chinery, notably in the textile industry, contributed to the growth and development of the factory system. The production system, was developed by the ingenuity of many brilliant American revolutionized production methods, and this in turn altered the methods of compensation.
Management of any enterprise has always been affected by the demands of labor for higher wages or for a share of the employer's profits. However, the impact felt in America during the last three decades is far greater than ever before in history. Relations between labor and management were quite different in the last century. There was a kindred spirit between artisans and all types of skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled labor, developed into a bond of common interest that would in time lead to the development of the American labor movement and to massive changes on the American labor scene. The stabilization of labor unions would also result in the expansion of collective bargaining and wage and salary demands. Labor organizations in the United States were founded long before factories were developed. Between 1790 and 1799, shoemakers, printers, carpenters, and other craftsmen organized "societies" in eastern cities, and as needed they conducted strikes for higher wages and closed shops. The earliest authenticated strike in the U.S. was in Philadelphia in 1786 when the printers' union gained a minimum wage of $6 a week. The labor philosophies of these organizations were highly influential in the development of subsequent groups, notably the Mechanics' Union of Trade Associations in 1827. As industry expanded at a time of soaring prices following the discovery of gold in California in the 1850s, trade unionism was revived. Officers from 25 unions gathered in Columbus, Ohio in 1886 to organize all trades and to form the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The organization adopted the policy of collective bargaining to deal with employers on wage mat...