Unions were present in the United States as early as the 19th century. They were sparse and not as powerful as the unions of today. In the beginning only about 2% of the workforce was unionized as opposed to the over 16 million people now (www.spartacus.schoolnet). The concept of unionism is European and was present there for many generations before our country was founded. The practice came about when farmers were constantly taken advantage of as far as wages, payment of goods and land ownership (www.spartacus.schoolnet).
Before unionism came to power, there was little regulation to protect workers from their employers regarding working conditions and compensation (www.spartacus.schoolnet). It was very common for workers to work long hours in strenuous conditions for little pay. “Hourly”-type workers had little power and were often silenced by their employers out of fear of losing their job. Big business had become so powerful and monopolizing that they had even created their
own monetary systems, meanwhile, the government usually looked the other way (www.teamster.org).
An example of these abuses includes the coal miners in the Eastern part of the United States in the e
Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed (www.spartacus.schoolnet), this was a set back for the unions. This bill stated that it was illegal to have business deals that restricted trade or commerce. The bill became overturned eventually since it was vaguely written and had very little basis (www.teamster.org).
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