A trade union is an organisation of employed workers formed to undertake collective bargaining with employers and try to achieve improved working conditions for its members.
Trade unions of a kind existed in the Middle Ages as journeyman guilds. In 1563 The Statute of Artificers was passed by Queen Elizabeth 1’s government. The Statute had some negative effects such as not allowing apprentices to look for work outside of their parish but it had positive effects as well such as requiring justices of the peace to maintain living standards and to monitor apprentices in their district. This meant that craftsmen received some protection from the state.
Boston shoemakers formed what is considered the first American trade union on October 19, 1648. "The Company of Shoomakers" was formed in response to complaints "by occasion of bad ware made by some of the trade" and their goal was to set a quality standard and eliminate the shoddy workmanship. The Massachusetts General Court prohibited them from offering charitable or educational programs, or from fixing prices or settling disputes.
Various combinations of wage earners were formed in the 18th century, but modern trade unionism can be traced back to Britain's Industrial Revolution, which drew women, children, rural workers and immigrants into the work force in large numbers and in new roles.
Five centuries of repressive legislation in Britain culminated in the passing of William Pitt's 1799 and 1800 Combination Acts which were a response to a series of strikes by skilled workers. They forbade Labor Unions from combining to campaign for better working conditions and for an increase in wages. This act was strictly enforced and workers breaking this new law could be sent to prison for up to three months.
Early 19th century workplace militancy manifested in Britain's Luddite riots, when unemployed workers destroyed labor saving machines. The Luddite movement began in Nottingham and culminated in a region-wide rebellion that lasted for five years from 1811. Mill owners took to shooting protesters and eventually the movement was suppressed with military force.
On the repeal of the Combination Acts in 1824-25, organizations of work people were permitted to engage in collective bargaining, although still subject to legal restrictions and with no legal protection for their funds.
In 1834 six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, were sentenced to transportation for forming a 'friendly society'. However, public outrage led to the Tolpuddle Martyrs being pardoned and the principle of workers being allowed to organize themselves was established.
The Trade Union Congress was the first long-lived national trade union center. A voluntary organisation of trade unions, it was founded in Britain in 1868. Delegates of affiliated unions meet annually to consider matters affecting their members. Today there are fifty affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.6 million members.
Successive acts passed by the British parliament broadened the unions' field of action, such as the 1913 Act which allow the unions to engage in political activities.
The industrial disputes of the winter of 1978-79 in the UK undermined the James Callaghan government. It was succeeded by the Margaret Thatcher government, which in the Employment Acts of 1980 and 1982, restricted the closed shop, picketing and secondary action against anyone other than the employer in dispute. The Trade Union Act 1984 made it compulsory to have secret ballot for elections and before strikes.
In the United States, trade unions are often called labor unions. The International Workers of the World (IWW) was founded at Chicago in 1905 by 43 labor groups. Their slogan was "One big union for all." Within seven years the organization had around 25,000 members, concentrated in the Northwest, among dock workers, agricultural workers in the central states, and in textile and mining areas.
The IWW was involved in over 150 strikes, including the 1912 Lawrence textile strike (1912), which grew to more than twenty thousand workers and involving nearly every mill in the town of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
The great growth of US trade unionism came in the post-Depression years. Employers and the US Government have historically been more opposed to trade unionism than in Britain, often using police and armed guards to harass and protect strike breakers, which has led to episodes of violence and bitter confrontation.
US legislation includes the Taft-Hartley Act 1947, which among other measures outlawed the closed shop.
In the present-day US unions have the reputation of being open to the acceptance of new techniques, taking a broad view of these as conducive to greater essential prosperity.
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| Rally of the trade union UNISON in Oxford during a strike. Wikipedia |
Trade unions of a kind existed in the Middle Ages as journeyman guilds. In 1563 The Statute of Artificers was passed by Queen Elizabeth 1’s government. The Statute had some negative effects such as not allowing apprentices to look for work outside of their parish but it had positive effects as well such as requiring justices of the peace to maintain living standards and to monitor apprentices in their district. This meant that craftsmen received some protection from the state.
Boston shoemakers formed what is considered the first American trade union on October 19, 1648. "The Company of Shoomakers" was formed in response to complaints "by occasion of bad ware made by some of the trade" and their goal was to set a quality standard and eliminate the shoddy workmanship. The Massachusetts General Court prohibited them from offering charitable or educational programs, or from fixing prices or settling disputes.
Various combinations of wage earners were formed in the 18th century, but modern trade unionism can be traced back to Britain's Industrial Revolution, which drew women, children, rural workers and immigrants into the work force in large numbers and in new roles.
Five centuries of repressive legislation in Britain culminated in the passing of William Pitt's 1799 and 1800 Combination Acts which were a response to a series of strikes by skilled workers. They forbade Labor Unions from combining to campaign for better working conditions and for an increase in wages. This act was strictly enforced and workers breaking this new law could be sent to prison for up to three months.
Early 19th century workplace militancy manifested in Britain's Luddite riots, when unemployed workers destroyed labor saving machines. The Luddite movement began in Nottingham and culminated in a region-wide rebellion that lasted for five years from 1811. Mill owners took to shooting protesters and eventually the movement was suppressed with military force.
 |
| The Luddite riots, when unemployed workers destroyed labor saving machines |
On the repeal of the Combination Acts in 1824-25, organizations of work people were permitted to engage in collective bargaining, although still subject to legal restrictions and with no legal protection for their funds.
In 1834 six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, were sentenced to transportation for forming a 'friendly society'. However, public outrage led to the Tolpuddle Martyrs being pardoned and the principle of workers being allowed to organize themselves was established.
The Trade Union Congress was the first long-lived national trade union center. A voluntary organisation of trade unions, it was founded in Britain in 1868. Delegates of affiliated unions meet annually to consider matters affecting their members. Today there are fifty affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.6 million members.
 |
| Make Poverty History banner in front of Congress House. By Kaihsu |
Successive acts passed by the British parliament broadened the unions' field of action, such as the 1913 Act which allow the unions to engage in political activities.
The industrial disputes of the winter of 1978-79 in the UK undermined the James Callaghan government. It was succeeded by the Margaret Thatcher government, which in the Employment Acts of 1980 and 1982, restricted the closed shop, picketing and secondary action against anyone other than the employer in dispute. The Trade Union Act 1984 made it compulsory to have secret ballot for elections and before strikes.
In the United States, trade unions are often called labor unions. The International Workers of the World (IWW) was founded at Chicago in 1905 by 43 labor groups. Their slogan was "One big union for all." Within seven years the organization had around 25,000 members, concentrated in the Northwest, among dock workers, agricultural workers in the central states, and in textile and mining areas.
The IWW was involved in over 150 strikes, including the 1912 Lawrence textile strike (1912), which grew to more than twenty thousand workers and involving nearly every mill in the town of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
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| Labour union demonstrators held at bay by soldiers during the 1912 Lawrence textile strike |
The great growth of US trade unionism came in the post-Depression years. Employers and the US Government have historically been more opposed to trade unionism than in Britain, often using police and armed guards to harass and protect strike breakers, which has led to episodes of violence and bitter confrontation.
US legislation includes the Taft-Hartley Act 1947, which among other measures outlawed the closed shop.
In the present-day US unions have the reputation of being open to the acceptance of new techniques, taking a broad view of these as conducive to greater essential prosperity.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) was founded on May 1, 1925, in Guangzhou, China. It is the largest trade union in the world, with over 302 million members as of 2021. The ACFTU is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party and is responsible for representing the interests of Chinese workers and promoting their rights and welfare.
Over the years, the ACFTU has played an important role in China's labor movement and has been involved in a number of major labor disputes and strikes. It has also been criticized by some for being too closely aligned with the Chinese government and not always fully representing the interests of workers.
In 1973 a European trade union confederation (ETUC) was established, with a membership 20.9 million.
Solidarity, a Polish trade union, was founded as the first independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country on September 17, 1980.
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| Solidarity, ETUC Demonstration—Budapest 2011. By Derzsi Elekes Andor |
Source Hutchinson Encyclopedia
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