Members of the AFL commonly wanted higher wages and better working conditions and found strength through uniting together to further their causes. The National Labor Union (NLU), founded in 1866, was the second national labor federation in the United States. The American Federation of Labor synonyms, The American Federation of Labor pronunciation, The American Federation of Labor translation, English dictionary definition of The American Federation of Labor. At the organization’s 1995 convention, Donahue was defeated for the presidency by John J. Sweeney in what marked the first competitive election in AFL-CIO history. The CIO held its first convention in Pittsburgh, Pa., in November 1938, adopting a new name (Congress of Industrial Organizations) and a constitution as well as electing John L. Lewis as its president. The records of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) span the years 1883-1925 and consist of letterpress volumes of correspondence of Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) and William Green (1870-1952), presidents of the organization, and by other officials including James Duncan, Gabriel Edmonston, Frank Keyes Foster, and John McBride. Eventually, this organization of a number of smaller labor unions formed the American Federation of Labor or AFL. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. An enduring question—whether union organization should be based on craft (skill) or industry (workplace)—became a divisive issue at the American Federation of Labor’s 1935 convention. The AFL was formed in 1886 in Columbus, Ohio. It amalgamated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955. Consisting of Craft Unions, that is to say unions broken down … The AFL emerged out of a dispute with the K of L, whose leadership solicited locals of various craft unions to withdraw from their International organizations and to affiliate with the K of L directly. The AFL approach relegated larger societal goals to its allies in the political sphere. Actually on the This Day in History websites it says 1981, but Wikipedia and a .gov website say this was founded in 1986, both legit resources, so I don't know which one to go by. The executive council, which meets at least twice a year, consists of the president, executive vice president, secretary-treasurer, and about 50 vice presidents—most of them presidents of national unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO. At the...…. Comprising approximately … Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions Formed The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions was formed in 1881. Founded in 1881, the Federation of Organized Trades was the precursor of the American Federation of Labor (AFL, or AF of L), which, late in the 19th century, replaced the Knights of Labor (KOL) as the most powerful industrial union of the era. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) works tirelessly to improve the lives of working people. Any info will be helpful. Updates? Participation in partisan politics was discouraged as inherently divisive, and the AFL constitution prevented the admission of political parties as affiliates. In 1881 the Federation of Trades and Labor Unions was founded. Lewis pledged to resign as CIO president if Roosevelt, whom he had previously supported, was reelected in 1940. In the following year the CIO and the AFL battled for leadership of American labour, often trying to organize the same workers. This would have taken funds from the various unions and enriched the K of L. 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