My Evaluation
I believe that the labor union movement was mostly a success, but efforts to improve are still ongoing. The United States has come a long way from the 1800s, especially as far as common interests and work benefits go. Minimum wages were set and are still around today; California currently has a minimum wage of $8/hour, four times as much as a worker in the nineteenth century made in a week. When one has a job, they work in set shifts and are paid for any overtime work. Today, we have sick leave, PTO (personal time off) days and maternity leave, making it a lot easier to survive, work and take care of other needs. Safety regulations have been set and are strictly followed; warning signs are everywhere to remind you of precautions. Health insurance is provided through work and there are unemployment benefits whether one may have retired or been laid off.
The labor movement has also been mostly successful long term. As of 2009, 12% of people were involved in a labor union of some sort, fighting for even better conditions and the creation of more jobs. Child labor has been banned in the United Sates as well, eliminating the risk that children endured two hundred years ago. However, some effects of the old work habits remain.
Although the U.S. has outlawed child labor, many products imported from across the globe are made by overworked, underpaid children. So is this really any different? In my opinion, it's not. Children are still being forced to work in harsh conditions, just in other places. This doesn't make America any less guilty. I don't believe that the United States labor movement will be a complete success until all imported goods are child labor-free as well, and the labor union will not stop as a whole until world wide there are better working conditions, more effective health benefits and a cease in child labor.
If I were alive during the labor union movement, I like to think that I would've been involved. However, in reality, I know I wouldn't have. First, I would most likely be working, and although the conditions were rough, a job is a job and money is money. I wouldn't want to risk my family and my livelihood, because even being seen talking to a union member could lead to you being fired. Besides, nobody listens to young children, and I wouldn't be taken seriously in an "adult's world" of politics, schemes and counter schemes, planned revolts and strikes, the like. Another reason I probably wouldn't be involved is because a lot of activists were imprisoned, and I have no desire to go to jail several times, even if it's for a noble cause. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do something to land myself in jail in the first place anyways, and the only moves worth making in the fight for labor rights would land me in jail. The third reason I most likely wouldn't publicly participate in the movement is that I would be too scared and hide behind my parents, letting them deal with everything. Besides, they wouldn't let me do anything if I tried, and even if my parents allowed me to participate in a strike or protest, I would most likely get cold feet at the last minute. That's why I would be grateful to all of the brave people that stood up, not only for their own rights, but for the rights of the common people as a whole.
The labor movement has also been mostly successful long term. As of 2009, 12% of people were involved in a labor union of some sort, fighting for even better conditions and the creation of more jobs. Child labor has been banned in the United Sates as well, eliminating the risk that children endured two hundred years ago. However, some effects of the old work habits remain.
Although the U.S. has outlawed child labor, many products imported from across the globe are made by overworked, underpaid children. So is this really any different? In my opinion, it's not. Children are still being forced to work in harsh conditions, just in other places. This doesn't make America any less guilty. I don't believe that the United States labor movement will be a complete success until all imported goods are child labor-free as well, and the labor union will not stop as a whole until world wide there are better working conditions, more effective health benefits and a cease in child labor.
If I were alive during the labor union movement, I like to think that I would've been involved. However, in reality, I know I wouldn't have. First, I would most likely be working, and although the conditions were rough, a job is a job and money is money. I wouldn't want to risk my family and my livelihood, because even being seen talking to a union member could lead to you being fired. Besides, nobody listens to young children, and I wouldn't be taken seriously in an "adult's world" of politics, schemes and counter schemes, planned revolts and strikes, the like. Another reason I probably wouldn't be involved is because a lot of activists were imprisoned, and I have no desire to go to jail several times, even if it's for a noble cause. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do something to land myself in jail in the first place anyways, and the only moves worth making in the fight for labor rights would land me in jail. The third reason I most likely wouldn't publicly participate in the movement is that I would be too scared and hide behind my parents, letting them deal with everything. Besides, they wouldn't let me do anything if I tried, and even if my parents allowed me to participate in a strike or protest, I would most likely get cold feet at the last minute. That's why I would be grateful to all of the brave people that stood up, not only for their own rights, but for the rights of the common people as a whole.