AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR. The Ameri can Federation of Labor was organized in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl vania, November 15, 1881 by a group of trade unionists represent ing 50,00o members. Today it represents ro4 national and inter national unions which comprise 33,744 local unions, 4 Depart ments, 1,563 directly affiliated local unions, and 8o6 city central bodies, with a paid up membership as of Aug. 16, of 143. The Federation is financed solely by per capita tax paid by affiliated organizations. It is based upon the principle of volun tarism, that is, the organization has no power to compel any union or person but must secure consent. Membership in the Federation and compliance with regulations are the result of voluntary deci sions. The Federation can, of course, suspend or expel.
National and international unions are composed of workers in the same trade or calling with control over a definite jurisdiction to which the affiliated members of the Federation have agreed. International unions have members in Canada as well as in the United States. Several of the international unions cover an en tire industry, and all members connected with that industry are eligible to membership therein. Others have jurisdiction over their craft or occupation in all industries, as the machinists, while the carpenters began with a craft and later gained jurisdic tions over the materials with which they worked. The Federation chartered the first industrial union, the United Mine Workers. With changes in industrial organization and the introduction of new inventions and processes it has been found practical to en large the jurisdiction of some international unions and in some instances to merge existing organizations.
The unions of a single city or industrial centre have found it advantageous to band together for mutual protection and as sistance in local undertakings. These organizations are char tered by the American Federation of Labor as city central bodies. In turn the State federations of labour have been formed to fur ther State-wide interests of labour and to promote State legisla tion. These bodies are likewise chartered by the American Fed eration of Labor. In some industries or related trades a method of co ordinating the work of these several national and inter national unions involved has been worked out through Depart ments of the American Federation of Labor. These represent the Building Trades, Metal Trades, and Railway Shop Crafts. The fourth Department—the Union Label Trades Department—was formed to promote the sale and demand for union label products. The metal trades and construction departments promote the formation of corresponding local bodies through which their re lated local unions function. The railway shop unions organize sys tem federations with jurisdictions paralleling railway systems. In similar manner local union label leagues are formed in industrial centres sponsored by the Union Label Trades Department.
To take care of workers over whose organization no national or international union has responsibility, the Federation charters them in directly affiliated local unions. Where there are not enough workers to meet the charter requirements of standard trade unions, the Federation issues a charter to the whole group as a federal labour union. It is from the directly affiliated local unions that new national and international unions grow.
The field work of the Federation is done by a staff of commis sioned organizers. Administrative, legislative, and educational work is carried on through the headquarters office which is lo cated in Washington, D.C.
One of the major activities of the American Federation of La bor is in the legislative field. A legislative staff is maintained at headquarters whose function it is to keep members of Congress informed as to Labour's interests in pending legislation. The Federation is active politically, following a non-partisan policy. Labour's political slogan is "Elect your friends—Defeat your ene mies," regardless of their political affiliations.
Largely through the efforts of the Federation, much favourable legislation has been enacted, including immigration restriction, the National Labor Relations Act with supplementary State laws, child labour laws, laws limiting the hours of work of women and children, compulsory education laws in every State, the establish ment of a Federal Department of Labor the head of which is a member of the President's Cabinet, mechanics lien laws, laws gov erning method of payment of wages, employees compensation and other social security acts, laws governing working and sanitary conditions in places of employment, safety laws, laws controlling convict labour, the establishment of Labor Day as a national holi day, legislation granting seamen the right to leave their vessels when in safe harbour, legislation regulating the use of injunctions in labour disputes, the outlawing of the yellow-dog contract in employer-employee negotiations through which workers were forced to sign away their rights to belong to a labour union.
Objectives.—Oneof the main objectives of the American Fed eration of Labor is to shorten the hours of work. When the Fed eration was organized in 188i the average workday ranged from ten to eighteen hours. The average workday is now 8 hours. The Federation has always opposed the fixing of other than minimum standards of hours of labour and wages by legislation except for Federal, State, county, and municipal employees. The Federation insists upon the equity of workers in their jobs and their right to bargain collectively with employers through representatives of their own choosing.
Industrial history shows that collective bargaining is the meth od by which substantial progress is made in industrial rela tions, and balance maintained in our economic structure. Col lective bargaining is a procedure based upon the principle that those concerned by decisions should have a voice in their making. The American Federation of Labor is constantly on guard against denial of the right of workers to engage in collective bargaining with their employers. When the National Recovery Act was drafted, it included a section guaranteeing workers the right to collective bargaining. This was known as Section 7 (a), and it was the first time such a provision was included in Federal legis lation. This was followed by Joint Resolution 44 establishing a Board to deal with violations of Section 7 (a) and later by the National Labor Relations Act defining unfair labour practices and authorizing the Board to proceed with prosecutions against viola tors of the Act.
In the past century the life span of man has been lengthened. During the same period productivity per worker has so materially increased that society is facing the serious problem of an increas ing number of persons in the older brackets and a decreasing num ber of work opportunities. Labour seeks an adjustment through shorter work hours for those employed and income for the aged and involuntarily unemployed, the cost of which should be a charge on the industry to which the workers are attached.
The American Federation of Labor has declared its firm belief in the principle of high wages and contends that the workers' real wage, which is the purchasing power of their wages, should ad vance in proportion to man's increasing powers of production.
The Federation seeks a proportionate share of the returns from industry for the workers attached to that industry and contends that adequate wages for a satisfactory standard of living are as necessary for the welfare of industry as for the workers them selves. The American Federation of Labor seeks the ratification of the Child Labor Amendment and a complete elimination of child labour.
It favours mothers' pensions so that children may be kept in the home until maturity.
Publications.—Theofficial publications of the American Fed eration of Labor are the Convention Proceedings, the American Federationist, a monthly magazine devoted to a discussion of La bour's problems and position on matters of vital concern to wage earners, and the Weekly News Service which furnishes news to the publications of the national and international unions and to 300 weekly labour papers throughout the country.
Foreign.—Sincethe United States Government has affiliated with the International Labour Office, the American Federation of Labor has represented American Labour in that body and has a representative on its governing board.
The Federation is a member of the International Federation of Trade Unions. (W. G.)