American Federation of Labor
Encyclopedia
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States
. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor
, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers
(1850–1924) was elected president of the Federation at its founding convention and was reelected every year except one until his death. As the Knights of Labor faded away, the AFL coalition gradually gained strength. In practice, AFL unions were important in industrial cities, where they formed a central labor office to coordinate the actions of different AFL unions. Most strikes were assertions of jurisdiction, so that the plumbers, for example, used strikes to ensure that all major construction projects in the city used union plumbers. To win they needed the support of other unions, hence the need for AFL solidarity.
Gompers promoted harmony among the different craft unions that comprised the AFL. Focused on higher wages and job security, the AFL fought against socialism and the Socialist party. After 1907 it formed alliances with the Democratic party at the local, state and national levels. The AFL enthusiastically supported the war effort in World War I, and saw rapid growth in union membership and wage rates. The AFL unions lost membership in the 1920s, and did not recover from the doldrums until the New Deal
passed the Wagner Act in 1935. The AFL enthusiastically supported the New Deal Coalition
led by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt
.
John L. Lewis
led a group of industrial unions to break away in the 1930s to form the CIO
. The two federations competed for new members furiously, even violently. The AFL was always larger, and added more members in the very rapid growth period in the late 1930s and World War II era, while avoiding the radicalism of the CIO. William Green
was president (1925–1952), but after 1940 the dominant leader was George Meany
(1894–1980).
The AFL was always hostile to Communists, especially as they were powerful inside the rival CIO. The AFL boycotted the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) because of its decision to admit Soviet trade unions. The AFL was instrumental in establishing a rival federation, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), which eventually won the allegiance of all labor federations save those of the Soviet Union and its satellites. The AFL hailed the Truman
administration's Cold War
policies and strongly supported American military intervention in the Korean War
. Corruption in labor unions became a major political issues in the 1950s. Meany convinced the AFL to expel the racketeer-influenced International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) in 1953, and several other corrupt affiliates, most notably the Teamsters union, several years later. The AFL was at its peak in 1955, when it reunited with the CIO to form the AFL-CIO
, which has seen its membership steadily decline since the 1970s but remains active today.
, a national reform organization that had little interest in such local issues as jurisdiction over specific trades, strikes, qualifications of craftsmen, wage scales, or local working conditions. The Knights wanted to enroll practically everyone, and quest of social reforms. To meet the challenge, FOTLU disbanded and was succeeded by the American Federation of Labor in 1886. The AFL was an umbrella group, designed to assist and coordinate the international unions that comprised its membership. That is, individuals belong to locals of the international union which in turn were members of the AFL.
In April 1886, a circular letter was issued by two FOTLU unions calling on 43 national trade unions to attend an organizing conference in Philadelphia in May. Twenty unions sent delegates and 12 others indicated their approval. The meeting charged the K of L with conspiring with anti-union bosses to provide labor at below going union rates and with making use of individuals who had crossed picket lines
or defaulted on payment of union dues and demanded that the K of L cease attempting to organize members of international unions into its own assemblies. The K of L refused to enter into serious discussions.
in order to construct "an American federation of alliance of all national and international trade unions." Forty-two delegates representing 13 national unions and various other local labor organizations responded to the call, agreeing to form themselves into an American Federation of Labor.
Revenue for the new organization was to be raised on the basis of a "per-capita tax" of its member organizations, set at the rate of one-half cent per member per month (i.e. six cents per year). Governance of the organization was to be by annual conventions, with one delegate allocated for every 4,000 members of each affiliated union. Gompers was elected president at a salary of $1,000 per year. Gompers set up his headquarters in Washington, D.C., and was re-elected every year save 1893 until his death nearly four decades later.
Gompers made use of the existing labor press to generate support for the position of the craft unions against the Knights of Labor. Powerful opinion-makers of the American labor movement such as the Philadelphia Tocsin, Haverhill Labor, the Brooklyn Labor Press, and the Denver Labor Enquirer granted Gompers space in their pages, in which he made the case for the unions against the attacks of employers, "all too often aided by the K of L." Knights soon lost over 95% of its members and lost its importance.
The fledgling American Federation of Labor showed steady growth in its first years, reaching the 250,000 member mark in 1892. The group from the outset concentrated upon the income and working conditions of its membership as its almost sole focus. The AFL's founding convention declaring "higher wages and a shorter workday" to be "preliminary steps toward great and accompanying improvements in the condition of the working people." Participation in partisan politics was avoided as inherently divisive, and the group's constitution was structured to prevent the admission of political parties as affiliates.
This fundamentally conservative "pure and simple" approach limited the AFL to matters pertaining to working conditions and rates of pay, relegating political goals to its allies in the political sphere. The Federation favored pursuit of workers' immediate demands rather than challenging the property rights of owners, and took a pragmatic view of politics which favored tactical support for particular politicians over formation of a party devoted to workers' interests. The AFL's leadership believed the expansion of the capitalist system was the best path to betterment of labor, an orientation making it possible for the AFL to present itself as the conservative alternative to working class radicalism.
The AFL spent most of its energy setting up federations in larger cities that brought multiple unions together, in negotiating jurisdictional disputes between two or more of its unions, and helping member unions with organizational drives, and with establishing themselves in new cities. The AFL itself did not call strikes, but it did assist member unions and their strike operations.
movement in 1903 designed to drive unions out of construction, mining, longshore and other industries. Membership in the AFL's affiliated unions declined between 1904 and 1914 in the face of this concerted anti-union drive, which made effective use of legal injunction
s against strikes
, court rulings given force when backed with the armed might of the state.
Ever the pragmatist
, Gompers argued that labor should "reward its friends and punish its enemies" in both major parties. However, in the first decade of the 20th century the two parties began to realign, with the main faction of the Republican Party coming to identify with the interests of banks and manufacturers, while a substantial portion of the rival Democratic Party took a more labor-friendly position. While not precluding its members from belonging to the Socialist Party or working with its members, the AFL traditionally refused to pursue the tactic of independent political action by the workers in the form of the existing Socialist Party or the establishment of a new labor party. After 1908, the organization's tie to the Democratic party grew increasingly strong.
. The National Civic Federation was formed by several progressive employers who sought to avoid labor disputes by fostering collective bargaining and "responsible" unionism. Labor's participation in this federation, at first tentative, created internal division within the AFL. Socialists, who believed the only way to help workers was to remove large industry from private ownership, denounced labor's efforts at cooperation with the capitalists in the National Civic Federation. The AFL nonetheless continued its association with the group, which declined in importance as the decade of the 1910s drew to a close.
with money and organizers, and by 1902 the AFL came to dominate the Canadian union movement.
and the Immigration Act of 1924
, and seeing that they were strictly enforced.
Mink (1986) concludes that the link between the AFL and the Democratic Party rested in part on immigration issues, noting the large corporations, which supported the Republicans, wanted more immigration to augment their labor force.
", and the member unions lost membership at an alarming rate. This trend continued throughout the 1920s.
The organization endorsed pro-labor progressive Robert M. LaFollette
in 1924. The campaign failed to establish a permanent independent party closely connected to the labor movement, however, and thereafter the Federation embraced ever more closely the Democratic Party, despite the fact that many union leaders remained Republicans.
were hard times for the unions, and membership fell sharply across the country. As the national economy began to recover in 1933, so did union membership. The New Deal
of president Franklin D. Roosevelt
, a Democrat strongly favored labor unions. He made sure that relief operations like the Civilian Conservation Corps
did not include a training component that would produced skilled workers who would compete with union members in a still glutted market. The major legislation was the National Labor Relations Act
of 1935, called the Wagner Act. It greatly strengthened organized unions, especially by weakening the company unions that many workers belonged to. It was to the members advantage to transform a company union into a local of an AFL union, and thousands did so, dramatically boosting the membership. The Wagner Act also set up to the National Labor Relations Board
, which used its powers to rule in favor of unions and against the companies. However, the NLRB was later taken over by leftist elements who favored the CIO over the AFL.
The AFL — now led by William Green
(president, 1924–1952) — faced increasing dissension within its ranks, led by John L. Lewis
of the coal miners. Lewis argued that the AFL was too heavily oriented toward traditional craftsmen, and was overlooking the opportunity to organize millions of semiskilled workers, especially those in industrial factories that made automobiles, rubber, glass and steel. In 1935 Lewis led the dissenting unions in forming a new Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) within the AFL. Both the new CIO industrial unions, and the older AFL crafts unions grew rapidly after 1935. In 1936 union members enthusiastically supported Roosevelt's landslide reelection. Proposals for the creation of an independent labor party were rejected.
Unions now comprised a major compounded of the New Deal Coalition
, along with big-city machines, Catholics and Jews, poorer farmers, and the white South. The AFL continued to concentrate its legislative efforts on obtaining political protection for the right of unions to organize and strike, rather than on obtaining social change through legislative action.
in 1947.
In 1955, the AFL and CIO merged to form the AFL-CIO
, headed by George Meany
.
In 1901, the AFL lobbied Congress to reauthorize the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act
, and issued a pamphlet entitled "Some reasons for Chinese exclusion. Which shall survive?" The AFL also began one of the first organized labor boycotts when they began putting white stickers on the cigars made by unionized white cigar rollers while simultaneously discouraging consumers from purchasing cigars rolled by Chinese workers.
Generally the AFL viewed women workers as competition, as strikebreakers, or as an unskilled labor reserve that kept wages low. As such, the Federation often opposed women’s employment entirely. When it did organize women workers, most often it did so to protect men’s jobs and earning power and not to improve the conditions, lives, or wages of women workers. In response, most women workers remained outside the labor movement. In 1900, only 3.3% of working women were organized into unions. In 1910, even as the AFL surged forward in membership, the number had dipped to 1.5%. And while it improved to 6.6% over the next decade, women remained mostly outside of unions and practically invisible inside of them into the mid-1920s.
Attitudes gradually changed within the AFL due to the pressure of organized female workers. Female-domination began to emerge in the first two decades of the 20th century, including particularly the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. Women organized independent locals among New York hat makers, in the Chicago stockyards, and among Jewish and Italian waist makers, to name only three examples. Through the efforts of middle class reformers and activists, often of the Women's Trade Union League
, these unions joined the AFL.
claimed to represent certain printroom employees, and the Machinists and a fledgling union known as the "Carriage, Wagon and Automobile Workers Union" sought to organize the same employees — even though neither union had made any effort to organize or bargain for those employees. In some cases the AFL mediated the dispute, usually favoring the larger or more influential union. The AFL often reversed its jurisdictional rulings over time, as the continuing jurisdictional battles between the Brewers and the Teamsters showed. In other cases the AFL expelled the offending union, as it did in 1913 in the case of the Carriage, Wagon and Automobile Workers Union (which quickly disappeared).
These jurisdictional disputes were most frequent in the building trades, where a number of different unions might claim the right to have work assigned to their members. The craft unions in this industry organized their own department within the AFL in 1908, despite the reservations of Gompers and other leaders about creation of a separate body within the AFL that might function as a federation within a federation. While those fears were partly borne out in practice, as the Building Trades Department did acquire a great deal of practical power gained through resolving jurisdictional disputes between affiliates, the danger that it might serve as the basis for schism never materialized.
Affiliates within the AFL formed "departments" to help resolve these jurisdictional conflicts and to provide a more effective voice for member unions in given industries. The Metal Trades Department engaged in some organizing of its own, primarily in shipbuilding, where unions such as the Pipefitters
, Machinists and Iron Workers
joined together through local metal workers' councils to represent a diverse group of workers. The Railway Employees Department dealt with both jurisdictional disputes between affiliates and pursued a common legislative agenda for all of them. Even that sort of structure did not prevent AFL unions from finding themselves in conflict on political issues. For example, the International Seamen's Union
opposed passage of a law applying to workers engaged in interstate transport that railway unions supported. The AFL bridged these differences on an ad hoc basis.
, the Teamsters
and the American Federation of Musicians
, helped form the union. The AFL also used its influence (including refusal of charters or expulsion) to heal splits within affiliated unions, to force separate unions seeking to represent the same or closely related jurisdictions to merge, or to mediate disputes between rival factions where both sides claimed to represent the leadership of an affiliated union. The AFL also chartered "federal unions
" — local unions not affiliated with any international union — in those fields in which no affiliate claimed jurisdiction.
The AFL also encouraged the formation of local labor bodies (known as central labor councils) in major metropolitan areas in which all of the affiliates could participate. These local labor councils acquired a great deal of influence in some cases. For example, the Chicago Federation of Labor
spearheaded efforts to organize packinghouse
and steel workers during and immediately after World War I. Local building trades councils also became powerful in some areas. In San Francisco, the local Building Trades Council, led by Carpenters official P. H. McCarthy
, not only dominated the local labor council but helped elect McCarthy mayor of San Francisco in 1909. In a very few cases early in the AFL's history, state and local bodies defied AFL policy or chose to disaffiliate over policy disputes.
such as Gompers and Peter J. McGuire
, it quickly became more conservative. The AFL adopted a philosophy of "business unionism" that emphasized unions' contribution to businesses' profits and national economic growth. The business unionist approach also focused on skilled workers' immediate job-related interests, while ignoring larger political issues.
In some respects the AFL leadership took a pragmatic view toward politicians, following Gompers' slogan to "reward your friends and punish your enemies" without regard to party affiliation. Over time, after repeated disappointments with the failure of labor's legislative efforts to protect workers' rights, which the courts had struck down as unconstitutional, Gompers became almost anti-political, opposing some forms of protective legislation, such as limitations on working hours, because they would detract from the efforts of unions to obtain those same benefits through collective bargaining
.
Employers discovered the efficacy of labor injunctions
, first used with great effect by the Cleveland
administration during the Pullman strike
in 1894. While the AFL sought to outlaw "yellow dog contracts
," to limit the courts' power to impose "government by injunction" and to obtain exemption from the antitrust
laws that were being used to criminalize labor organizing, the courts reversed what few legislative successes the labor movement won.
The AFL concentrated its political efforts during the last decades of the Gompers administration on securing freedom from state control of unions — in particular an end to the court's use of labor injunctions to block the right to organize or strike and the application of the anti-trust laws to criminalize labor's use of pickets, boycotts and strikes. The AFL thought that it had achieved the latter with the passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act
in 1914 — which Gompers referred to as "Labor's Magna Carta
". But in Duplex Printing Press Co. v. Deering
, 254 U.S. 443 (1921), the United States Supreme Court narrowly read the Act and codified the federal courts' existing power to issue injunctions rather than limit it. The court read the phrase "between an employer and employees" (contained in the first paragraph of the Act) to refer only to cases involving an employer and its own employees, leaving the courts free to punish unions for engaging in sympathy strike
s or secondary boycotts.
The AFL's pessimistic attitude towards politics did not, on the other hand, prevent affiliated unions from pursuing their own agendas. Construction unions supported legislation that governed entry of contractors into the industry and protected workers' rights to pay, rail and mass production industries sought workplace safety legislation, and unions generally agitated for the passage of workers' compensation
statutes.
At the same time, the AFL took efforts on behalf of women in supporting protective legislation. It advocated fewer hours for women workers, and based its arguments on assumptions of female weakness. Like efforts to unionize, most support for protective legislation for women came out of a desire to protect men’s jobs. If women’s hours could be limited, reasoned AFL officials, they would infringe less on male employment and earning potential. But the AFL also took more selfless efforts. Even from the 1890s, the AFL declared itself vigorously in favor of women’s suffrage. It often printed pro-suffrage articles in its periodical, and in 1918, it supported the National Union of Women’s Suffrage.
The AFL relaxed its rigid stand against legislation after the death of Gompers. Even so, it remained cautious. Its proposals for unemployment benefits (made in the late 1920s) were too modest to have practical value, as the Great Depression
soon showed. The impetus for the major federal labor laws of the 1930s came from the New Deal
. The enormous growth in union membership came after Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act
in 1933 and National Labor Relations Act
in 1935. The AFL refused to sanction or participate in the mass strikes led by John L. Lewis
of the United Mine Workers and other left unions such as the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
. After the AFL expelled the CIO in 1936, the CIO undertook a major organizing effort. The AFL responded with its own massive organizing drive that kept its membership totals 50 percent higher than the CIO's.
Labor unions in the United States
Labor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police...
. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
(1850–1924) was elected president of the Federation at its founding convention and was reelected every year except one until his death. As the Knights of Labor faded away, the AFL coalition gradually gained strength. In practice, AFL unions were important in industrial cities, where they formed a central labor office to coordinate the actions of different AFL unions. Most strikes were assertions of jurisdiction, so that the plumbers, for example, used strikes to ensure that all major construction projects in the city used union plumbers. To win they needed the support of other unions, hence the need for AFL solidarity.
Gompers promoted harmony among the different craft unions that comprised the AFL. Focused on higher wages and job security, the AFL fought against socialism and the Socialist party. After 1907 it formed alliances with the Democratic party at the local, state and national levels. The AFL enthusiastically supported the war effort in World War I, and saw rapid growth in union membership and wage rates. The AFL unions lost membership in the 1920s, and did not recover from the doldrums until the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
passed the Wagner Act in 1935. The AFL enthusiastically supported the New Deal Coalition
New Deal coalition
The New Deal Coalition was the alignment of interest groups and voting blocs that supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 1932 until the late 1960s. It made the Democratic Party the majority party during that period, losing only to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952...
led by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
.
John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
led a group of industrial unions to break away in the 1930s to form the CIO
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
. The two federations competed for new members furiously, even violently. The AFL was always larger, and added more members in the very rapid growth period in the late 1930s and World War II era, while avoiding the radicalism of the CIO. William Green
William Green
William Green may refer to:*S. William Green , former U.S. congressman from New York*William Ellis Green , Australian cartoonist*William Green , American football player...
was president (1925–1952), but after 1940 the dominant leader was George Meany
George Meany
William George Meany led labor union federations in the United States. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II....
(1894–1980).
The AFL was always hostile to Communists, especially as they were powerful inside the rival CIO. The AFL boycotted the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) because of its decision to admit Soviet trade unions. The AFL was instrumental in establishing a rival federation, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), which eventually won the allegiance of all labor federations save those of the Soviet Union and its satellites. The AFL hailed the Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
administration's Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
policies and strongly supported American military intervention in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Corruption in labor unions became a major political issues in the 1950s. Meany convinced the AFL to expel the racketeer-influenced International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) in 1953, and several other corrupt affiliates, most notably the Teamsters union, several years later. The AFL was at its peak in 1955, when it reunited with the CIO to form the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
, which has seen its membership steadily decline since the 1970s but remains active today.
Origins
By the late 1880s there were over 40 international unions, comprising local chapters of skilled craftsmen in specific fields, such as carpenters, printers and cigar makers. They formed the "Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions" (FOTLU) in 1881. By 1886 they were threatened by the explosive growth of the Knights of LaborKnights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
, a national reform organization that had little interest in such local issues as jurisdiction over specific trades, strikes, qualifications of craftsmen, wage scales, or local working conditions. The Knights wanted to enroll practically everyone, and quest of social reforms. To meet the challenge, FOTLU disbanded and was succeeded by the American Federation of Labor in 1886. The AFL was an umbrella group, designed to assist and coordinate the international unions that comprised its membership. That is, individuals belong to locals of the international union which in turn were members of the AFL.
In April 1886, a circular letter was issued by two FOTLU unions calling on 43 national trade unions to attend an organizing conference in Philadelphia in May. Twenty unions sent delegates and 12 others indicated their approval. The meeting charged the K of L with conspiring with anti-union bosses to provide labor at below going union rates and with making use of individuals who had crossed picket lines
Strikebreaker
A strikebreaker is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired prior to or during the strike to keep the organisation running...
or defaulted on payment of union dues and demanded that the K of L cease attempting to organize members of international unions into its own assemblies. The K of L refused to enter into serious discussions.
Formation and early years
A followup convention met in December 1886 in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
in order to construct "an American federation of alliance of all national and international trade unions." Forty-two delegates representing 13 national unions and various other local labor organizations responded to the call, agreeing to form themselves into an American Federation of Labor.
Revenue for the new organization was to be raised on the basis of a "per-capita tax" of its member organizations, set at the rate of one-half cent per member per month (i.e. six cents per year). Governance of the organization was to be by annual conventions, with one delegate allocated for every 4,000 members of each affiliated union. Gompers was elected president at a salary of $1,000 per year. Gompers set up his headquarters in Washington, D.C., and was re-elected every year save 1893 until his death nearly four decades later.
Gompers made use of the existing labor press to generate support for the position of the craft unions against the Knights of Labor. Powerful opinion-makers of the American labor movement such as the Philadelphia Tocsin, Haverhill Labor, the Brooklyn Labor Press, and the Denver Labor Enquirer granted Gompers space in their pages, in which he made the case for the unions against the attacks of employers, "all too often aided by the K of L." Knights soon lost over 95% of its members and lost its importance.
The fledgling American Federation of Labor showed steady growth in its first years, reaching the 250,000 member mark in 1892. The group from the outset concentrated upon the income and working conditions of its membership as its almost sole focus. The AFL's founding convention declaring "higher wages and a shorter workday" to be "preliminary steps toward great and accompanying improvements in the condition of the working people." Participation in partisan politics was avoided as inherently divisive, and the group's constitution was structured to prevent the admission of political parties as affiliates.
This fundamentally conservative "pure and simple" approach limited the AFL to matters pertaining to working conditions and rates of pay, relegating political goals to its allies in the political sphere. The Federation favored pursuit of workers' immediate demands rather than challenging the property rights of owners, and took a pragmatic view of politics which favored tactical support for particular politicians over formation of a party devoted to workers' interests. The AFL's leadership believed the expansion of the capitalist system was the best path to betterment of labor, an orientation making it possible for the AFL to present itself as the conservative alternative to working class radicalism.
The AFL spent most of its energy setting up federations in larger cities that brought multiple unions together, in negotiating jurisdictional disputes between two or more of its unions, and helping member unions with organizational drives, and with establishing themselves in new cities. The AFL itself did not call strikes, but it did assist member unions and their strike operations.
Early 20th Century
The AFL faced its first major reversal when employers launched an open shopOpen shop
An open shop is a place of employment at which one is not required to join or financially support a union as a condition of hiring or continued employment...
movement in 1903 designed to drive unions out of construction, mining, longshore and other industries. Membership in the AFL's affiliated unions declined between 1904 and 1914 in the face of this concerted anti-union drive, which made effective use of legal injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
s against strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, court rulings given force when backed with the armed might of the state.
Ever the pragmatist
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
, Gompers argued that labor should "reward its friends and punish its enemies" in both major parties. However, in the first decade of the 20th century the two parties began to realign, with the main faction of the Republican Party coming to identify with the interests of banks and manufacturers, while a substantial portion of the rival Democratic Party took a more labor-friendly position. While not precluding its members from belonging to the Socialist Party or working with its members, the AFL traditionally refused to pursue the tactic of independent political action by the workers in the form of the existing Socialist Party or the establishment of a new labor party. After 1908, the organization's tie to the Democratic party grew increasingly strong.
National Civic Federation
Some unions within the AFL helped form and participated in the National Civic FederationNational Civic Federation
The National Civic Federation, was a federation of American businesses and labor leaders founded in 1900. It favoured moderate progressive reform and sought to resolve disputes arising between industry and organized labor. It emerged first in 1893 as the Chicago Civic Federation , which was also...
. The National Civic Federation was formed by several progressive employers who sought to avoid labor disputes by fostering collective bargaining and "responsible" unionism. Labor's participation in this federation, at first tentative, created internal division within the AFL. Socialists, who believed the only way to help workers was to remove large industry from private ownership, denounced labor's efforts at cooperation with the capitalists in the National Civic Federation. The AFL nonetheless continued its association with the group, which declined in importance as the decade of the 1910s drew to a close.
Canada
By the 1890s Gompers was planning an international federation of labor, starting with the expansion of AFL affiliates in Canada, especially Ontario. He helped the Canadian Trades and Labour CongressTrades and Labour Congress of Canada
The Trades and Labour Congress of Canada was a Canada-wide central federation of trade unions from 1883 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor...
with money and organizers, and by 1902 the AFL came to dominate the Canadian union movement.
Immigration restriction
The AFL vigorously opposed unrestricted immigration from Europe for moral, cultural, and racial reasons. The issue unified the workers who feared that an influx of new workers would flood the labor market and lower wages. Nativism was not a factor because upwards of half the union members were themselves immigrants or the sons of immigrants from Ireland, Germany and Britain. Nativism was a factor when the AFL even more strenuously opposed all immigration from Asia because it represented (to its Euro-American members) an alien culture that could not be assimilated into American society. The AFL intensified its opposition after 1906 and was instrumental in passing immigration restriction bills from the 1890s to the 1920s, such as the 1921 Emergency Quota ActEmergency Quota Act
The Emergency Quota Act, also known as the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921, the Immigration Restriction Act of 1921, the Per Centum Law, and the Johnson Quota Act restricted immigration into the United States...
and the Immigration Act of 1924
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the National Origins Act, and Asian Exclusion Act , was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already...
, and seeing that they were strictly enforced.
Mink (1986) concludes that the link between the AFL and the Democratic Party rested in part on immigration issues, noting the large corporations, which supported the Republicans, wanted more immigration to augment their labor force.
The AFL in World War I
The AFL reached a zenith of sorts during the administration of Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Particularly during the years of World War I, American unions were given considerable government protection and cooperation between capital and labor was actively sought as the best means of rationalizing and increasing American production on behalf of the war effort. Unions, including the AFL itself, welcomed governmental intervention in favor of collective bargaining during World War I. Unions in the packinghouse industry were able to form due to governmental pressure on the largest employers to recognize the unions rather than face a strike. Expansion of the organized labor movement followed and by 1920 the AFL had nearly 4 million members.The 1920s
After conclusion of the European war in 1919, business launched a vast and coordinated offensive on behalf of the so-called "open shopOpen shop
An open shop is a place of employment at which one is not required to join or financially support a union as a condition of hiring or continued employment...
", and the member unions lost membership at an alarming rate. This trend continued throughout the 1920s.
The organization endorsed pro-labor progressive Robert M. LaFollette
Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette, Sr. , was an American Republican politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was the Governor of Wisconsin, and was also a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin...
in 1924. The campaign failed to establish a permanent independent party closely connected to the labor movement, however, and thereafter the Federation embraced ever more closely the Democratic Party, despite the fact that many union leaders remained Republicans.
The New Deal years
The Great DepressionGreat Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
were hard times for the unions, and membership fell sharply across the country. As the national economy began to recover in 1933, so did union membership. The New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
of president Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, a Democrat strongly favored labor unions. He made sure that relief operations like the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
did not include a training component that would produced skilled workers who would compete with union members in a still glutted market. The major legislation was the National Labor Relations Act
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
of 1935, called the Wagner Act. It greatly strengthened organized unions, especially by weakening the company unions that many workers belonged to. It was to the members advantage to transform a company union into a local of an AFL union, and thousands did so, dramatically boosting the membership. The Wagner Act also set up to the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
, which used its powers to rule in favor of unions and against the companies. However, the NLRB was later taken over by leftist elements who favored the CIO over the AFL.
The AFL — now led by William Green
William Green
William Green may refer to:*S. William Green , former U.S. congressman from New York*William Ellis Green , Australian cartoonist*William Green , American football player...
(president, 1924–1952) — faced increasing dissension within its ranks, led by John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
of the coal miners. Lewis argued that the AFL was too heavily oriented toward traditional craftsmen, and was overlooking the opportunity to organize millions of semiskilled workers, especially those in industrial factories that made automobiles, rubber, glass and steel. In 1935 Lewis led the dissenting unions in forming a new Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) within the AFL. Both the new CIO industrial unions, and the older AFL crafts unions grew rapidly after 1935. In 1936 union members enthusiastically supported Roosevelt's landslide reelection. Proposals for the creation of an independent labor party were rejected.
Unions now comprised a major compounded of the New Deal Coalition
New Deal coalition
The New Deal Coalition was the alignment of interest groups and voting blocs that supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 1932 until the late 1960s. It made the Democratic Party the majority party during that period, losing only to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952...
, along with big-city machines, Catholics and Jews, poorer farmers, and the white South. The AFL continued to concentrate its legislative efforts on obtaining political protection for the right of unions to organize and strike, rather than on obtaining social change through legislative action.
World War II and after
The AFL retained close ties to the Democratic machines in big cities through the 1940s. Its membership surged during the war and it held on to most of its new members after wartime legal support for labor was removed. Despite its close connections to many in Congress, the AFL was not able to block the Taft-Hartley ActTaft-Hartley Act
The Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
in 1947.
In 1955, the AFL and CIO merged to form the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
, headed by George Meany
George Meany
William George Meany led labor union federations in the United States. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II....
.
Racism
During its first years, the AFL admitted nearly anyone. Gompers opened the AFL to radical and socialist workers and to some semiskilled and unskilled workers. Women, African Americans, and immigrants joined in small numbers. But by the 1890s, the Federation had begun to organize only skilled workers in craft unions and became an organization of mostly white men. Although the Federation preached a policy of egalitarianism in regard to African American workers, it actively discriminated against black workers. The AFL sanctioned the maintenance of segregated locals within its affiliates — particularly in the construction and railroad industries — a practice which often excluded black workers altogether from union membership and thus from employment in organized industries.In 1901, the AFL lobbied Congress to reauthorize the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese Exclusion Act (United States)
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by Chester A. Arthur on May 8, 1882, following revisions made in 1880 to the Burlingame Treaty of 1868. Those revisions allowed the U.S. to suspend immigration, and Congress subsequently acted quickly to implement the suspension of...
, and issued a pamphlet entitled "Some reasons for Chinese exclusion. Which shall survive?" The AFL also began one of the first organized labor boycotts when they began putting white stickers on the cigars made by unionized white cigar rollers while simultaneously discouraging consumers from purchasing cigars rolled by Chinese workers.
Sexism
In most ways, the AFL’s treatment of women workers paralleled its policy towards black workers. The AFL never adopted a strict policy of gender exclusion and, at times, even came out in favor of women’s unionism. But despite such rhetoric, the Federation only half-heartedly supported women’s attempts to organize and, more often, took pains to keep women out of unions and the workforce altogether. Only two national unions affiliated with the AFL at its founding openly included women, and others passed by-laws barring women’s membership entirely. The AFL hired its first female organizer, Mary Kenney O'Sullivan, only in 1892, released her after five months, and it did not replace her or hire another women national organizer until 1908. Women who organized their own unions were often turned down in bids to join the Federation, and even women who did join unions found them hostile or intentionally inaccessible. AFL unions often held meetings at night or in bars when women might find it difficult to attend and where they might feel uncomfortable, and male unionists heckled women who tried to speak at meetings.Generally the AFL viewed women workers as competition, as strikebreakers, or as an unskilled labor reserve that kept wages low. As such, the Federation often opposed women’s employment entirely. When it did organize women workers, most often it did so to protect men’s jobs and earning power and not to improve the conditions, lives, or wages of women workers. In response, most women workers remained outside the labor movement. In 1900, only 3.3% of working women were organized into unions. In 1910, even as the AFL surged forward in membership, the number had dipped to 1.5%. And while it improved to 6.6% over the next decade, women remained mostly outside of unions and practically invisible inside of them into the mid-1920s.
Attitudes gradually changed within the AFL due to the pressure of organized female workers. Female-domination began to emerge in the first two decades of the 20th century, including particularly the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. Women organized independent locals among New York hat makers, in the Chicago stockyards, and among Jewish and Italian waist makers, to name only three examples. Through the efforts of middle class reformers and activists, often of the Women's Trade Union League
Women's Trade Union League
The Women's Trade Union League was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women formed in 1903 to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions...
, these unions joined the AFL.
Conflicts between affiliated unions
From the beginning, unions affiliated with the AFL found themselves in conflict when both unions claimed jurisdiction over the same groups of workers: both the Brewers and Teamsters claimed to represent beer truck drivers, both the Machinists and the International Typographical UnionInternational Typographical Union
The International Typographical Union was a labor union founded on May 3, 1852 in the United States as the National Typographical Union. In its 1869 convention in Albany, New York, the union—having organized members in Canada—changed its name to the International Typographical Union...
claimed to represent certain printroom employees, and the Machinists and a fledgling union known as the "Carriage, Wagon and Automobile Workers Union" sought to organize the same employees — even though neither union had made any effort to organize or bargain for those employees. In some cases the AFL mediated the dispute, usually favoring the larger or more influential union. The AFL often reversed its jurisdictional rulings over time, as the continuing jurisdictional battles between the Brewers and the Teamsters showed. In other cases the AFL expelled the offending union, as it did in 1913 in the case of the Carriage, Wagon and Automobile Workers Union (which quickly disappeared).
These jurisdictional disputes were most frequent in the building trades, where a number of different unions might claim the right to have work assigned to their members. The craft unions in this industry organized their own department within the AFL in 1908, despite the reservations of Gompers and other leaders about creation of a separate body within the AFL that might function as a federation within a federation. While those fears were partly borne out in practice, as the Building Trades Department did acquire a great deal of practical power gained through resolving jurisdictional disputes between affiliates, the danger that it might serve as the basis for schism never materialized.
Affiliates within the AFL formed "departments" to help resolve these jurisdictional conflicts and to provide a more effective voice for member unions in given industries. The Metal Trades Department engaged in some organizing of its own, primarily in shipbuilding, where unions such as the Pipefitters
United Association
The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, commonly known as the United Association is a trade union of journeymen and apprentices of the plumbing, pipefitting, and sprinkler fitting industry of...
, Machinists and Iron Workers
International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers
The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers is a union in the United States and Canada, which represents primarily construction workers, as well as shipbuilding and metal fabrication employees.-Origins:...
joined together through local metal workers' councils to represent a diverse group of workers. The Railway Employees Department dealt with both jurisdictional disputes between affiliates and pursued a common legislative agenda for all of them. Even that sort of structure did not prevent AFL unions from finding themselves in conflict on political issues. For example, the International Seamen's Union
International Seamen's Union
The International Seamen's Union was an American maritime trade union which operated from 1892 until 1937. In its last few years, the union effectively split into the National Maritime Union and Seafarer's International Union.-The early years:...
opposed passage of a law applying to workers engaged in interstate transport that railway unions supported. The AFL bridged these differences on an ad hoc basis.
Organizing and coordination
The AFL made efforts in its early years to assist its affiliates in organizing: it advanced funds or provided organizers or, in some cases, such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical WorkersInternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is a labor union which represents workers in the electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Panama and several Caribbean island nations; particularly electricians, or Inside Wiremen, in the construction industry and linemen and other...
, the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
and the American Federation of Musicians
American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...
, helped form the union. The AFL also used its influence (including refusal of charters or expulsion) to heal splits within affiliated unions, to force separate unions seeking to represent the same or closely related jurisdictions to merge, or to mediate disputes between rival factions where both sides claimed to represent the leadership of an affiliated union. The AFL also chartered "federal unions
Directly Affiliated Local Union
A Directly Affiliated Local Union is a U.S. labor union that belongs to the AFL-CIO but is not a national union and is not entitled to the same rights and privileges within the Federation as national affiliates.Legally, the AFL-CIO is the parent union of the DALU, and the AFL-CIO is responsible...
" — local unions not affiliated with any international union — in those fields in which no affiliate claimed jurisdiction.
The AFL also encouraged the formation of local labor bodies (known as central labor councils) in major metropolitan areas in which all of the affiliates could participate. These local labor councils acquired a great deal of influence in some cases. For example, the Chicago Federation of Labor
Chicago Federation of Labor
The Chicago Federation of Labor is an umbrella organization for unions in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is a subordinate body of the AFL-CIO, and as of 2011 has about 320 affiliated member unions representing half a million union members in Cook County....
spearheaded efforts to organize packinghouse
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
and steel workers during and immediately after World War I. Local building trades councils also became powerful in some areas. In San Francisco, the local Building Trades Council, led by Carpenters official P. H. McCarthy
P. H. McCarthy
Patrick Henry McCarthy , generally known as P.H. McCarthy and sometimes, more jocularly, as "Pinhead", was an influential labor leader in San Francisco and the 29th Mayor of the City from 1910 to 1912. Born in County Limerick, Ireland, he apprenticed as a carpenter in Ireland before coming to the...
, not only dominated the local labor council but helped elect McCarthy mayor of San Francisco in 1909. In a very few cases early in the AFL's history, state and local bodies defied AFL policy or chose to disaffiliate over policy disputes.
Political action
While the organization was founded by socialistsSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
such as Gompers and Peter J. McGuire
Peter J. McGuire
Peter J. McGuire was an American labor leader of the nineteenth century, the founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and one of the leading figures in the first three decades of the American Federation of Labor...
, it quickly became more conservative. The AFL adopted a philosophy of "business unionism" that emphasized unions' contribution to businesses' profits and national economic growth. The business unionist approach also focused on skilled workers' immediate job-related interests, while ignoring larger political issues.
In some respects the AFL leadership took a pragmatic view toward politicians, following Gompers' slogan to "reward your friends and punish your enemies" without regard to party affiliation. Over time, after repeated disappointments with the failure of labor's legislative efforts to protect workers' rights, which the courts had struck down as unconstitutional, Gompers became almost anti-political, opposing some forms of protective legislation, such as limitations on working hours, because they would detract from the efforts of unions to obtain those same benefits through collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
.
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
, first used with great effect by the Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
administration during the Pullman strike
Pullman Strike
The Pullman Strike was a nationwide conflict between labor unions and railroads that occurred in the United States in 1894. The conflict began in the town of Pullman, Illinois on May 11 when approximately 3,000 employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company began a wildcat strike in response to recent...
in 1894. While the AFL sought to outlaw "yellow dog contracts
Yellow-dog contract
A yellow-dog contract is an agreement between an employer and an employee in which the employee agrees, as a condition of employment, not to be a member of a labor union...
," to limit the courts' power to impose "government by injunction" and to obtain exemption from the antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
laws that were being used to criminalize labor organizing, the courts reversed what few legislative successes the labor movement won.
The AFL concentrated its political efforts during the last decades of the Gompers administration on securing freedom from state control of unions — in particular an end to the court's use of labor injunctions to block the right to organize or strike and the application of the anti-trust laws to criminalize labor's use of pickets, boycotts and strikes. The AFL thought that it had achieved the latter with the passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act
Clayton Antitrust Act
The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 , was enacted in the United States to add further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime by seeking to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incipiency. That regime started with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the first Federal law outlawing practices...
in 1914 — which Gompers referred to as "Labor's Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
". But in Duplex Printing Press Co. v. Deering
Duplex Printing Press Co. v. Deering
Duplex Printing Press Co. v. Deering, 41 S. Ct. 172 is a United States Supreme Court case which examined the labor provisions of the Clayton Antitrust Act and reaffirmed the prior ruling in Loewe v. Lawlor that a secondary boycott was an illegal restraint on trade...
, 254 U.S. 443 (1921), the United States Supreme Court narrowly read the Act and codified the federal courts' existing power to issue injunctions rather than limit it. The court read the phrase "between an employer and employees" (contained in the first paragraph of the Act) to refer only to cases involving an employer and its own employees, leaving the courts free to punish unions for engaging in sympathy strike
Sympathy strike
Secondary action is industrial action by a trade union in support of a strike initiated by workers in another, separate enterprise...
s or secondary boycotts.
The AFL's pessimistic attitude towards politics did not, on the other hand, prevent affiliated unions from pursuing their own agendas. Construction unions supported legislation that governed entry of contractors into the industry and protected workers' rights to pay, rail and mass production industries sought workplace safety legislation, and unions generally agitated for the passage of workers' compensation
Workers' compensation
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...
statutes.
At the same time, the AFL took efforts on behalf of women in supporting protective legislation. It advocated fewer hours for women workers, and based its arguments on assumptions of female weakness. Like efforts to unionize, most support for protective legislation for women came out of a desire to protect men’s jobs. If women’s hours could be limited, reasoned AFL officials, they would infringe less on male employment and earning potential. But the AFL also took more selfless efforts. Even from the 1890s, the AFL declared itself vigorously in favor of women’s suffrage. It often printed pro-suffrage articles in its periodical, and in 1918, it supported the National Union of Women’s Suffrage.
The AFL relaxed its rigid stand against legislation after the death of Gompers. Even so, it remained cautious. Its proposals for unemployment benefits (made in the late 1920s) were too modest to have practical value, as the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
soon showed. The impetus for the major federal labor laws of the 1930s came from the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
. The enormous growth in union membership came after Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act
National Industrial Recovery Act
The National Industrial Recovery Act , officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 (Ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195, formerly...
in 1933 and National Labor Relations Act
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
in 1935. The AFL refused to sanction or participate in the mass strikes led by John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
of the United Mine Workers and other left unions such as the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations...
. After the AFL expelled the CIO in 1936, the CIO undertook a major organizing effort. The AFL responded with its own massive organizing drive that kept its membership totals 50 percent higher than the CIO's.
Presidents of the American Federation of Labor
- Samuel GompersSamuel GompersSamuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
1886-1894 - John McBride 1894-1895
- Samuel GompersSamuel GompersSamuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
1895-1924 - William GreenWilliam Green (labor leader)William Green was an American trade union leader. Green is best remembered for serving as the President of the American Federation of Labor from 1924 to 1952.-Early years:...
1924-1952 - George MeanyGeorge MeanyWilliam George Meany led labor union federations in the United States. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II....
1952-1955 (afterwards President of the AFL-CIO)
Affiliated unions and brotherhoods
- Sources: American Federation of Labor: History, Encyclopedia, Reference Book, pp. 434-446. American Labor Year Book, 1926, pp. 85-87, 103-172. American Labor Press Directory, pp. 1-11.
| Union | Date Organized | Date Affiliated | 1925 Members | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asbestos Workers, International Union of Heat and Frost Insulators and | 1887 | 1887 | 2,400 | Journal: Official Journal. |
| Actors and Artistes of America, Associated Associated Actors and Artistes of America The Associated Actors and Artistes of America is the federation of trade unions for performing artists in the United States. The following unions belong to the 4As:* The Actors' Equity Association * The American Guild of Musical Artists... |
1919 | 1919 | 10,100 | Includes: Actors' Equity Association, American Guild of Musical Artists, American Guild of Variety Artists, Screen Actors Guild. |
| Auto Workers, United United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial... |
1935 | 1935 | N/A | Suspended 1936 due to Communist influence; helped form CIO. |
| Bakery and Confectionery Workers of America, International Union of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union is a labor union in the United States and Canada. It has a membership of 100,000... |
1886 | 1887 | 21,800 | Started as Journeymen Bakers' Union. Journal: The Bakers' Journal. |
| Barbers International Union, Journeymen | 1887 | 1888 | 48,000 | Journal: The Journeyman Barber. |
| Bill Posters and Billers of United States and Canada International Alliance | 1902 | 1903 | 1,600 | |
| Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers and Helpers, International Brotherhood of | 1890 | 1890 | 5,000 | Journal: Blacksmiths Journal. |
| Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders, International Brotherhood of International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers is a trade union in the United States and Canada. It is for boilermakers and related occupations, and is affiliated with both the AFL-CIO and CLC.... |
1880 | 1882 | 17,100 | Two Boilermakers unions amalgamated in 1893, considered the start date of this union by some. Journal: The Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders' Journal. |
| Bookbinders, International Brotherhood of | 1892 | 1892 | 13,600 | Journal: The International Bookbinder. |
| Boot and Shoe Workers' Union | 1895 | 1895 | 36,200 | Journal: The Shoe Workers' Journal. |
| Brewery, Flour, Cereal and Soft Drink Workers of America | 1884 | 1887 | 16,000 | Journal: Brewery, Flour, Cereal and Soft Drink Workers' Journal. |
| Brick and Clay Workers of America, United | 1894 | 1898 | 5,000 | Journal: Union Clay Worker. |
| Bricklayers', Masons and Plasterers' International Union of America International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers is a labor union in the United States and Canada which represents bricklayers, pointers/cleaners/caulkers, stone and marble masons, cement masons, plasterers, tilesetters, terrazzo and mosaic workers... |
1865 | 1916 | 70,000 | Journal: The Bricklayer, Mason and Plasterer. |
| Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, International Association of International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers is a union in the United States and Canada, which represents primarily construction workers, as well as shipbuilding and metal fabrication employees.-Origins:... |
1896 | 1903 | 16,300 | Journal: The Bridgemen's Magazine. |
| Broom and Whisk Makers' Union, International | 1893 | 1893 | 700 | Journal: The Broom Maker. |
| Building Service Employees International Union | 1921 | 1921 | 6,200 | |
| Carpenters and Joiners, Amalgamated Association of | 1869 | 1890 | N/A | AF of L charter revoked by 1912 convention for refusing to amalgamate with Brotherhood of Carpenters. Journal: The Carpenter. |
| Carpenters and Joiners of America, United Brotherhood of United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America is one of the largest building trades union in the United States. One of the unions that formed the American Federation of Labor in 1886, it left the AFL-CIO in 2001.-Early years:... |
1867 | 1886 | 317,000 | |
| Cigarmakers' International Union Cigar Makers' International Union The Journeymen Cigar Makers' International Union of America was a labor union established in 1864 that represented workers in the cigar industry... |
1864 | 1887 | 23,500 | Journal: Cigarmakers' Official Journal. |
| Cloth Hat, Cap and Millinery Workers' International Union | 1901 | 1902 | 7,800 | Suspended for protracted period in early 1920s for failure to comply with convention decision. Journal: The Headgear Worker. |
| Conductors, Order of Sleeping Car | 1918 | 1919 | 2,300 | Journal: The Sleeping Car Conductor. |
| Coopers' International Union of North America | 1864 | 1892 | 1,300 | Journal: The Coopers' International Journal. |
| Cutting Die and Cutter Makers of America, International Union of | N/A | Suspended for non-payment of dues, 1923 on. | ||
| Diamond Workers' Protective Union of America | 1910 | 1912 | 400 | |
| Elastic Goring Weavers, Amalgamated Association of | 1894 | 1894 | 100 | |
| Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is a labor union which represents workers in the electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Panama and several Caribbean island nations; particularly electricians, or Inside Wiremen, in the construction industry and linemen and other... |
1891 | 1891 | 142,000 | Journal: The Journal of Electrical Workers and Operators. |
| Elevator Constuctors, International Union of International Union of Elevator Constructors The International Union of Elevator Constructors is a trade union in the United States and Canada of individuals who construct, modernize, repair, and service elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and other conveyances... |
1901 | 1903 | 8,100 | Journal: The Elevator Constructor. |
| Federal Employees, National Federation of National Federation of Federal Employees The National Federation of Federal Employees is an American labor union which represents about 100,000 public employees in the federal government.NFFE has about 200 local unions, most of them agency-wide bargaining units... |
1917 | 1917 | 20,200 | Disaffiliated from AF of L, December 1931. Journal: Federal Employe. |
| Fire Fighters, International Association of International Association of Fire Fighters The International Association of Fire Fighters is a labor union representing professional firefighters in the United States and Canada. The IAFF was formed in 1918 and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO in the United States and the Canadian Labour Congress in Canada. The IAFF is headquartered in... |
1918 | 1918 | 16,000 | Journal: International Fire Fighter. |
| Foundry Employees, International Brotherhood of | 1904 | 1904 | 3,500 | Later amalgamated with the Molders. |
| Fur Workers' Union of the United States and Canada, International | 1913 | 1913 | 11,400 | Journal: The Fur Worker. |
| Garmernt Workers of America, United | 1891 | 1891 | 47,500 | Journal: The Garment Worker. |
| Glass Bottle Blowers' Association | 1847 | 1899 | 6,000 | Journal: The Bottle Maker. |
| Glass Workers' Union, American Flint | 1878 | 1912 | 5,300 | Journal: American Flint. |
| Glass Workers, National Window | 1872 | 1918 | 2,000 | |
| Glove Workers' Union of America, International | 1902 | 1902 | 300 | |
| Granite Cutters' International Union | 1877 | 1886 | 8,500 | Journal: Granite Cutters Journal. |
| Hatters of North America, United | 1854 | 1886 | 11,500 | |
| Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers' Union, International Laborers' International Union of North America The Laborers' International Union of North America is an American and Canadian labor union formed in 1903. As of March 31, 2010, they have about 632,000 members, members, about 80,000 of which are in Canada.The current general president is Terence M... |
1903 | 1903 | 61,500 | Now Laborers' International Union of North America. |
| Horseshoers of United States and Canada, International Union of Journeymen | 1874 | 1893 | 2,000 | Journal: International Horseshoers' Monthly Magazine. |
| Hotel and Restaurant Employees' International Alliance and Bartenders' League of America | 1890 | 1890 | 38,500 | Journal: The Mixer and Server. |
| Iron, Steel and Tin Workers, Amalgamated Association of | 1876 | 1887 | 11,400 | Journal: The Amalgamated Journal. |
| Jewelry Workers' Union, International | 1916 | 1916 | 800 | Journal: Jewelry Workers' Monthly Bulletin. |
| Lace Operatives of America, The Chartered Association of | N/A | Suspended c. 1920 for failure to comply with decisions of convention. | ||
| Ladies' Garment Workers Union, International | 1900 | 1900 | 90,000 | Journals: Justice (English); Gerechtigkeit (Yiddish); Giustizia (Italian); |
| Lathers, International Union of Wood, Wire and Metal | 1899 | 1899 | 8,900 | Journal: The Lather. |
| Laundry Workers' International Union | 1900 | 1900 | 5,500 | |
| Leather Workers' International Union, United | 1896 | 1896 | 2,000 | Journal: Leather Workers' Journal. |
| Letter Carriers, National Association of National Association of Letter Carriers The National Association of Letter Carriers is an American labor union, representing non-rural letter carriers employed by the United States Postal Service... |
1889 | 1917 | 32,500 | Journal: Postal Record. |
| Letter Carriers, National Association of Rural | 1919 | 1919 | 300 | |
| Lithographers of America, Amalgamated Amalgamated Lithographers of America The Amalgamated Lithographers of America is a labor union formed in 1882 to represent professional lithographers.- History :The ALA was formed on April 18, 1882 by eighteen journeymen lithographers calling themselves the "Romar Fishing Club". This name was used to conceal their true intentions... |
1882 | 1906 | 5,300 | Journal: Lithographers' Journal. |
| Longshoremen's Association, International International Longshoremen's Association The International Longshoremen's Association is a labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways... |
1892 | 1896 | 31,800 | Journal: The Longshoreman. |
| Machinists, International Association of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is an AFL-CIO/CLC trade union representing approx. 646,933 workers as of 2006 in more than 200 industries.-Formation and early history:... |
1888 | 1895 | 71,400 | Journal: Machinists Monthly Journal. |
| Maintenance of Way Employees, United Brotherhood of | 1886 | 1900 | 37,400 | Journal: Railway Maintenance of Way Employees' Journal. |
| Marble, Slate and Stone Polishers, Rubbers and Sawyers, Tile and Marble Setters' Helpers, International Association of | 1916 | 1916 | 3,200 | |
| Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, National Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association The Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association is the oldest maritime trade union in the United States still currently in existence, established in 1875. M.E.B.A. primarily represents licensed mariners, especially deck and engine officers working in the United States Merchant Marine aboard... |
1875 | N/A | Disaffiliated with AF of L, 1923. | |
| Masters, Mates and Pilots of America | 1897 | 1914 | 3,900 | |
| Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen, Amalgamated | 1897 | 1897 | 12,200 | |
| Metal Engravers' International Union | 1920 | 1921 | 100 | |
| Metal Polishers Union of North America, International | 1891 | 1896 | 6,000 | |
| Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, International Union of | 1893 | 1896 | 8,500 | Journal: The Miners' Magazine. |
| Mine Workers of America, United | 1890 | 1890 | 400,000 | Journal: United Mine Workers' Journal. |
| Molders' Union of America, International International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America is an affiliated trade union of the AFL-CIO. The union traces its roots back to the formation of the Iron Molders' Union of North America, established in 1859 to represent craftsmen who cast wrought iron metal products.-Formation:In... |
1859 | 1886 | 27,500 | Later amalgamated with Foundry Employees. Journal: International Molders' Journal. |
| Musicians, American Federation of American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada... |
1896 | 1896 | 80,000 | Journal: International Musician. |
| Office Employees International Union Office and Professional Employees International Union The Office and Professional Employees International Union is a trade union in the United States representing 110,416 white-collar workers in the public and private sector.... |
1942 | 1945 | N/A | |
| Oil Field, Gas Well and Refinery Workers of America, International Association of | 1919 | 1919 | 1,200 | |
| Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America, Brotherhood of International Union of Painters and Allied Trades The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades is a union representing about 140,000 painters, glaziers, wall coverers, flooring installers, convention and trade show decorators, glassworkers, sign and display workers, and drywall finishers in the United States and Canada... |
1887 | 1887 | 107,600 | Now International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. Journal: The Painter and Decorator. |
| Papermakers, International Brotherhood of | 1892 | 1897 | 5,000 | Journal: Paper Maker Journal. |
| Pattern Makers' League of North America | 1887 | 1894 | 7,000 | Journal: Pattern Makers Journal. |
| Pavers, Rammersmen, Flag Layers, Bridge and Stone Setters, International Union of | 1860 | 1905 | 2,000 | |
| Paving Cutters' Union of the United States | 1901 | 1904 | 2,400 | Journal: Paving Cutters' Journal. |
| Photo-Engravers' Union of North America, International International Photo-Engravers Union of North America International Photo-Engravers' Union of North America was a labor union formed in 1904 to represent halftone photoengravers in the printing industry. Its successor union is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Change to Win Federation.... |
1900 | 1904 | 7,200 | Journal: The American Photo Engraver. |
| Piano, Organ and Musical Instrument Workers' Union of America, International | 1898 | 1902 | 600 | |
| Plasterers and Cement Finishers' International Association of the United States and Canada, Operative Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association The Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada is a trade union of plasterers and cement masons in the construction industry in the United States and Canada. Members of the union finish interior walls and ceilings of buildings and apply... |
1862 | 1908 | 30,000 | Journal: The Plasterer. |
| Plate Printers' and Die Stampers' Union of North America, International | 1891 | 1898 | 1,200 | Amalgamated with Steel and Copper Plate Engravers' League, late 1925. Journal: The Plate Printer. |
| Plumbers and Steamfitters of the United States and Canada, United Association of United Association The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, commonly known as the United Association is a trade union of journeymen and apprentices of the plumbing, pipefitting, and sprinkler fitting industry of... |
1889 | 1897 | 39,200 | Journal: Plumbers, Gas and Steam Fitters' Journal. |
| Pocketbook Workers of America, International | 1923 | 1925 | N/A | Journal: International Pocketbook Worker. |
| Postal Employees, National Federation of | 1906 | 1906 | 23,700 | Was National Federation of Postal Employees. Journal: Union Postal Clerk. |
| Potters, National Brotherhood of Operative | 1899 | 1899 | 8,100 | Journal: The Potters' Herald. |
| Powder and High Explosive Workers, United | 1902 | 1902 | 200 | |
| Print Cutters' Association of America, International | N/A | Amalgamated with Timber Workers, 1923. | ||
| Printers and Color Mixers of the United States, International Association of Machine | N/A | Amalgamated with Timber Workers, 1923. | ||
| Printing Pressman and Assistants' Union of North America, International | 1889 | 1890 | 40,000 | Journal: The American Pressman. |
| Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, International Brotherhood of | 1906 | 1909 | 5,000 | |
| Quarry Workers' International Union of North America | 1903 | 1903 | 3,000 | Journal: Quarry Workers' Journal. |
| Railroad Carmen, Brotherhood of | 1888 | 1900 | 125,000 | Journal: Railway Carmen's Journal. |
| Railroad Signalmen of America, Brotherhood of Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen is a labor union in the United States and Canada. It represents workers who install and maintain signal systems on rail transport networks... |
1908 | 1914 | 8,000 | Journal: Signalmen's Journal. |
| Railroad Telegraphers, Order of Order of Railroad Telegraphers The Order of Railroad Telegraphers was a United States labor union established in the late nineteenth century to promote the interests of telegraph operators working for the railroads.-Background and Early History:... |
1886 | 1899 | 39,200 | Journal: The Railroad Telegrapher. |
| Railway Clerks, Brotherhood of | 1899 | 1908 | 91,200 | Journal: The Railway Clerk. |
| Railway Mail Association Railway Mail Association The Railway Mail Association was originally The National Association of Railway Postal Clerks when chartered under the laws of New Hampshire in 1898 as a fraternal beneficiary association. In 1904 the name was changed to the RMA and lasted until 1949 when the Post Office Department renamed the... |
1898 | 1917 | 19,100 | Journal: The Railway Post Office. |
| Retail Clerks' International Protective Association | 1890 | 1891 | 10,000 | Journal: Retail Clerks' International Advocate. |
| Roofers, United Slate, Tile and Composition + Damp and Waterproof Workers' Association United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers The United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers is a union of roofers and waterproofing personnel, headquartered in Washington, D.C.... |
1902 | 1903 | 3,000 | Amalgamated with Slate and Tile Roofers in 1919. Now United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers. |
| Sawsmiths' National Union | N/A | Apparently defunct from 1924. | ||
| Seamen's International Union of America | 1892 | 1893 | 16,000 | Journal: The Seamen's Journal. |
| Sheet Metal Workers' Union, Amalgamated Sheet Metal Workers' International Association The Sheet Metal Workers International Association is a trade union of skilled metal workers who perform architectural sheet metal work, fabricate and install heating and air conditioning work, shipbuilding, appliance construction, heater and boiler construction, precision and specialty parts... |
1888 | 1890 | 25,000 | Journal: Sheet Metal Workers Journal. |
| Spinners' Union, International | N/A | Apparently absorbed through amalgamation or defunct by 1925. | ||
| Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or I.A.T.S.E., is a labor union representing technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion... |
1893 | 1894 | 20,000 | Journal: General Bulletin. |
| 1932 | 1936 | N/A | ||
| Stationary Firemen and Oilers, International Brotherhood of | 1898 | 1898 | 10,000 | Journal: Firemen and Oilers Journal. |
| Steam and Operating Engineers, International Union of International Union of Operating Engineers The International Union of Operating Engineers is a trade union within the AFL-CIO representing primarily construction workers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, surveyors, and stationary engineers who maintain heating and other systems in buildings and industrial complexes, in the... |
1896 | 1897 | 25,300 | Now International Union of Operating Engineers. Journal: International Steam Engineer. |
| Steam Shovel and Dredgemen, International Brotherhood of | 1896 | 1915 | N/A | Suspended by AF of L in 1920 due to jurisdictional dispute with Steam Engineers. Journal: Steam Shovel and Dredge. |
| Stereotypers and Electrotypers' Union, International | 1902 | 1902 | 6,800 | Journal: International Stereotypers and Electrotypers' Union Journal. |
| Stone Cutters' Association, Journeymen | 1853 | 1907 | 5,100 | Journal: The Stone Cutters Journal. |
| Stove Mounters' International Union | 1892 | 1894 | 1,600 | Journal: Stove Mounters and Range Workers' Journal. |
| Street and Electric Railway Employees of America, Amalgamated Association of Amalgamated Transit Union The Amalgamated Transit Union is a labor union in the United States and The Amalgamated Transit Union Canadian Council in Canada, representing workers in the transit system and other industries... |
1892 | 1893 | 101,000 | Now Amalgamated Transit Union. Journal: The Motorman and Conductor. |
| Switchmen's Union of North America | 1894 | 1906 | 8,900 | Journal: The Journal of the Switchmen's Union of North America. |
| Tailors' Union of America, Journeymen | 1883 | 1887 | 9,300 | Journal: The Tailor. |
| Teachers, American Federation of American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers is an American labor union founded in 1916 that represents teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals... |
1916 | 1916 | 3,500 | Journal: American Federation of Teachers Monthly Bulletin. |
| Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers, International Brotherhood of | 1899 | 1899 | 78,900 | Journal: Official Magazine. |
| Technical Engineers', Architects' and Draftsmen's Unions, International Federation of | 1916 | 1916 | 600 | |
| Telegraphers' Union of America, Commercial Commercial Telegraphers Union of America The Commercial Telegraphers Union of America was a United States labor union formed to promote the interests of commercial telegraph operators.-Background and early history:... |
1902 | 1902 | 4,100 | Journal: The Commercial Telegraphers' Journal. |
| Textile Workers of America, United | 1901 | 1901 | 30,000 | Journal: The Textile Worker. |
| Timber Workers, International Union of | N/A | Disbanded 1923. | ||
| Tobacco Workers' International Union | 1895 | 1895 | 1,400 | Journal: Tobacco Worker. |
| Transferrers' Association of America, International Steel Plate | N/A | Apparently absorbed through amalgamation or defunct by 1925. | ||
| Tunnel and Subway Constructors | 1910 | 1910 | 3,000 | |
| Typographical Union, International International Typographical Union The International Typographical Union was a labor union founded on May 3, 1852 in the United States as the National Typographical Union. In its 1869 convention in Albany, New York, the union—having organized members in Canada—changed its name to the International Typographical Union... |
1852 | 1881 | 71,000 | Journals: The Typographical Journal (English); Buchdrucker-Zeitung (German). |
| Upholsters' International Union of North America | 1882 | 1892 | 7,600 | Journal: Upholsterers' Journal. |
| Wall Paper Crafts of North America, United | 1923 | 1923 | 600 | |
| Wire Weavers' Protective Association, America | 1876 | 1895 | 400 | |
| Wood Carvers' Association of North America, International | 1883 | 1896 | 1,000 | Journal: The International Woodcarver. |
Non-affiliated railroad brotherhoods
| Union | Date Organized | Date Affiliated | 1925 Members | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is a labor union founded in Marshall, Michigan, on May 8, 1863, as the Brotherhood of the Footboard. A year later, its name was changed to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, sometimes referred to as the Brotherhood of Engineers... |
1863 | N/A | Journal: Locomotive Engineers' Journal. | |
| Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of | 1873 | N/A | Now part of United Transportation Union. Journal: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen's Magazine. | |
| Railroad Conductors, Order of | 1868 | N/A | Journal: The Railroad Conductor. | |
| Railroad Trainmen, Brotherhood of | 1883 | N/A | Journal: The Railroad Trainman. | |
| Railroad Workers, American Federation of | N/A | Journal: The Railroad Worker. | ||
| Railroad Yardmasters, Brotherhood of | 1918 | N/A | ||
| Railway Employees, Brotherhood of | N/A | Journal: Railway Employees' Journal | ||
| Railway Expressmen, Order of | N/A | Journal: The Railway Expressman. | ||
| Sleeping Car Porters, Brotherhood of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was, in 1925, the first labor organization led by blacks to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor . It merged in 1978 with the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks , now known as the Transportation Communications International Union.The... |
1924 | N/A | ||
| Train Dispatchers Association | 1917 | N/A | Journal: The Train Dispatcher. | |
Other independent trade unions
| Union | Date Organized | Date Affiliated | 1925 Members | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations... |
1914 | N/A | Journals: The Advance (English); Darbas (Lithuanian); Fortschrift (Yiddish); Il Lavoro (Italian); Prace (Czech); Przemyslowa Democracia (Polish); Rabochii Golos (Russian). | |
| Food Workers, Amalgamated | N/A | Journals: Free Voice of the Amalgamated Food Workers; Hotel Worker. | ||
| Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, National | N/A | Journal: The American Marine Engineer. | ||
See also
- Labor unions in the United StatesLabor unions in the United StatesLabor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police...
- Federation of Organized Trades and Labor UnionsFederation of Organized Trades and Labor UnionsThe Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada was a federation of labor unions created on November 15, 1881, in Pittsburgh...
- Knights of LaborKnights of LaborThe Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
- Industrial Workers of the WorldIndustrial Workers of the WorldThe Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
- Labor federation competition in the United States
- Congress of Industrial OrganizationsCongress of Industrial OrganizationsThe Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
- Western Federation of MinersWestern Federation of MinersThe Western Federation of Miners was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into sharp conflicts – and often pitched battles...
- AFL-CIOAFL-CIOThe American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
Primary sources
- American Federation of Labor. Some Reasons for Chinese Exclusion. Meat vs. Rice. American Manhood against Asiatic Coolieism. Which Shall Survive? Washington, D.C.: American Federation of Labor, 1901.
- Gompers, Samuel. American Labor and the War. New York: George H. Doran Co., n.d. [1918].
- Gompers, Samuel. Labor and the Employer. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1920.
- Gompers, Samuel. Seventy Years of Life and Labor: An Autobiography. In two volumes. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. , 1925.
- The Samuel Gompers Papers. Currently published in 11 volumes, coverage to 1921. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1991-2009.
Secondary sources
- Arnesen, Eric, ed. Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-Class History (2006), 2064pp; 650 articles by experts excerpt and text search
- Beik, Millie, ed. Labor Relations: Major Issues in American History (2005) over 100 annotated primary documents excerpt and text search
- Boris, Eileen, Nelson Lichtenstein, and Thomas Paterson. Major Problems In The History Of American Workers: Documents and Essays (2002)
- Brody, David. In Labor's Cause: Main Themes on the History of the American Worker (1993) excerpt and text search
- Brooks, George W.; Derber, Milton; McCabe, David A.; and Taft, Philip (eds.), Interpreting the Labor Movement. Madison: Industrial Relations Research Association, 1952.
- Browne, Waldo Ralph. What's what in the Labor Movement: A Dictionary of Labor Affairs and Labor (1921) 577pp; encyclopedia of labor terms, organizations and history. complete text online
- Commons, John R, et al. History of Labour in the United States. esp. Vol. 2: 1860-1896 (1918); Vol. 4: Labor Movements, 1896-1932 (1935).
- Currarino, Rosanne. "The Politics of 'More': The Labor Question and the Idea of Economic Liberty in Industrial America." Journal of American History. vol. 93, no. 1 (June 2006).
- Dubofsky, Melvyn, and Foster Rhea Dulles. Labor in America: A History (2004), textbook
- Dubofsky, Melvyn, and Warren Van Tine, eds. Labor Leaders in America (1987) biographies of key leaders, written by scholars excerpt and text search
- Foner, Philip S. History of the Labor Movement in the United States. In 10 volumes. New York: International Publishers, 1947–1994; Vol. 2: From the Founding of the American Federation of Labor to the Emergence of American Imperialism (1955); Vol. 3: The Policies and Practices of the American Federation of Labor, 1900-1909 (1964); Vol. 5: The AFL in the Progressive Era, 1910-1915 (1980); Vol. 6: On the Eve of America's Entrance into World War I, 1915-1916 (1982); Vol. 7: Labor and World War I, 1914-1918 (1987); Vol. 8: Post-war Struggles, 1918-1920 (1988). a view from the Left that is hostile to Gompers
- Galenson, Walter. The CIO Challenge to the AFL: A History of the American Labor Movement, 1935-1941 (1960) online edition
- Greene, Julie. Pure and Simple Politics: The American Federation of Labor and Political Activism, 1881-1917 (1998) online edition
- Karson, Marc. American Labor Unions and Politics, 1900-1918. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1958.
- Kersten, Andrew. Labor's Home Front: The American Federation of Labor during World War II (2006) excerpt and text search
- Lichtenstein, Nelson. State of the Union: A Century of American Labor (2003) excerpt and text search
- Livesay, Harold C. Samuel Gompers and Organized Labor in America (1993), short biography
- McCartin, Joseph A. Labor's Great War: The Struggle for Industrial Democracy and the Origins of Modern American Labor Relations, 1912-21. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1997.
- Mandel, Bernard. Samuel Gompers: A Biography (1963) online edition
- Mink, Gwendolyn. Old Labor and New Immigrants in American Political Development: Union, Party, and State, 1875-1920 (1986)
- Orth, Samuel Peter. The Armies of Labor: A Chronicle of the Organized Wage-Earners. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1919.
- Roberts, William C. (ed.), American Federation of Labor: History, Encyclopedia, Reference Book. Washington, DC: American Federation of Labor, 1919.
- Taft, Philip. The A.F. of L. in the Time of Gompers. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957.
- Taft, Philip. The A.F. of L. from the Death of Gompers to the Merger. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959.
External links
- Unions of the AFL-CIO, List and links to current AFL-CIO affiliated unions. aflcio.org
- Guide to the Samuel Gompers Papers. University of Maryland.
- Bibliography of the Samuel Gompers Papers. University of Maryland.
- Introductory Summary of AF of L History, Lexis-Nexis.