Labor unions have been an essential part of American worker culture
             since their beginnings in the late 1800's. In the beginning, these unions
             were essential because of the most horrendous circumstances under which
             workers were kept -- dangerous factories, unlivable wages, and abusive
             supervisors were the norm for many hard working Americans. Some of these
             concepts were touched on in Chapter One of Rekindling the Movement.
             Originally unions were craft-based like guilds had been, and were social
             movements more than the business agreements that they have become over the
             years. Recently, for many unions at least, there has been a trend of
             returning to that social movement style union. Unions gained strength in
             the 1930s when working class protest shaped the world, and the wars made
             the labor unions even stronger as they bonded together in a mutual goal of
             creating a better American workforce. However, after the wars, new laws
             restricted what unions could do and people thought they simply weren't
             necessary like they had once been, and support for the unions seriously
             faded. While unions have returned to a degree to being political/social
             organizations, many unions today are still suffering from the negative
             My union is an example of one that is attempting on some levels to be
             involved in the politics and social movements that are important to
             workers, but yet it is still constrained seriously by self-created
             limitations as well as those forced upon the organization by outside
             forces. While my union is affiliated with a larger, national union with
             far more structure and power to accomplish goals, I have witnessed very
             little interaction between our chapter and the larger group. As a union,
             my fellow workers and myself feel quite isolated and alone in our
             struggles, and all attempts to improve our situation are spearheaded by
             individual workers with little to no support f...