A Brief History of Unions in the U.S.

The labor movement began in the late 1800s in response to abuses of workers during the industrial revolution. The concept was that workers — who held little power individually — could achieve power equal to their employers by acting together ("collectively").

The U.S. Department of Labor was established in 1913, and charged with protecting the rights and welfare of all U.S. wage earners. One year later, the important Clayton Act was enacted, which emphasized that "the labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce" and legalized peaceful strikes, picketing, and boycotts.

In 1935 the National Labor Relations Act was passed, which established the National Labor Relations Board and further clarified the rights of unions, and in 1947 the Taft-Hartley Labor Act gave even more power to the National Labor Relations Board.

Labor union membership peaked in the 1950s, with nearly 35% of American workers belonging to unions.

Since the 1950s labor unions have been in decline. Membership dropped to 8.5% of the private sector workforce — only 8.8 million people — in 2002. Aggressive recruiting has failed to stop this trend.

Unions have been hurt both by recessions — when workers joined with management to save companies battered by foreign competition and soft markets — and by boom years, where employees could count on secure jobs and high wages without a union safety net.

Many companies have offered employees the privileges that had previously been accomplished only by organized — labor, such as grievances procedures, improved working conditions, and generous non-wage benefits such as health-care coverage.

And unions — once grassroots, member-driven movements — became themselves big businesses. Leaders all too often engaged in excess and sometimes criminal behavior, and unions became driven by political and profit motives that might or might not coincide with members' best interests.

The Costs of Union Membership