Why did factory workers organize unions?

Trade unions developed in the Industrial Revolution in Europe and

the US. The trade unions were created to protect the workers and

were not exclusive of any particular kind of worker. The first

trade union in the US was the National Labor Union, founded in

1866. It failed and was soon replaced by the Knights of Labor,

1869. The Knights of Labor and the more successful American

Federation of Labor (AFL), 1886, concentrated on the key issues of

child labor opposition, demand for an eight hour day, and

protection of the worker from unsafe working conditions and a

decent wage. Workers during the Depression needed help and

protection when they did find a job. The Unions and Business agreed

to the labor condition of the Blue Eagle Codes, but that was

declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. After WW II

started, the unions agreed, for the most part, to work without

strikes until after the war.