With your partner… – 1. Make a law that will address and fix any issues for the working and living conditions of the working class during the industrial revolution. A minimum of four ideas need to be in the law. – 2. Create a review for the industrial revolution. The review must include the following terms or ideas – Industrialization, Machines, Factories, Inventions, Textile Factory, Great Britain/England, Railways, Steam Engine, Coal, Child Labor, Working Conditions, Urbanization, Living Conditions Test will be this Thursday!!

The Rise of Unions Objective: I can prove industrialization had a social, political, and economic effect on Western Europe and the world.

As you have read, working conditions in factories were often unclean, unsafe, and dangerous. Adults as well as children were often injured or even killed by machinery. Employers frequently fired injured workers or those who fell ill and could not perform their job. No one guaranteed workers any protection from unfair treatment. As the Industrial Revolution progressed, workers became increasingly dissatisfied with their working conditions.

Early Labor Movements The working class had little power and few resources to achieve better pay, shorter hours, and safer working conditions. Some workers, such as the group called the Luddites in England, tried to stop the loss of jobs and poor wages that resulted from industrialization. They rioted and destroyed the new, labor-saving machines that were taking away their jobs. The Luddites were suppressed by the British government, however, and nothing came of their revolt.

Trade Unions Workers began to band together in trade unions. The unions represented workers in dealing with factory owners. Union members would strike, or stop working, to try to force factory owners to meet their demands. Trade unions spread throughout Great Britain as workers saw that strikes could be successful bargaining weapons with employers.

Trade Unions Nonetheless, trade unions had to fight hard to exist. At first, the governments of industrialized nations outlawed unions. Often, wealthy business people and factory owners controlled these governments. Workers in Great Britain were the first to win the right to organize. In 1799, British lawmakers outlawed unions by passing the Combination Acts. The acts were repealed in 1824, but the unions remained weak for several more decades. British unions became legal under the Trade Union Act of 1871, although a law that made picketing illegal was passed on the same day as the Trade Union Act.

Trade Unions Even when unions became legal, many factory owners found ways to oppose them. The bosses threatened workers and hired strikebreakers. Nonetheless, workers continued to unionize. By persevering, they finally won shorter workdays, higher wages, and safer working conditions.

Partner Question Why did workers band together to form and join unions?