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The long fight for workers' rights -

The story of workers and laborers fighting for their rights stretches back to the birth of civilization itself. The first labor strike in recorded history took place in Egypt, around the 12th century BCE. The fight since then has not stopped, as labor unions and organizations continue to fight for their rights long into the 21st century.

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Ancient artisan's guilds -

Labor unions, as we know them today, are descendants of the guild system of the Old World. Guilds weren't organizations of workers, but instead of masters and proprietors, who controlled the prices of the goods their respective trades produced.

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The end of serfdom and the birth of the working class -

During the Middle Ages, most peasants and peoples of the lower classes of society lived as serfs. In this social structure, farm and land owners would have control over their own labor, but were nonetheless subjected to the taxes and tariffs imposed upon them by the ruling class. As cities in Europe began to grow, and country folk migrated into cities for more work, their autonomy over their labor began to disintegrate.

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The 1349 Ordinance of Labourers -

England's 1349 Ordinance of Labourers is considered not only the beginning of labor legislation in the British Isles, but the first labor law in the world. This ordinance stipulated that anyone under the age of 60 was required to work, and set forth fixed pay and price controls for various goods. The ordinance was in many ways a reaction to the Black Death pandemic that plagued the region earlier that century, which killed an estimated 40% of the working population. This created a profoundly high demand for workers, but also placed some power in the hands of the working class for the first time in history.

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The industrialization of Europe -

Some 500 years later, thanks to immense advancements in technology and urban governance, England, along with the rest of Europe, entered the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th century. The advent of factories, which took over the work of what was once considered part of the handmade "cottage industry," sparked a mass migration of country folk into the cities, in hopes of a better life and more lucrative work.

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Labor disputes in the 19th century -

Few eras in history have changed the course of the world more than the Industrial Revolution. The massive influx of workers into cities, which were once reserved for the ruling classes, issued in a renewed sense of class consciousness amongst the lower classes. Various groups and demographics found profound issue with the novel working conditions they found themselves in, causing countless disputes, strikes, and uprisings–but with no legal recourse to back them up.

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The Luddites -

One of the most notorious groups opposed to industrialization in the 19th century were known as the Luddites, led by the questionably fictional Captain Ned Ludd. Luddites would destroy newly-invented industrial machines, such as automatic weavers, believing that their occupations would eventually become obsolete as automatic technology progressed. The Luddites have gone down in history as one of the first and largest organized workers' movements in modern history.

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The growth of cities -

As Europe's journey through industrialization progressed, major cities like London, Berlin, and Paris, as well as Philadelphia in America, grew at almost uncontrollable rates. With every new factory and workhouse built, scores of rural citizens arrived to build the workforce.

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Deplorable working conditions around the world -

Workers' rights were effectively nonexistent during the decades of the Industrial Revolution. Men, women, and children were subjected to 16-hour work days, six days a week, in extremely dangerous and often lethal environments. Any protests or strikes that were organized were swiftly, and legally, put down by the companies and governments in power.

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The Trade-Union Act of 1871 -

After decades, or arguably centuries, of unrest and rebellion within the working class, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Trade-Union Act of 1871. For the first time in history, labor organizations were decriminalized and could not be subjected to accusations of conspiracy against their government. Simply put, labor strikes were legalized for the first time in modern history.

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The rise of unions in the United States -

The first national labor union in the United States, although not the most enduring, was the National Labor Union (NLU). Co-founded by William H. Sylvis (pictured), the NLU wished to unite the syndicated trade unions across the nation under the shared demand of an eight-hour work day and a singular workers' organization that was powerful enough to make and achieve demands from the government. While the NLU was only active from 1866 to 1873, it paved the way for larger and far more successful workers' rights groups like the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

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Unionization worldwide -

It was only a matter of time until the concept of unionization spread disseminated throughout working classes around the globe. From at least the turn of the 20th century onward, unionization was the primary vehicle for workers around the world to demand and receive their much-deserved rights.

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The Industrial Workers of the World -

One of the largest, most successful, and most established general workers' unions is the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Established in Chicago in 1905, the IWW accepted smaller unions of all trades, races, spiritualities, and nationalities throughout the world. At their peak, the IWW claimed 150,000 members across three continents.

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The Saint Petersburg Workers' Delegates -

The Russian Revolution of the early 20th century led by Vladimir Lenin that eventually tore down the Tsarist Russian Empire was one of the largest and most important in the world. In the wake of the first revolution of 1905, the Saint Petersburg Workers' Delegates was formed. The delegation was founded by revolutionary Leon Trotsky, and although it quickly developed into other, larger workers' organizations, it was successful in securing an eight-hour work day for some workers, and made great strides in the fight against press censorship.

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The Brazilian Workers' Confederation -

Formed in 1908, the Confederação Operária Brasileira, or Brazilian Workers' Confederation, brought together over 50 separate and sometimes isolated trade unions across the country for the first time. After the union's formation and their successful battle for higher wages, class consciousness and revolutionary sentiments skyrocketed across the nation, resulting in the nationwide protests of 1917.

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General German Workers' Association -

Formed in 1863 by Ferdinand Lassalle (pictured), the General German Workers' Association was the first organized labor union in all of modern European history. Eventually merging with the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the organization still exists today as a major political party.

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International Workingmen's Association -

The International Workingmen's Association, also known as the First International, was founded in 1864 in St Martin's Hall (pictured) in London. At its height, the First International boasted around eight million member, making it one of the biggest and certainly most influential European unions at the time.

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France's General Confederation of Labor -

Today, the French Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) boasts over 700,000 members, and has the most voting power out of any other workers' party in the country. Since its founding in 1895, it has survived two world wars, fascist rule, and innumerable internal divisions. Despite these obstacles, the CGT continues to fight for workers' rights and the protection of pensions, greatly contributing to the French working class' global reputation for civil resistance.

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The Irish Transport and General Workers' Union -

The Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) was Ireland's first general labor union, dedicated to all trades and forms of labor. Founded by James Larkin (pictured, second left) in 1909, the ITGWU was unsuccessful in its early years in its fight against employers and the British occupation forces, but is considered a major catalyst for later fights for Irish independence and workers' rights.

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The All-China Federation of Trade Unions -

Established by the Chinese government in 1925, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is the world's largest workers' organization, with over 300 million members. The ACFTU is responsible for, among other victories, the 2006 unionization of all Walmart factories in the country. The union has come under criticism, however, for being an arm of the Chinese government. Many critics argue a workers' union controlled by its government cannot, by nature, fight for the rights of its constituents.

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Solidarność -

Solidarność, or the Polish Solidarity Union, became the first legally recognized union in a Warsaw Treaty Organization country in 1980. At its peak, during 1981, the union counted one third of the nation's working class amongst its members. Fighting against authoritarianism and workers' oppression in the Soviet Union, Solidarność is considered one of the driving forces of Polish Westernization. Its leader, Lech Wałęsa, was later elected the first president of Poland in 1990.

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South Africa's COSATU -

The Congress of South African Trade Unions, or COSATU, is the largest of South Africa's trade federations. Formed in 1985, the union was instrumental in the fight against apartheid, and remains dedicated to the racially-charged class struggle in the country.

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Civil Servants Confederation of Greece -

The Confederation of Greek Civil Servants' Trade Unions is one of the most enduring in the nation. Formed in 1926, the union continued to survive and organize throughout the authoritarian Metaxas regime, Nazi occupation, and the Greek Civil War. Unique to many trade unions in the world, the leadership of Greece's Civil Servants Confederation consists of members from all across the political spectrum, from the neoliberal New Democracy party to the official Communist Party of Greece, emphasizing the importance of class solidarity over political divisions.

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The Egyptian Trade Union Federation -

The Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF), formed in 1957, is an example of the dangers of state-controlled workers' unions. While claiming to represent the needs and rights of Egypt's working class, the organization in fact actively fought working class uprisings. During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, some members of the ETUF even acted as a paramilitary group that attacked peaceful Egyptian freedom fighters.

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Confederation of Mexican Workers -

Founded in 1918 by a delegation of smaller unions across the county, the Confederación Regional Obrera Mexicana, or CROM, united in the fight for workers' right amongst industrial workers, agricultural laborers, and all members of Mexico's lower classes. While union leadership was soon corrupted by government collusion, CROM did manage to gain better working hours and conditions for their constituents.

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Japan's history of unionization -

Today, there are three primary labor confederations in Japan: the Rengo, Zenroren, and Zenrokyo. Together, they represent nearly 7.4 million Japanese workers of all trades and industries. These three confederations are relatively new, appearing in the late 20th century, after centuries of anti-labor oppression from their own government and post-World War II American interference.

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Tunisia's UGTT -

The Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) was formed in 1946 and played an integral role in the 2011 liberation of Tunisia from the thinly-veiled dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The UGTT formed part of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a group that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in developing a new and generally popular Tunisian constitution.

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Workers' Central Union of Cuba -

Formed in Havana in 1939, the Workers' Central Union of Cuba (CTC) has remained the largest workers' organization in the country, surviving the anti-union policies Mendieta presidency and the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Since the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the CTC has represented virtually every worker in Cuba, and while legally independent from the Cuban government, maintains a close relationship with its leaders.

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The Organization of African Trade Union Unity -

The trans-continental Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) was formed in 1973 and consists of smaller union organizations in more than 50 African nations. The primary goal of the OATUU is to promote a sense of African solidarity and Pan-Africanism throughout the continent, by way of uniting the workers of Africa in the fight for their rights.

Sources: (Britannica) (History) (Foreign Policy)

See also: Historic American labor strikes that shocked society

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