The Rise of Unions during Industrial Revolution
The Rise of
Unions
Objective: Explain the causes and effects of the
Industrial Revolution with emphasis onthe changing role of labor and the rise of the union movement.
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As you have read, working conditions in factories were often unclean, unsafe, and dangerous.
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Adults as well as children were often injured or even killed by machinery.
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Employers frequently fired injured workers or those who fell ill and could not perform their job.
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No one guaranteed workers any protection from unfair treatment.
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As the Industrial Revolution progressed, workers became increasingly dissatisfied with their working conditions.
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The working class had little power and few resources to achieve better pay, shorter hours, and safer working conditions.
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Some workers, such as the group called the Luddites in England, tried to stop the loss of jobs and poor wages that resulted from industrialization.
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They rioted and destroyed the new, labor-saving machines that were taking away their jobs.
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The Luddites were suppressed by the British government, however, and nothing came of their revolt.
Early Labor Movements
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Workers began to band together in trade unions .
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The unions represented workers in dealing with factory owners.
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Union members would strike , or stop working, to try to force factory owners to meet their demands.
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Trade unions spread throughout
Great Britain as workers saw that strikes could be successful bargaining weapons with employers.
Trade Unions
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Nonetheless, trade unions had to fight hard to exist.
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At first, the governments of industrialized nations outlawed unions.
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Often, wealthy business people and factory owners controlled these governments.
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Workers in Great Britain were the first to win the right to organize.
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In 1799, British lawmakers outlawed unions by passing the
Combination Acts.
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The acts were repealed in 1824, but the unions remained weak for several more decades.
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British unions became legal under the Trade Union Act of
1871, although a law that made picketing illegal was passed on the same day as the Trade Union Act.
Trade Unions
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Even when unions became legal , many factory owners found ways to oppose them.
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The bosses threatened workers and hired strikebreakers .
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Nonetheless, workers continued to unionize .
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By persevering, they finally won shorter workdays, higher wages, and safer working conditions.
