In the past, there was much discrimination in the workplace regarding promotions and employment opportunities. The criterion for discrimination was gender, race and sometimes age. They would discriminate against the female employees by giving them lower wages than their male counterparts. The minority groups such as the blacks were not given equal employment opportunities and promotion opportunities. The labor unions activities served to create equality for all in the workplace, even for the non-members of the unions. The labor unions also established fair pay. On the onset of the industrial revolution and the great depression, the rural citizens went to the urban centers to find jobs. The employers took advantage of the situation by offering low wages and overworking the employees. This led to the rise of the labor unions which lobbied and fought for the fair wages of these individuals. The employees now have a right to fair wages whether they are represented by a labor union or not (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, …show more content…
& Reichart, K. (2010). The anthropology of labor unions. Boulder, Colo: University Press of Colorado.
MoveOn, (2012). What have American Unions Ever Done for Us? YouTube. Retrieved from: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iObqguaNDdA Pride, W., Hughes, R. & Kapoor, J. (2010). Business. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage