In the early years, unions were created to bring about reforms in the workplace. They pushed for better working conditions, minimum wages, and safety and health laws in workplaces and factories. Unions worked for these changes through strikes and other means of persuasion and were quite effective in the long run. They did a lot of good things in the reform movements. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In previous years, unions were used by industrial workers as a way to raise their voices and push for change regarding unfair treatment. To some, these unions were seen as a form of threat, but to others, it was a way to bring the workforce together and make it beneficial not to one or a few, but to all. In most workplaces, they were forced to work long, arduous days with little pay. Sometimes they ended up working twelve hours a day. “The employer can work one hour or ten hours as he wishes; the worker must work, whether he likes it or not” (pleading for eight hours). When unions first appeared in the 19th century, it was the start of the Industrial Revolution where workers were moving out of agricultural work areas and into factories and mines. During this transition, many faced appalling working conditions and health risks. Many unions have called for health and safety laws after suffering from unsanitary, often dangerous and life-threatening conditions, which even caused many deaths in some workplaces after accidents "...had little time or opportunity to escape. The rapidly spreading fire killed 146 workers. Women and children who worked generally received lower pay than men, but even the men did not receive enough for the time they worked, they worked long twelve hour days and earned almost nothing just for trying to survive. feed. their families. The government did little to limit and resolve these injustices, which is why labor movements formed; lobby for better rights and better working conditions. This gave workers the power to demand the things they felt they needed. They lobbied for minimum working hours per day and finally got the answer they wanted. “banned oppressive child labor and set the minimum hourly wage at 25 cents and the maximum work week at 44 hours.” Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Unions have become irrelevant in the United States today. They played an important and fundamental role in the history of United States commerce and in the country's growth into an economic power. But as time passes and the economy and society progress significantly, unions are less necessary. In addition to their uselessness, unions are not beneficial to American commerce because they ruin the economic flow of the country if they are on a large enough scale..