The labor union movement, which took shape over more than a century, was largely a response to changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution and the dangerous conditions and long hours of new factory jobs. Samuel Gompers, who founded the American Federation of Labor in 1886, focused on three reforms: higher wages, shorter hours, and safer work environments. Union membership peaked in the 1940s. In 1947, in an effort to curb union power, Congress passed the Taft- Hartley Act, which allowed states to pass right-to-work laws. Since the 1940s, overall union membership has dropped to 13.5 percent of the labor force.
In a union workplace, management and labor periodically come together to negotiate employment contracts for wages and benefits, working conditions, and job security using the process of collective bargaining. If a deadlock occurs, the union members may vote to strike—a process that may be damaging to both labor and management. Sometimes the two sides agree to mediation in which a third party is asked to find a solution both parties will accept. However, mediation is not binding. If it fails, the talks may go to arbitration in which the third party’s decision is legally binding.
