Unions Throughout American history, unions have served to facilitate mediation between workers and employers. Workers seek to negotiate with employers to gain more control over their work and its fruits. “A trade union may be defined as an organization which exists for the purpose of representing its members to their employers with respect to wages and conditions of employment” (Hunter). The main goals of unions are to raise wages, shorten workdays, obtain better benefits, and improve working conditions. Despite these goals, the early years of union formation were characterized by difficulties (Hunter). The beginnings of unions date back to colonial times, when artisans like carpenters and shoemakers formed guilds, precursors to modern (American Federationist) unions. , Miller). But it wasn't until the 1800s, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution and its dismal working conditions, that unions began to grow in membership and popularity (Miller). The industrial revolution restructured the employer-employee relationship into an impersonal association manifested by indifference to the worker's quality of life. Children were particularly exploited because they could be hired at lower wages and had to work equally long days (Miller). By the 1830s, children made up about a third of the workforce in New England (Illinois Labor History Society). The conditions of workers as a whole required action for workers' rights. Yet early unions faced three obstacles that permeated 19th-century American culture. Laissez-faire capitalism, rugged individualism and social Darwinism were three modes...... middle of article ......ber 2004. .…..….."A Brief History of American work. » American federationist 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, DC, 1885), 1: 365-70.] November 6 2004. .