why was it important for workers to form trade unions?

Question

i have it for a paper.
Why was it important

what is a trade union again??!?!?

plz help!

Answer 1

A trade union is an organization formed by workers/laborers to protect their interests. Membership is not exclusive to professionals alone. A trade union maybe comprised by the following individuals coming from different sectors of society, Professionals, rank and file employees, blue collar workers, indigenous people and even the unemployed. A trade union pushes for progress, equality, just compensation, safe and amiable workplace, benefits, and other relevant issues that concerns the well being of workers. They are also considered most of the time as a political group, adhering to laws that protect the workers, staging dialogues for negotiations, lobbying against government directives, decree that they deem disadvantageous to workers.

Answer 2

Simply put, a trade union is a group - or groups of workers, represented by an elected "official", working together for a common cause; the cause in this case would be for the benefit of the workers.

Trade unions were - and still are - important because they help to ensure that "Management", those who own/run/have a financial interest in any given Corporation do not take advantage of the workers. An example would be when "management" tries to require that the workers be on the job more than 8 hours a day, or 40 hours a week, without compensation - or to require each worker to accept working conditions known to be extremely hazardous or lose their jobs. Yes, these are now covered under Federal Law, but it was the trade unions which brought them to the Public attention.

Perhaps a better example would be when Management wants to replace a worker because that worker is "too old" to do a job. A trade union would work to establish, with management, a precise definition of what "too old" is regarding each specific job in the workplace - Management would not be able to replace someone just because they over a certain age, unless they are no longer able to perform the duties of their job because of their age.

Trade unions have helped make it possible for Women to be employed as Truck Drivers and Machinists; they have helped make Worker's Compensation a aprt of Federal Law; and they have helped to establish Minimum Wage Laws throughout the World. Without Trade Unions, the most "productive" workers would receive the most compensation - no matter the actual quailty of the product they produce, and those who do not adhere to "standards of conduct" - which could change from day-to-day - could be sumarily dismissed from employment for "misdeeds" such as alerting the police to illegal activities in the workplace.

Trade Unions, although strongly disliked by many, have helped to ensure safe, clean and fair working conditions for millions of workers.

And that is stating it simply.

Answer 3

This may help you some.
Another name for a trade union is Guild. At the end of the Middle Ages in the towns of Northern Italy the Guilds of Skilled Craftsmen who received raw goods from the Orient transformed them into more valuable products to sell in Europe. Some received wool and other goods from Europe that they wove into goods to be sold in the east. Eventually, the importance of these skilled craftsmen to the wealth of the state rose to the point that they gained political power and for the first time since Ancient Rome, Western Europe had a true middle class. It is this middle class that made the Renaissance possible and all the reforms after it. And you will find that at any time when the existence of the middle class is threatened, the basic rights and privileges that are enjoyed by Western Europe and North America are threatened.
Notice that I denote a difference between skilled trade unions and trade unions. Skilled trades are those where you go through an apprenticeship that may last over 5-years and attend classes after work that entire time. That is longer then it takes to get a college degree and it is not unusual for some of these unions to train their apprentices in some aspects of engineering to a level as high as a BS graduate in that field of Engineering may have.
Then there are unions that are nothing more than associations. They contribute nothing to the training of the workers or insure the quality of their work. As such they are a drain on the economy and they give trade unions a bad name.
Sorry guys, I wasn't always in management. Maybe you can figure out why you have to belong to the Teamster to make eyeglasses, but thats another story.

Answer 4

To fight for better working conditions