In the United States, the labor movement has a rich history, which traces back to the formative years of the United States as a nation. The movement evolved out of the need to safeguard the interests of workers and to protect them from exploitation by employers through poor working conditions, unreasonable working hours and poor remuneration (Dubofsky & Dulles, 2004). Whereas the labor movement had been in existence even in the 18th century, it was in the 19th century that unionism in the United States exploded. Several pivotal events, which laid the foundation for modern unionism, took place during this period.
The landmark decision in Commonwealth v. Hunt was the first of these turning points in American labor relations. Before the ruling in this iconic case, the legality of unions in the United States was a gray area, and whereas unions were not illegal per se, there was an absence of clarity on their position. In his ruling Lemuel Shaw, the Chief Justice of the Supreme
…show more content…
The movement, which is arguably the most famous union in American history, came about because of dissatisfaction with the limited success of the Knights of Labor (Zieger & Gall, 2002). At its peak, the union had a membership of almost 1.4 million and successfully fought for better employee rights. The AFL limited its membership to wage workers only and did not engage in partisan politics. Instead, the AFL focused on the “bread and butter” concerns of workers, which were benefits, wages, and work rules (Zieger & Gall, 2002). The AFL was significant in that it established the concept of keeping unionism “pure and simple” and thus set the stage for the industrial emancipation of workers. The long-term effect of the AFL was to cement the role of trade unions as an influencing force in politics through its policy of campaigning for its friends and against its