compared to 64% before COVID-19 and 67% in 2023.
Growth and Expansion of U.S. Labor Unions
Since America’s founding, labor unions have played a consistent role in society. Their origins trace back to the Industrial Revolution in 18th-century Europe.
The first recorded American strike was in 1768, when journeymen tailors opposed a pay cut. In 1794, Philadelphia shoemakers formed the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers, marking the start of continuous trade unions in the nation.
Local craft and trade unions formed in major cities as industrialization brought workers together in large workplaces, creating conditions favorable to union organizing. Large factories often brought together many crafts, fostering partnerships among unions. One major achievement was securing a shorter workday.
Exclusion of Women, Black Workers, and Immigrants
In the 19th century, union members in skilled trades were mostly native-born white Protestant men, as their higher wages allowed them to pay dues and support strikes.
They often excluded unskilled Irish and Italian immigrants, as well as Black workers and women, partly out of fear of being replaced by lower-wage laborers, especially since Black workers usually received lower pay.
Excluded groups formed their own unions. In 1835, Black caulkers at the Washington Navy Yard struck. Women tailors, shoe binders, mill workers, and Black laundresses also organized.
In 1867, the National Union for Cigar Makers became the first union to include women and Black workers. In 1912, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers organized the telephone business but accepted only women as operators, excluding men.
Protecting Workers’ Rights
A core union goal has been achieving a shorter workday and a minimum wage for all. In 1866, the National Labor Union worked to limit the government workday to eight hours, but gaining influence in the private sector remained challenging.
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As more immigrants arrived, labor costs decreased. Employers frequently divide groups to keep wages low. For example, railroads increased pay for Irish workers, only to replace them with Chinese laborers.
Strikes by Pullman Railroad Workers and the United Mine Workers over unpaid wages and poor conditions were broken up by the government.
Title: History and Impact of Unions Eugene Debs, head of the American Railway Union in the 1894 Pullman strike, failed to persuade members to accept Black railway workers. Black laborers then acted as strikebreakers for the Pullman Company and Chicago meatpacking plant owners, whose workers had joined the strike.
In 1925, A. Philip Randolph began a 12-year campaign to gain recognition for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters from the Pullman Car Company, the AFL, and the U.S. government. He succeeded in 1937.
Key Labor Reform Legislation
The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions was established in 1881; the AFL followed five years later. This united effort led to Congress creating the Department of Labor in 1913.
The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 gave employees the right to strike and to engage in boycotts. The Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of 1936 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established the minimum wage, a 40-hour work week with overtime pay, and basic child labor rules. The AFL-CIO then supported major civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965.
Effects of the Depression and War on Labor
From the Civil War to World War I, union authority and membership grew. They lost power in the 1920s, but regained it during the Great Depression as people turned to trade unions for jobs and security.
Union membership surged during the Depression. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), founded in the 1930s, brought many Black workers into unions. By 1940, the CIO included over 200,000 Black members, many of whom were local union officials.
During World War II, union power declined. The government banned strikes in key industries to ensure wartime production.
After the war, strikes increased. Union membership and influence peaked in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1955, the AFL and the CIO merged to form the AFL-CIO, aiming to influence policies affecting American workers.
Some trade union founders were socialists, communists, or anarchists aiming for major change. Others focused on workplace issues. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, passed over President Truman’s veto, required union officials to swear they were not communists, weakening unions.
Unionizing Lower-Wage Workers
In the following decades, hospitals, nursing homes, and farms organized some of the lowest-paid workers.
The 1950s
In New York City, 1199—a mostly White and Jewish chemist union led by Leon Davis—organized hospital workers. By the early 1950s, as the civil rights movement grew, 1199 mobilized a mostly Black and Latino workforce. Workers at seven major hospitals won union recognition and improved conditions after a 46-day strike.
In the 1990s, 1199 organized thousands of nursing home and home care workers, later merging with the Service Employees International Union to form 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.
1965 to 1970
Filipino and Mexican American farm workers organized a national grape boycott led by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Philip Vera Cruz. After five years, grape producers agreed to a first contract with higher pay and protections. Agricultural workers, however, still have low union membership.
1979
Union membership peaked at 21 million in 1979, coinciding with major legislative achievements such as the ban on child labour and the guarantee of equal pay regardless of race or gender. Despite recent declines in membership and influence, unions remain important, especially through political engagement.
Modern Union Developments: 2008 to 2024
Unions were essential to President Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 and his re-election in 2012. Unions were crucial to President Barack Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012. Union leaders hoped he would pass the Employee Free Choice Act to ease the process of new member organizations, but Democrats could not secure enough votes.on members to support Republican Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. During his reign, President Joe Biden sought to bring unions back into the Democratic fold by promising to be the “most pro-union president leading the most pro-union administration in American history.”
Union membership is strongest in the public sector, particularly in local government, where it is highest in jobs like police, firefighters, and teachers. In the private sector, unions are strongest in utilities, movies, sound recording, transportation, and warehousing.1,138 earned by non-union members.
Organized labour is more diverse than ever. In 2024, 14.3 million working Americans, approximately 1 in 10 of the working population, were union members. There was a fairly equal representation of gender and color. Among all races, Black workers were most likely to be union members, with a union membership rate of 11.8%.
Unions are more worried about the slow drop in union membership rates. In 1983, around 20% of the working U.S. population was unionized. In 2024, just 10.2%.
Growing Support for Labor Unions
Research by the Pew Research Center found that most Americans view the decline in union membership as negative. As many as 54 percent of Americans questioned felt the decline was “bad for the country,” and 59 percent indicated it “has been bad” for workers. But opinions are split depending on which political party you question. Republicans tend to see the decline in union membership as a positive development. More Democrats favor unions.
Younger generations are also contributing to the increase in union membership. Some statistics say the largest growth in union membership has been among workers aged 34 and younger. Young people are also unionizing in new industries, such as art museums, cannabis stores, internet media firms, political campaigns, and IT enterprises.
When Did U.S. Workers Gain the Right to Unionize?
The Wagner Act was enacted in 1935, giving U.S. workers the right to unionize.
Why Did Unions Start and Why?
Labor unions were formed to safeguard employees’ rights and prevent exploitation. Members battle together for improved salaries and working conditions. Combined, they may be powerful enough to drive change.
What Do Unions Fight for?
Unions help members get good salaries, cheap health care, job security, fair scheduling, and safe, courteous workplaces.
The Bottom Line
Labor unions have a long history in the United States and, overall, have affected politics and the economy. Workers have gained advantages from unions, including greater salaries and improved working conditions. National labor organizations have played a role in shaping federal laws, including the establishment of the U.S. Department of Labor and the passage of civil rights legislation.