To understand why workers choose to join unions and how unions have made differences in certain industries.

Visit the AFL-CIO Web site (www.aflcio.org) and find information about why workers join unions and what the benefits have been.

1. What percentage of workers in your state belongs to a union? If it is higher or lower than the national average, explain why unions do or do not have strength in your state.

2. Explain how union membership has affected minorities, women, older workers, and part-time workers.

3. The AFL-CIO site presents the union's perspective on labor issues. Look at the key issues and check sources such as the National Association of Manufacturers (www.nam.org) and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (www.righttowork.org) that support management's perspectives and compare their positions on these issues.