Unions Throughout American history, unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers try to negotiate with employers for more control over their labor and its fruits. “A trade union can best be defined as an organization which exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers regarding wages, terms and conditions of employment” (Hunter). The main objectives of unions are to increase wages, reduce working days, obtain more benefits and improve working conditions. Despite these objectives, the first years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter). The beginnings of unions date back to the colonial era, when artisans such as carpenters and shoemakers formed guilds, precursors to modern workers' unions (American Federationist, Miller). But it was not until the 1800s, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution and its deplorable working conditions, that unions began to increase in membership and popularity (Miller). The Industrial Revolution restructured the employer-employee relationship into an impersonal partnership exhibited by indifference to the worker's quality of life. Children were exploited primarily because they could be hired for lower wages and were forced to work equally long days (Miller). By the 1830s, children made up about one-third of the labor force in New England (Illinois Labor History Society). Workers' conditions as a whole required action for workers' rights. However, early unions faced three obstacles that pervaded American culture in the 19th century. Laissez-faire capitalism, rugged individualism, and social Darwinism were three modes… half of the paper……ber 2004. .…..…..“A Brief History of American Labor.” American federationist of the AFL-CIO. November 6, 2004. .Taft, Philip. Organized labor in American history. New York: Harper & Row, publishers. 1964.Chronology. AFL-CIO American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations. November 6, 2004. United States Senate, Testimony of Samuel Gompers, August 1883, Report of the Senate Committee on the Relations of Labor and Capital (Washington, D.C., 1885), 1:365-70.] November 6 2004. .