Unions In The 19th Century

Unions have existed throughout United States history, specifically coming into the public view in the mid-nineteenth century. At first, they were viewed as dangerous and anti-American; as the fear of communism attracted panics such as the Red Scare, the thought of equality in the workplace seemed too extreme. When the Great Depression hit, more attention was shown to workers and their effect on the American economy. President Roosevelt called for increased spending to rev up the currency system; to be able to buy and have money spiraling, workers needed money and rights (Kennedy, Cohen, & Bailey, 2001). Unions came into the spotlight, and were being accepted into the economics and politics of American culture. As World War II ended, America …show more content…
He also sites that, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s “budget repair bill”, largely eliminated collective bargaining rights for the state’s 175,000 public employees (Lafer, 2013). The reasoning behind these setbacks in the public eye is due to the idea of rights for the non-union members. Legislation is trying to once again balance out the immunities of the duel sides of union membership; this time though it is leaning too far to the non-union contract. According to Lafer (2013), this trend is due to political party control of government, specifically the Republican Party in 2011, and a new wave of wealthy businessmen who tip the legislative scale in opposition to the union opinion; the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, which prohibited independent political expenditures from nonprofit corporations and unions. This further unbalanced the likeliness and effectiveness of unions to be able to organize. In times such as these, government legislation and policy could be regarded as having a negative consequence for unions, but considering history and how certain laws were essential building blocks and pathways for organization, in general they endeavor to balance power between pro and non-union