Labor Organizations

Artisans, craftsmen, and mechanics represented the class of skilled workers that existed in America prior to and after the Revolution.   These workers operated within a “guild system", or a structure that represented their needs and their social hierarchy.

Unions

Unions faced many challenges as they sought recognition to organize workers and it was not until the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842) that labor unions made headway in the United States.  Commonwealth v. Hunt determined that it was not illegal to form a trade union, nor was the demand that employers hire only members of the union. 

Between 1827 and 1837 large-scale labor organizations developed that represented more than one city or craft.  For example, in 1834 the National Trades’ Union federated several city societies.  At the same time, national craft unions formed for shoemakers, printers, carpenters, and hand-loom weavers. 

The Politics of Labor

Labor parties appeared throughout the states in the 1830s because of the widespread removal of property qualifications for voting, but these “Working Men’s” parties soon faded and many of their supporters joined the radical wing of the Jacksonian Democrats. 

Though labor parties elected few candidates, they did make their demands public.  Labor parties were able to catch the attention of many middle-class reformers by calling for free public education, an end to imprisonment for debt, and a ten-hour workday. 

Growth and Spread of Unions

Although unions survived the financial panic of 1837 they remained localized and weak, often disappearing after a single strike. 

The most important labor dispute prior to the Civil War occurred in Lynn and Natick, Massachusetts, on February 22, 1860.  Organized shoemakers walked out for higher wages and before the strike ended, more than 20,000 workers in twenty-five towns had been impacted.  The strike is important not only because of the numbers of workers involved but also because the workers won:  employers agreed to increase wages and some recognized the union as a bargaining agent. 

Over time the labor movement matured and workers across the northeast felt a sense of solidarity and by 1860, about twenty unions existed that organized skilled crafts nationally.