Why Are Labor Unions Important During The Industrial Revolution?

In the United States, labor unions began in the nineteenth century and continued to grow due to a need to protect workers. The labor unions fought for safer working conditions, better wages, and reasonable hours. During the Industrial Revolution, children were being employed and many of them worked as many hours as the adults. The wages during that time were extremely low and most were living in poverty, even though they were working very long days. Labor unions were definitely needed during those years and they were successful in stopping child labor, getting health benefits for workers, obtaining shorter work days, and increasing wages (Sherk, 2008). According to Vachon, labor unions represented 35 percent of the work force in 1954 compared