19th Century Union Relations

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Pages: 7

Union Relations of the Early 19th Century Industrial United Kingdom & United States
Daniel Murray
John Carroll University
December 9th, 2014

The United Kingdom and the United States have very similar facets when it comes to labor relations and unions. The economic histories of both are closely intertwined. The driving force behind both stemmed from the Industrial Revolution, changing working conditions in both economies, and took away the individuals' power to influence booming industrial environments. The low wages, long hours, and poor safety in both countries caused unions to arise in response to the problems and collective bargain with the employer. Comparing the countries, both are similar but the sheer size difference
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In Great Britain, railroad building, and coal mining labor was among the most organized unions. There was also a high percentage of union membership in the textile, metal industries, as well as public servants, common laborers, salesmen, and among clerical workers. After 1935, when the organizing campaigns of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the so-called mass production industries began to find success, and both the CIO and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) directed their activities toward organizing retail stores, hotels, and restaurants, and the employees of local and central governments, that American unionism in these occupations and industries aspired to the heights long before reached in Great …show more content…
The early 19th Industrial Revolution spurred changing working conditions in both economies that ended up taking away the individuals' power to influence the low wages, long hours, and poor safety being provided by the industries. The countries compare in the sense unions arose in both to responds to the problems but contrast how easy it was for unions within the countries to organize. The sheer size difference created a distinct advantage for the United Kingdom which in cause union membership in the United States remained much smaller because of the continued unorganization of American industries. However this size also created rifts in the unions’ collective bargaining structures. Overall opinion I feel that the United Kingdom’s labor force started off strong but through the century the United States has gradually taken it