American Federation of Labor

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1886 by Samuel Gompers as a reorganization of its predecessor, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions. Gompers was the president of the AFL until his death in 1924.

Conflicts between affiliated unions

From the outset the unions affiliated with the AFL found themselves in conflict when both unions claimed jurisdiction over the same group of workers: both the Brewers and the Teamsters claimed to represent beer truck drivers, both the Machinists and the International Typographical Union represented certain printroom employees, and the Machinists claimed the right to represent some of the employees whom the fledgling union known as the "Carriage, Wagon and Automobile Workers Union" sought to organize ? even though it had not made any actual efforts to organize or bargain for those employees. In some cases the AFL mediated the dispute, usually favoring the larger or more influential union ? which might change 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.

Related Topics:
International Typographical Union - 1913

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other affiliates within the AFL formed other departments: the Metal Trades Department, which 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, and the Railway Employees Department, which 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: the International Seamen's Union, for example, opposed passage of a law applying to workers engaged in interstate transport that railway unions supported. The AFL was forced to bridge these differences on an ad hoc basis.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The AFL also encouraged the formation of local labor bodies, primarily 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: as an example, the Chicago Central Labor Council 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: the San Francisco Building Trades Council, led by a Carpenters official, P.H. "Pinhead" 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.

Related Topics:
World War I - San Francisco - P.H. "Pinhead" McCarthy - 1909

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~