Question

List the different types of unions within the United States and provided background history of each type?

Answer 1

Labor unions represent workers in particular industries, trades or sectors. They organize their members to negotiate improved wages, benefits and working conditions. Although union membership in the United States peaked in the mid-20th century and has declined since then, various types of labor unions remain an influential force in American business and politics.

There are different types of labor unions in USA. Let's see what are the types

Craft Unions

Craft unions have their roots in the guilds of medieval Europe. In occupations such as bakers and blacksmiths, apprentices learned their trades from masters through the guilds, which regulated production by setting prices and limiting wages and employment.Modern craft unions continue to represent workers in specific occupations, especially skilled trades. Craft unions in the United States include the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the United Auto Workers, and the International Association of Machinists.

Industrial Unions

Unions began forming in the mid-19th century in response to the social and economic impact of the industrial revolution. National labor unions began to form in the post-Civil War Era. Unions were collapsing due to Industrial unions represent workers in industrial sectors, such as transportation or food service. One of the largest industrial unions in the United States is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. It comprises of workers with industrial jobs like warehouse, construction, trucking etc. Other industrial unions in the United States include the United Food and Commercial Workers, consisting of workers in restaurants and other food service industries, and the Organization of Chemical and Atomic Workers, which represents workers in chemical industries and nuclear power plants. Industrial unions can have different types Building Trades, manufacturing unions, transportation unions, service sector unions.

Public Sector Unions

After 1960 public sector unions grew rapidly and secured good wages and high pensions for their members.While manufacturing and farming steadily declined, state- and local-government employment quadrupled. In this case, that sector is government agencies, including public schools. Two of the largest labor unions in the United States are public sector unions: the National Education Association, representing public school employees, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, better known as AFSCME, which represents employees of state, county and city governments, according to Ehrenberg and Smith. Union membership in the United States is much higher among public sector employees than among private sector workers.

Private Sector Unions

Since 1979 private sector union membership started to decline. Union membership among workers in private industry shrank dramatically, though after 1970 there was growth in employees unions of federal, state and local governments. The intellectual mood in the 1970s and 1980s favored deregulation and free competition. Numerous industries were deregulated, including airlines, trucking, railroads and telephones, over the objections of the unions involved. Private sector unions are regulated by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), passed in 1935 and amended since then. The law is overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an independent federal agency.

List of some of the major labor unions

• National Education Association
• Service Employees International Union
• United Auto Workers
• United Steelworkers
• Laborers’ International Union of North America
• National Association of Letter Carriers
• American Postal Workers Union
• International Association of Firefighters
• International Longshore and Warehouse Union

Hope this helps