In the early 1900’s, John L. Lewis was the president of the United Mine Workers of America. At the time, working conditions for coal miners in the U.S. were horrible. The union, run by Lewis, had a huge impact on improving mine safety, conditions and pay. Few people doubt that the UMWA was extremely important in that time period. Today there are many laws regarding working conditions, pay, etc. that did not exist at that time in the history of the U.S. The question for today is: Are unions still necessary in the United States in 2014, or are unions today more of a problem than of a benefit?