Industrial Unions Essay - 921 words

Industrial Unions First of all, lets analyze what industrial union is. Industrial union is a labor union made by the workers belonging to a certain industry independent of their trade, skill, or occupation. The craft union is opposite to the industrial union, as it unites the workers of one skill, for example, electricians, lawyers, etc. Columbia University Encyclopedia writes that the industrial union is sometimes referred to as a vertical union, since it accepts the workers from the least to the most skilled as members. Besides, such industrial unions prior to the 1870s were often created and maintained on a craft basis. The changed form of industrial union became more popular with the Knights of labor. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was organized a little earlier.


It also consisted of workers on the basis of their peculiar occupation. However, the very concept of industrial union remained almost unchangeable with the Industrial Workers of the World organization. The Industrial Workers of the world was created in 1905 and allowed membership of any person, who belonged to the same occupation irrespective of his sex, race or creed. The membership in this organization ranged from electricians and mine workers to agricultural workers who migrated to the country from other parts of the world. The massive wave of industrial unions, however, took place in the 1930s with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. These Industrial Organizations appeared as a result of John L.


Lewis activity that began to create such industrial unions, initially called the Committee for Industrial Organization, further expelled (1936) and renamed (1938) the Congress of Industrial Organizations. This new CIO was, actually, the traditional industrial union. There were three basic types of industrial unions: the unions consisting of workers working on the same commodity (electricians or brewery workers); the unions consisting of workers using the same tools to work on different materials (aluminum or textile workers); finally, the unions consisting of all workers belonging to the certain factory regardless of their peculiar skill (Columbia Press Encyclopedia, n.p.) Economical changes that appear during the last century in all the world countries, the absence of results in overcoming the crisis situations force workers to find new ways in conditions of modern life. The countries that are in favorable economic situation have already chosen the way of multi-step integration leading to economic stability and support of workers by industrial union membership. The western countries are especially interested because of their steady step-by-step development to such industrial unions. The industrial union, as the united world policy, is the first step to unite the workers to solve the most important economic problems.


World experience witnesses that industrial unions create favorable conditions for development of trade, manufacture, etc. They contribute to stabilization of both economic and industria ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

...................You are reading a preview................... Visit our Blog and Unlock Full Access to this essay

Continue READING the FULL Essay by clicking HERE

Essay Tags: worker, industrial organization, industrial workers, integration, mutual

This is an Essay sample / Research paper, you can use it for your research of: Industrial Unions