(I) Labour unions arose in the late 1800s and early 1900s largely in response to the awful working conditions in factories. (II) Unions try to increase the wages of their members in three ways. (III) In garment factories, iron plants and textile mills, labourers worked about 14 hours per day, seven days a week. (IV) The long workweek was not new to those who had worked on farms, but the working conditions were. (V) Men, women and children as young as 5 operated clattering machinery so dangerous that many workers lost their sight, hearing and limbs.