Labor Unions in the Late 19th Century

In the late 1800s, U.S. labor unions were formed to protect and improve the "rights and interests" of workers. One of the main driving forces of labor unions was worker safety, which was at an all-time low during that period in time. Death rates in factories were extremely high and the working conditions for men, women, and children were dangerous and unfair. There was also a noticeable imbalance of power between the wealthy employers/owners and the lowly, under-payed workers. With these and so many other intolerable working situations, labor unions fought to help American workers. Their fight faced many obstacles in the beginning because owners of large companies didn't think they owed their workers much and even the government viewed some of the strikes as conspiracies. Luckily, labor unions have lasted the test of time and have improved working conditions like mandatory, sanitized environments with decent, acceptable pay.