American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in the United States

Introduction

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is an organization of trade unions in the United States. The organization was formed in December 1955 by the merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Of some 20 million members in all United States unions in the mid-1990s, about 13.6 million were in the AFL-CIO’s 78 affiliated unions. See Trade Unions in the United States.

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations Structure and Activities

The main function of the AFL-CIO is to provide its member unions with assistance in a broad spectrum of programs in such areas as economic research, workers’ education, legislative and political lobbying, civil rights, community and health services, and industrial safety. Under the AFL-CIO constitution, the AFL-CIO, as the parent body, can require that affiliates remain in good financial standing; maintain democratic, honest procedures; and outlaw all forms of discrimination. Within these limits, individual unions have full autonomy—that is, the AFL-CIO cannot determine their policies.

The main governing body of the AFL-CIO is the group of representatives from member unions that meet for a convention every two years. The number of members in a union determines its number of representatives at the AFL-CIO convention. Smaller committees and boards consisting of union officers meet more frequently.

The AFL-CIO maintains a strong interest in the political process. Through its Committee on Political Education (COPE), the organization encourages members to register to vote and to go to the polls on election day. Financial contributions to political candidates may not be drawn from regular union funds, but separate collections for this purpose can be made on a voluntary basis.

The AFL-CIO’s International Department oversees a broad range of relationships with unions in other countries. It provides assistance to unions in developing nations. It also appoints representatives to international trade unions and intergovernmental bodies.

(AFL-CIO) History

For more information, read also the history of labor legislation in the United States.

The AFL was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886, during a period of widespread strikes by workers seeking an eight-hour day. The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada, established in 1881 to encourage labor legislation, and several unaffiliated trade unions merged to form the AFL. Its primary objectives were unionization of skilled workers, support of legislation beneficial to labor, reduction of working hours, and improvement of working conditions and wages. The American labor leader Samuel Gompers was elected president, and, under his leadership, the AFL adopted a policy of supporting political candidates considered friendly to labor, regardless of party affiliation. The AFL welcomed groups with various political and economic philosophies. The AFL started out with 25 unions with a total of about 140,000 members. By 1900 the organization had about one million members.

AFL membership decreased during the 1920s and the early years of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Later the federation grew rapidly as union organization was encouraged and protected by New Deal legislation begun in 1933 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The New Deal improved opportunities for trade union growth, raising the issue of whether the AFL should organize by occupation or by industry.

In late 1935 John L. Lewis led the formation of the Committee for Industrial Organization within the AFL. The committee sought to organize workers—including unskilled workers not represented by the AFL—by industry as opposed to by occupation or skill. In addition to accepting unskilled workers, the CIO accepted blacks and others previously not accepted into unions. Its purpose was to organize workers rapidly, notably workers in mass production industries, assigning them to existing or new industrial unions. A majority of the unions challenged the committee’s organizing efforts. Within three years, the eight unions that founded the CIO were expelled from the AFL. These eight unions formally established the Congress of Industrial Organizations with Lewis as president in 1938. Rivalry between the AFL and the CIO produced an increase in total union membership.

During World War II (1939-1945) the AFL and the CIO supported government defense efforts. A number of unions instituted no strike policies in support of the federal government, which helped enhance the stature of the AFL and the CIO. In 1942 Congress established the War Labor Board to settle labor disputes and many union representatives were appointed to federal agencies. Unions also took advantage of the industrial expansion during this period. By the end of the World War II unions had more than 14 million members combined, up from about 8.5 million members in 1940.

At the end of the war American voters elected a more conservative Congress, which acted to limit union privileges. This encouraged cooperation among unions to conserve gains and ward off further attacks. During the Korean War (1950-1953), the AFL and the CIO formed a United Labor Policy Committee to deal with government labor policies. The committee soon became involved in other areas of organizational cooperation.

In November 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president of the United States, the first Republican in the White House in 20 years. The election result sharpened labor’s perceived need for united action in facing the government. Shortly thereafter, the deaths of William Green, president of the AFL, and Philip Murray, who had succeeded Lewis as president of the CIO in 1940, removed two of the major participants in the formerly bitter rivalry between the two organizations. These events brought the AFL and CIO closer to a merger.

Early in 1955 a Joint Unity Committee was formed, and a new constitution was drafted. The formal merger of the AFL-CIO took place at a convention held in New York City in December 1955. George Meany, who had succeeded Green as head of the AFL, was elected president of the new organization. The AFL-CIO had 16 million members, about 30 percent of all those employed, in 1955. In 1957, however, the organization lost some three million members when the largest union in the nation, the Teamsters Union, was expelled from the AFL-CIO on charges of corruption. The union was reinstated 30 years later.

In 1979 Lane Kirkland succeeded Meany as president. During his presidency Kirkland worked to negotiate affiliations with unions outside the AFL-CIO. Nevertheless, membership in the organization began to decrease around 1980. After reinstatement of the Teamsters Union in 1987, the AFL-CIO had about 14 million members. By the early 1990s AFL-CIO members constituted only about 16 percent of all those employed. The general decline in membership has been attributed to the shift in concentration from the relatively well-organized mass-production industries to the white-collar and service sectors, where union strength has traditionally been weak.

In August 1995 the 73-year-old Kirkland retired. AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Thomas R. Donahue served as interim president from August to October 1995, when John J. Sweeney won the AFL-CIO presidential election. Since taking office Sweeney focused on increasing union membership, especially of women, minorities, and low-paid workers. Sweeney also organized a summer program designed to introduce young people to union issues.

Source: “American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations” Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia

See Also