Updated: December 12, 2012
Modern day unions were created during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s. Groups of workers came together to negotiate with their employers against poor working conditions -- including 12 hour work days, bad conditions inside factories and poor wages.Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, more people became a part of a union and the unions themselves evolved along with the workplace. Today, workers no longer have to contend with the working conditions of the 1800s, but they are still concerned with things like saving for retirement and health benefits, all of which unions commonly negotiate.
Learn more about the history of collective bargaining in our quiz, and find out what happened in Wisconsin, and now, what's up in Chicago in the video below. And if you have an opinion about collective bargaining, leave your thoughts in the comments!
Video: Right to Work in Michigan
More than 10,000 workers braved the cold to protest a new law that weakens unions.
Michigan Legislature sends governor right-to-work
The Michigan Legislature gave final approval Tuesday to a bitterly contested right-to-work plan limiting the power of unions, a devastating and once unthinkable defeat for organized labor in a state considered a cradle of the movement.
Video: Chicago Teacher's Strike
A look at what one group of students think about collective bargaining.
Video: Wisconsin Protests
Schools were closed as teachers and other demonstrated aganist a bill that would end collective bargaining in the state.
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