How soon the average American worker forgets the long hours and unsafe working conditions that existed prior to unions. Lives were lost to gain 40 hr work weeks, do away with child labor and eventually gain retirements and health care that many take for granted. Agreed at times the unions need to be reasonable but even the non-union work force benefited from the 8 hr days and benefits. With apprenticeships we were able to have trained workers rather than just labor learning by trial and error. Next time you are complaining about the "long" hours of 40 hrs a week, just be thankful it isn't 16hrs a day.