Between 1960s and 1970s, many unions were formed to protect the rights of employees. During this period, the capitalist were so much concerned about maximizing their profits at the expense of the welfare of the employees. The various problems that the employees faced are what led to formation of unions (Tarantelli, 1981).
In the first place, the employees received very low salaries. There was a big gap between the skilled and semiskilled workers. The capitalist employed so many semiskilled workers and paid them poorly. It is believed that the salary of the semiskilled employees was half that of artisans. This made the employees to come together and form a union that was to bargain for better payment of the employees (Sloane, 2010).
The other reason for unionization was to facilitate improvement of the working conditions of the employees. During the period, the working conditions were so poor and the employees suffered from machine injuries with no compensation. The working hours were very long to exploit the workers. The unions helped to ensure that the employees were insured against injuries at the work place. The employees were also paid for the extra time they worked.
Discrimination at the work place was another reason for the unionization in the 1970s. The employees were discriminated according to their race, sex, and religion. These factors determined their salaries and their promotion. Many employees viewed this as unfair activity that people had to fight against (Sloane, 2010). They could only do this with the help of a union. In response to this, many employees came up with the idea of unionization to ensure that fairness is instilled in the work place.
Employees faced many problems during the 1960s and 1970s. Specifically, the capitalism system that was famous in many countries was there to maximize their profits without the recognition of the needs of the employees. The employees sought the solution to their problems by formation of unions.
References.
Sloane, A.A. & Witney, F. (2010). Labor relations (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Tarantelli, E. (1981). The Management of industrial conflict in the recession of the 1970s. London: Macmillan.
