Have you ever wondered what life would be like if unions had never existed? Unions were originally formed to help improve workers' low wages, horrible working conditions, and reduce daily working hours. “Unions are powerful because of the power of members acting together, joining forces, figuratively and literally, taking a stand and imposing their agenda on their employers or political representatives” (Asher 650). Unions are only powerful if everyone works together, if one person does something wrong, the whole organization fails. Unions formed after the Civil War as a response to the modern industrial economy. Unions have impacted workers around the world by contributing to higher wages, better working conditions, and better benefits. In 1636 the first considered labor disturbance was recorded. Leading fishermen employed by Robert Trelawney on Richmond Island are said to have fallen "into mutiny" when their wages were withheld. It was a small group of men and their protest is hardly remembered, but it demonstrated how cooperating together would lead to a better outcome than working alone, it also taught other people how to stand up for what they believe in. ”Usually the first The first step for any union is to convince workers to join the organization. After a union is established in a plant or industry, its main functions are the organization of employment contracts and the management of labor disputes” (Mills 4). The hardest part about joining a union is knowing that there is a possibility of being fired or hated for retaliating against your employer. Most men were afraid of being caught joining a union because they could end up in prison, beaten, or fired if caught. The unions tried to maintain form... mid-paper... then, we would probably still be working ten hours a day with low wages and harmful working conditions. Today, one in eight Americans is a member of a union, and if you don't count government officials the number drops to one in twelve Americans. This shows that the number of union members is decreasing a lot. Because previous unions were very successful in improving the workplace for us, we no longer need unions as much as we did a century ago. Unions were created to help people improve their wages, working conditions, hours and safety. Unions have impacted the world in many ways and we have better lives because of what they have done in the past.” Some fundamental freedoms that we take for granted today – the weekend, for example – were won through the efforts of trade unions, but we have always been lukewarm towards the movement” (History of Trade Unions).