Trade+and+Labor+Unions

If you find anything on trade and labor unions, write it here.

A union is an organization of workers that wants to achieve common goals, like working conditions or pay. Sometimes they use strikes and lockouts. They can include workers, past workers, or unemployed people. Unions used to be illegal.

In the early 1800s many men from large cities put together the Trade Union Movement. People who were members of unions at this time were skilled, experienced, and knew how to get the job done. Their main reason for starting the Trade Union was to put on strikes. But they didn't have enough people and the unions which began this trendy movement, collapsed quickly. The IWW was founded in Chicago in June 1905 at a convention of two hundred socialists, anarchists, and radical trade unionists from all over the United States (mainly the Western Federation of Miners) who were opposed to the policies of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). An injury to one is an injury to all was the motto of the IWW. The convention, which took place on June 27, 1905 , was then referred to as the "Industrial Congress" or the "Industrial Union Convention"—it would later be known as the First Annual Convention of the IWW. It is considered one of the most important events in the history of industrial unionism and of the American labor movement in general. The IWW's first organizers included William D. ("Big Bill") Haywood, Daniel De Leon, Eugene V. Debs, Thomas J Hagerty, Lucy Parsons, Mary Harris Jones(commonly known as "Mother Jones"), William Trautmann, Vincent Saint John, Ralph Chaplin, and many others. The IWW's goal was to promote worker solidarity in the revolutionary struggle to overthrow the employing class; its motto was "an injury to one is an injury to all," which improved upon the 19th century Knights of Labor's creed, "an injury to one is the concern of all." In particular, the IWW was organized because of the belief among many unionists, socialists, anarchists and radicals that the AFL not only had failed to effectively organize the U.S. working class, as only about 5% of all workers belonged to unions in 1905, but also was organizing according to narrow craft principles which divided groups of workers. The Wobblies believed that all workers should organize as a class, a philosophy which is still reflected in the Preamble to the current IWW Constitution:

The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the good things of life. Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers of the world organize as a class, take possession of the means of production, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the Earth. ... Instead of the conservative motto, 'A fair day's wage for a fair day's work', we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword, 'Abolition of the wage system.' It is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism. ([|Wikipedia]) Some countries including Belgium, Sweden and Finland have strong, centralized labor unions where each industry represented has a specific union and together comprises a national union confederation. it talks about many cool things invalving trade labor unions and such
 * As you can see, the IWW was more on the radical side. They wanted to abolish the wage system and "live in harmony with the Earth". This is close to the idea of Communism/Socialism; a good idea but an impractical one. People will never be able to completely agree on who gets what. Some people are willing to work. Some people aren't. If all lazy people didn't work but still got the same as everybody else, it wouldn't be fair. The hardworking people would get fed up and quit working for the lazy people. Things would just get worse after that. (Christian)
 * I agree with Christian they are a bunch of homicidal maniacs i mean there crazy for crap sakes for reals.(Garth)
 * william durfee says that this is all quite good and that you should check out all the trade labor unions around the world with this web site [|[........]]