Unionization: Now and Then

There are countless labor unions in place today. Unions started emerging in the 1800’s around the time when businesses were going large scale and employees could not be counted on one finger by their employers. Unions began to combat horrible working conditions.
Unions started out protesting long working hours, unfair wages, and unsafe working conditions. Today, unions are protesting things such as unfair layoffs, low wages, and law violations. For example, an article today in the New York Times described a protest by the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America. They picketed and sat in the factory for six days protesting their unjust layoffs and shut down of the factory in wake of the falling economy, and laws that were violated by the company. Negotiations occurred and the protestors got what they were hoping for. The factory is hoping to reopen with the laid off workers back soon.
This protest is a lot like protests during the Great Depression, when a General Motors factory was shut down and hundreds of people were laid off for unfair reasons. These workers formed a union and together got their jobs back.
Unions today and unions long ago are not that different. They are both groups of workers collaborating for the good of all the workers collectively. They just protest somewhat different ideas, based on the changing conditions of the workplace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/us/11factory.html?_r=1&ref=us
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2008/12/12/chicago-protest-recalls-1936-sit-in/