Final answer:
Skilled craftspeople, such as shoemakers and other artisans, were the first to organize employee groups in the U.S., forming trade unions due to industrialization.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first signs of employee organizations in the United States occurred among skilled craftspeople such as shoemakers, tailors, and printers. These artisans, who had traditionally worked as independent masters in their workshops, began forming trade unions in response to the rise of industrialization which centralized production and eroded their craftsmanship. The mechanization of production, especially evident after the War of 1812, led to a gradual shift from skilled artisanal work to wage labor inside growing industrial factories. This shift marked a transformation from a production system where skilled artisans were the mainstay of manufacturing to one dominated by the deskilling and compartmentalization of tasks within the factory system, often leading to poor working conditions and lower wages for unskilled factory workers, thus fueling the need for collective action and the formation of labor organizations.