American+Federation+of+Labor

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was formed in 1886 in Ohio by Samuel Gompers. Samuel Gompers served as president each and every year until his death on 1924. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was organized as an umbrella for other unions, growing out of an earlier Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions founded in 1881. Gompers believe that unions that open to all trades were too undisciplined and doesn't have what it take to survive the American Government attacks. The answer, he believed, was craft unions, each limited to the skilled workers in a single trade. He believes that instead of fighting the government they should approach other ways such as strikes, boycotts, and negotiations to work out deals that would benefit them.
 * ~ **Founded** || December 8, 1886 ||
 * ~ **Date dissolved** || December 4,1955 ||

Many members of these two groups were disgruntled members of the Knights of Labor, the most influential organization of unions in the United States during the 1870s Under Gompers's leadership, the AFL became the largest labor union organization in the United States. The AFL initially allowed only skilled workers to join the organization. Unskilled laborers initially did not have representation under the AFL. The group also originally prohibited women, African Americans, and other racial minorities from joining the organization

Unfortunately for the AFL, the 1920s and 1930s resulted in new difficulties for the organization and its leadership. Some members began to call for a more inclusive organization, one that would fight for the rights of unskilled workers as well, rather than just workers skilled in a particular craft. Tensions over this issue became so prevalent that, in 1935, John L. Lewis, an AFL member, formed the Committee for Industrial Organization. Originally, this organization was a part of the AFL, but in 1937, the parent organization expelled all members of the Committee for Industrial Organization. The Committee for Industrial Organization eventually became the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The AFL and the CIO remained as two separate organizations until 1955, when the two groups reunited together as the AFL-CIO. AFL-CIO headquarters at 815 16th Street NW in Washington D.C.St. John's Episcopal is on the right.

Sources: Harper & Row, Publisher New York and Evanston By Frederick Lweis Allen 1817 "The Big CHANGE 'America Transforms Itself 1900-1950' "

The New Encyclopedia Britannica Volume 1 Founded 1768 by Jacob E. Safra; Ilan Yeshua Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. in Tokyo, Seoul

America Past and Present Eighth Edition Robert A. Divine 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. in America