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.