1) History of European labor movement
1) History of American labor movement
1) Influence on American labor movement
2) Recent developments in European labor movement
1) Recent developments in American labor movement
Trade unionism can actually be traced back to the Norman Conquest in Europe. However, in that era trade unions existed as merchant guilds which evolved because of the growth of cities and trade. The guilds would travel from one market to another, banding together in groups for safety and electing a leader. There were rules and duties among members of a caravan of merchants, and, over time, the band of merchants would gain control of a town or industry often with the permission of a feudal lord. While modern trade unionism did not technically begin until the rise of capitalism, these loose bands of merchants represent the primitive origins of trade unionism, “Any comprehensive survey of Austrian labor history would have to trace back to the fifteenth century when journeymen began to organize in guilds so as to be no longer at the mercy of the master craftsmen. The journeymen guilds, which sought to improve working conditions and wages by means of strikes, can be regarded as the forerunners of modern trade unions” (Campbell 13).
The merchant guilds began to lose their power because of the rise of crafts guilds. The craft guilds became much more powerful than the merchant guilds in influencing local governments and even national governments and were often embroiled in controversy with each. Crafts guilds developed from artists banding together for greater benefit than could be obtained individually. These guilds were more structured and sophisticated than the merchant guilds. They established wage and hour policies, production requirements and other measures aimed at equity among workers and members. The chief goal of the crafts guild was to secure a monopoly over some industry or trade in a p...