AFL–CIO

AFL–CIO
source
Name	AFL–CIO
Formation	05 December 1955
Type	National trade union center
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Membership	12.5 million (2024)
Leader title	President
Leader name	Liz Shuler
Website	aflcio.org

AFL–CIO

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of labor unions in the United States. Formed in 1955 by the merger of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), it has played a significant role in American economic and political life. Its history is deeply intertwined with the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, as the federation became a crucial ally in the fight for racial justice and economic equity for all workers.

History and Formation

The AFL–CIO was created on December 5, 1955, through the merger of two major labor federations with distinct histories and philosophies. The American Federation of Labor, founded in 1886 and led for decades by Samuel Gompers, was traditionally a craft-based federation that often excluded Black workers and other minorities. In contrast, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, formed in 1935 by John L. Lewis after a split from the AFL, organized workers by industry and was more racially inclusive from its inception, actively recruiting in sectors with large Black workforces like steel and automobile manufacturing.

The merger was engineered by leaders like George Meany of the AFL and Walter Reuther of the United Auto Workers (UAW), a key CIO union. Reuther, a prominent progressive, insisted that the new federation adopt a strong civil rights platform as a condition of the merger. This commitment was formalized in the constitution of the new AFL–CIO, which barred affiliated unions from practicing racial discrimination. However, enforcement of this clause would become a source of major internal conflict in the following decades.

Role in the Civil Rights Movement

The AFL–CIO emerged as a vital institutional and financial supporter of the Civil Rights Movement during its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. Under the leadership of Walter Reuther, the federation provided critical funding and organizational support for major campaigns. The AFL–CIO and its affiliated unions, such as the UAW and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), donated substantial sums to organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), led by Martin Luther King Jr.

The federation's Committee on Political Education (COPE) mobilized union members to support civil rights legislation. It lobbied vigorously for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The AFL–CIO was a key organizer of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, with Reuther serving as a principal speaker and the UAW helping to fund and coordinate logistics. This alliance was strategic, linking the goals of economic justice for workers with the fight against Jim Crow segregation.

Political Advocacy and Social Justice

Beyond specific civil rights legislation, the AFL–CIO has consistently advocated for a broad social justice agenda that aligns with civil rights principles. This includes fighting for higher minimum wages, universal healthcare, affordable housing, and robust Social Security benefits—policies that disproportionately benefit workers of color. The federation has been a stalwart supporter of the Democratic Party platform, using its political clout to advance this agenda.

The AFL–CIO has also supported immigrant rights, seeing the protection of all workers, regardless of citizenship status, as fundamental to preventing exploitation and raising labor standards. It has opposed restrictive immigration policies and supported pathways to citizenship, aligning with the interests of a diverse and growing workforce. Through its constituency groups, like the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the federation continues to address issues of systemic inequality within the labor market and society at large.

Internal Debates on Race and Equity

Despite its public advocacy, the AFL–CIO has faced persistent and serious internal criticism regarding racial equity within its own ranks. For years after the merger, several powerful affiliated unions, particularly in the building trades and railroad industries, maintained segregated locals or discriminatory membership practices, effectively barring Black workers. Leaders like A. Philip Randolph, founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and Bayard Rustin, a key civil rights strategist, were vocal critics of the federation's failure to enforce its own anti-discrimination constitution.

This tension came to a head in the 1960s, with Randolph threatening to lead a Black worker march out of the AFL–CIO. While the federation eventually expelled some notoriously discriminatory unions, such as several Teamster locals, the struggle highlighted the gap between official policy and on-the-ground practice. These internal debates forced a slow but significant reckoning, pushing the labor movement to more authentically integrate its leadership and prioritize diversity and inclusion.

Relationship with Other Civil Rights Organizations

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