Merchant and craft guilds formed to provide support for their members, who shared a certain economic role. Today, in the United States, many labor and trade unions exist for the same purpose. They unite workers in specific industries so that they may together work for their mutual benefit.
Research the history of early labor unions and their relationship to the earlier guilds in Europe. Then select one of the labor or trade unions from the list below to research:
• American Federation of Government Employees
• American Federation of Teachers
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• International Union of Police Associations
• National Association of Letter Carriers
• Office and Professional Employees International Union
• United Mine Workers of America
• Writers Guild of America
• Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association
• Service Employees International Union
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
• United Farm Workers of America
Use the internet or the library to learn more about your chosen union. Finally, combine your research with the knowledge you gained from this lesson to write a short response in which you compare and contrast your union with the medieval merchant and craft guilds. Your short response should contain at least two paragraphs and should address both similarities and differences between the modern union and medieval guilds.