The Luddites were skilled weavers who saw the power loom as a threat to their lively hoods, but it's so much more than that. Britain passed laws making it illegal to what we'd describe now as unionize and take collective action. The government also universally rolled back regulations for factory owners. Factories would pop up far out into the country side because the conditions were so abysmal, it was so dangerous they knew people would protest if it was common knowledge how many kids were pulled into looms and killed. The Ludites formed and would send threatening letters to mill owners to stop using the power looms. At night they would break into the factories and destroy the machines but leave the hand tools and other equipment alone. The Government dispatched troops to try and suppress them as a group. At one point a mass trial took place in which they charged 60 men with various crimes. Harsh sentences of those found guilty, which included execution and penal transportation, quickly ended the movement. The Government also made “machine breaking” illegal in 1812.
I just found the whole story very interesting. Unions have always had an uphill battle and have needed to fight against the government fucking them over from the very beginning. Luddites were not anti-technology, they were pro-labour and they've been recast in history by those that keep workers down.
To read more about the exploits of the Luddite's,check out the wikipedia page on it.