1. Why did labor unions form in the U.S.?

2. During the Industrial Revolution, workers in factories experienced unsafe working conditions, low wages, and little job security.

3. In response, labor unions were formed to help workers, led by the American Federation of Labor, which organized skilled workers into unions.
Samuel Gompers,
founder of the AFL

4. Union leaders negotiated issues with management through collective bargaining.

5. If an agreement did not occur between the two sides, then a work stoppage, or strike, could occur.

6. Chicago Haymarket Riot (1886)
During the late 1800s, disputes between labor and management often involved the use of violence by both sides . . .
Chicago Haymarket Riot (1886)
Homestead Strike (1892)

7. . . . and unions had difficulty achieving their goals because government supported businesses over labor.
President Grover
Cleveland
(1885–1889,
1893–1897)
Pullman Strike (1894)

8. Businesses also made unions less effective by blacklisting union workers or enforcing yellow-dog contracts.

9. Unions were not legally protected in the U. S
Unions were not legally protected in the U.S. until the National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs
the National Labor Relations Act into law (July 5, 1935)