AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LA BOR, a federation of trade-unions of the United States, Canada, Porto Rico and Pan ama, in which the rights of constituent tinits are preserved intact. As in the Federal gov ernment, all powers not expressly granted in the written constitution are reserved to the subordinate bodies, but still further, as in the Articles of Confederation, it has not power of compulsion (except to suspend or expel a union) and any union can override its decision as far as its own action goes. To this is due its steady growth and harmony. What every union fears most of all is being controlled in matters pertaining to its own trade by persons outside that trade.
The Federation originated in 1881. Its pred ecessors had been the National Labor Union (1866-72), which ended its career by entering politics and nominating a candidate (David Davis) for the Presidency, and a number of sectional orders, of which the Knights of Labor was the chief (1869). The latter were gener ally hostile to trades-unions, holding them based on °false and selfish principles of temporary advantage to the sacrifice of the general in terests° of labor, and the Knights attempted to break down trade barriers in workmen's action by organizing local assemblies of miscellaneous laborers. This antagonized those who believed that only members of a given craft, trade or industry had a right or the proper knowledge to direct its action; and on 2 Aug. 1881, repre sentatives from trade-unions, the Amalgamated Labor Union (a split from the Knights of Labor) and the Knights of Industry, both secret orders, held a conference at Terre Haute, Ind., ostensibly to establish a national labor congress, but in reality (as stated) to form a new order to supplant the Knights of Labor. This was defeated, and the conference issued a call for a convention at Pittsburg in Novem ber, where the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada was constituted. On 8 Dec. 1886, this fused with a separate trade-union conference and changed its name to the American Federa tion of Labor; and in 1889 acknowledged the continuity of existence by dating the proceed ings to 1881. Its membership is of local unions central unions of cities, State federation, national and international trade-unions. As a
local union may thus belong to three different superior bodies, with a possible conflict of juris dictions, the Federation takes charge of these mutual relations. It recognized the national and international unions as having supreme jurisdiction, but it approves and urges State and central bodies as helpers in gaining com mon objects.
These objects, as stated in its constitution, are: (I) °The encouragement and formation of local trades and labor unions, and the closer federation and combination of such bodies, to secure legislation in the interest of the working masses.° (2) °The establishment of national and international trade-unions, based upon a strict recognition of the autonomy of each trade,° etc. (3) "An American Federation of all national and international trade-unions, to aid and assist each and °the sale of union-label goods, and to secure national legis lation in the interest of the working people, and influence public opinion by peaceful and legal methods in favor of organized labor.° (4) °To aid and encourage the labor press of America.° Its executive organization at first was a sec retary and legislative committee, and it an nounced that it would have no salaried officials; but for efficient working it has been compelled to modify this rule. It has a salaried president and secretary, a treasurer and eight vice-presi dents, who together form the executive council, which meets quarterly. The president for many years has been Samuel Gompers (q.v.) The funds are derived from a per capita tax in 1918 of 10% cents per year from each mem ber of an affiliated trade-union, 15 cents per month from each member of a directly affil iated local union, and $10 each from central unions and State federations. Until 1887 it could not grant money in aid of strikes; but in that year a revised constitution gave the executive council the right to call on the unions for financial aid to such strikes as it approved This voluntary aid was insufficient, and in 1889 another amendment permitted it to levy a com pulsory tax of one cent a week on each mem ber of an affiliated union, for not over 10 weeks in any year, in aid of strikes or lockouts.