American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor ( in the United States umgangsspr. AF of L, short AFL, today the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL -CIO ) ) was one of the first skilled workers trade union confederations in the USA.
It was founded on December 8, 1886 by Samuel Gompers as a reorganization of its predecessor, the " Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions ," in Columbus (Ohio ). Gompers was, until his death in 1924, President of the AFL.
The AFL was in the first half of the 20th century, the largest union organization in the United States, even after the radical subgroup " Congress of Industrial Organizations " (CIO ) left the association in 1938.
The AFL represented a "pure and simple" unionism. This was in contrast to the more radical " Industrial Workers of the World" ( IWW). The AFL focused on the direct current demands of the workers and put the rights of the owners of the means of production in capitalism is not in question. They favored tactical support for individual politicians and not the formation of a party which represented the interests of the workers.
In 1955 she reunited with the CIO and exists today as the AFL- CIO. In July / August 2005 were numerous unions ( including the services union SEIU is the largest single union ) and were formed under the new umbrella organization " Change to Win ".