American Federation of Labor
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| American Federation of Labor | |
|---|---|
 Published by the American Federation of Labor, Washington, DC, 1919 · Public domain · source | |
| Name | American Federation of Labor |
| Founded | 1886 |
| Dissolved | 1955 (merged) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Key people | Samuel Gompers, John Mitchell, Adolph Strasser |
| Merged into | AFL–CIO |
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor was a national federation of labor unions founded in 1886 that organized skilled workers and advocated craft unionism. It was led by figures such as Samuel Gompers and engaged with institutions like the Knights of Labor, the Pullman Company, and the United Mine Workers of America while interacting with political actors including the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The federation participated in labor disputes involving employers such as Carnegie Steel, Pullman Palace Car Company, and the Ludlow Mine operators and responded to legislation like the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act.
History
The federation emerged from meetings in Columbus and Chicago influenced by labor leaders including Samuel Gompers, Adolph Strasser, and John Mitchell and in reaction to organizations such as the Knights of Labor, the National Labor Union, and the Industrial Workers of the World. Early actions involved strikes against the Pullman Palace Car Company and engagement with the Haymarket Affair aftermath, and later developments included involvement with the Homestead Strike, the Coal Wars, and the Colorado Labor Wars. During the Progressive Era, the federation negotiated with entities like the National Civic Federation and clashed with the Socialist Labor Party, the Socialist Party of America, and syndicalist movements led by William Z. Foster and Eugene V. Debs. In the 1920s and 1930s it confronted the National Recovery Administration, the New Deal programs initiated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and rival labor federations such as the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Communist Party USA. World War I and World War II saw coordination with the War Labor Board and interaction with wartime industries including Bethlehem Steel, U.S. Steel, and Ford Motor Company. The federation ultimately merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955 to form the AFL–CIO, ending its independent existence.
Organization and Structure
The federation’s structure centered on autonomous craft unions such as the American Federation of Teachers, the International Typographical Union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and the United Mine Workers of America, each maintaining affiliations and charters from the federation’s executive council led by Samuel Gompers and successors like William Green. Governance included conventions, executive councils, and local unions linked to city labor councils such as the Chicago Federation of Labor and the New York City Central Labor Council. The federation maintained organizational ties with labor law institutions like the National Labor Relations Board and cooperated with philanthropic and reform groups including the National Civic Federation and the Committee of Forty-Eight. Financial and administrative mechanisms involved union dues, strike funds, and apprenticeship systems operated by trade-specific organizations like the Amalgamated Clothing Workers and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Membership and Demographics
Membership primarily consisted of skilled white male workers organized in craft unions such as the United Mine Workers of America, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, and it drew from urban industrial centers like Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York City, and Philadelphia. The federation’s demographics reflected exclusions and tensions involving racial policies affecting African American workers in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters context, gender dynamics involving the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and the Women's Trade Union League, and immigrant labor populations from Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Membership numbers fluctuated during events such as the Panic of 1893, the Great Depression, and wartime mobilizations in World War I and World War II, and unions affiliated with the federation included both long-established bodies like the International Longshoremen's Association and newer groups such as the Congress of Industrial Organizations before the split.
Policies and Political Activities
The federation pursued policies favoring collective bargaining, higher wages, shorter hours, and workers’ compensation while opposing industrial unionism as advocated by the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the Industrial Workers of the World, and syndicalist organizers. Politically it engaged with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, supported candidates in presidential elections involving names like William Jennings Bryan and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and lobbied for legislation including the Clayton Antitrust Act and the Norris-LaGuardia Act. It participated in advisory roles for federal agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board and the War Labor Board and contested policies from the Taft administration through the New Deal era, coordinating with civic groups like the National Consumers League and reformers such as Jane Addams.
Major Campaigns and Strikes
The federation and its affiliated unions led and influenced major labor actions including the Pullman Strike, the Homestead Strike, the Coal Strike of 1902 involving John Mitchell, and the Ludlow Massacre protests against mining operators like Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel and Iron. Other notable campaigns involved disputes at Carnegie Steel, the Lawrence Textile Strike where the Industrial Workers of the World played a role, the Great Steel Strike of 1919, and the sit-down strikes of the 1930s which intersected with CIO campaigns at General Motors and Republic Steel. The federation also organized boycotts and sympathetic strikes coordinated with groups such as the United Garment Workers, the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, and municipal labor councils in cities like Seattle and San Francisco.
Relationships with Other Labor Organizations
The federation’s relationships included rivalry and cooperation with the Knights of Labor, the Industrial Workers of the World, the Socialist Party of America, and later the Congress of Industrial Organizations, culminating in a fractious split over industrial unionism and political strategy. It forged alliances with craft unions such as the International Typographical Union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers while opposing industrial organizers like John L. Lewis of the United Mine Workers of America during the 1930s. Cross-organizational interactions involved the National Labor Relations Board, the Committee for Industrial Organization, and international bodies like the British Trades Union Congress, and ultimately reconciliation led to merger discussions that produced the AFL–CIO in 1955.