 Addams applied the idea of lateral progress to numerous issues. When she discusses the role of labor unions, she argues that in their attempt to improve conditions for all workers, unions are fulfilling a vital function that society has abrogated. Addams, who had a track record of supporting labor, makes it clear that she does not view collective bargaining as an end in itself. Instead, Addams views unions as trailblazers who obtain working conditions that eventually benefit everyone in society: “trade unions are trying to do for themselves what the government should secure for all its citizens; has, in fact, secured in many cases” (FSS 456). Addams is not interested in improving the lot of one group of workers over another. “Any sense of division and suspicion is fatal in a democratic form of government, for although each side may seem to secure most for itself when consulting only its own interests, the final test must be the good of the community as a whole” (FSS 461). For Addams, unions are important in as much as they improve working conditions, raise wages, reduce hours and eliminate child labor for all Americans—lateral progress.