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AFL-CIO Turns 65 in Cleveland

Brian Pearson
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Today marks 65 years since the Cleveland chapters of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) joined to form the Cleveland AFL-CIO Federation of Labor. 

The Cleveland AFL-CIO has a 136-year history.

THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers, Founder of the American Federation of Labor

Cleveland's trade unionists began to organize through central labor bodies during the late 19th century, a period known for rapid mechanization. Highly skilled craftspeople were being replaced by machines in one industry after another, and the owners of those machines began to place impossible demands on the workforce. In 1874, Cleveland's workers came together under the 'Industrial Council,' which joined the Knights of Labor (KOL), a labor organization formed in Philadelphia in 1869. Within a decade, there were 50 locals affiliated with the Trades & Labor Assembly No. 47. Together, Cleveland's unions were working to replace the wage system with a more equitable distribution of wealth. District No. 47 welcomed a broad coalition of workers, which made it susceptible to political and business interference, weakening its focus on improving workers' quality of life.

In 1881, hundreds of delegates representing nearly a dozen national unions joined to form a new labor organization that would refocus its efforts on the workers - the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (FOTLU). The FOTLU became bitter rivals with the KOL. The May 4th, 1886, Haymarket Riot in Chicago, which mainly included FOTLU unions, turned public opinion against labor unions. Labor leaders met in Columbus, Ohio that December, led by Samuel Gompers, to form the American Federation of Labor. 

The following year, organizers came to Cleveland to build support for the new organization. As a result, many trade unionists left the Knights of Labor, including the Typographical Union #54, Cigar Makers #7, Iron Molders #218, Typographical #6, Amalgamated Carpenters, Brewery Workers #17, and Baker Workers #19. They all received charters under the AFL, and shortly after, they created the Central Labor Union (CLU). The CLU comprised 26 locals in 1890 and 71 by the turn of the century.

CFL AND THE CIUC
Fisher Body Strike
Striking Workers Outside Fisher Body

In 1902, the Building Trades Council and the CLU merged to create the United Trades & Labor Council – becoming the Cleveland Federation of Labor (CFL) in 1910. Despite the influential role that the more conservative Building Trades played in the CFL, the organization struggled to gain acceptance and recognition in the early years due to the largely anti-union Cleveland business community.

By the New Deal, the labor movement was changing across the country. Led by United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and motivated by the National Industrial Recovery Act, the movement drove organizing workers along industry-wide lines. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) challenged norms within the CFL, specifically their organization by craft and their reluctance to support worker militancy. For example, when the Fisher Body General Motors plant staged a sit-down strike in December 1936, the CFL supported them. But many of the CFL's members were from the craft unions and began to oppose the strike when they were locked out of the plant. In January 1937, the CFL reversed course and came out against the CIO-led strike. Two months later, the CFL expelled five locals under the orders of the national AFL, including the UAW, Amalgamated Clothing Workers, Textile Workers, Steel Workers, and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. These locals organized under the Cleveland Industrial Union Council (CIUC) the following year.

AFL VS. CIO

The CFL had others problems during the 1930s too. For example, the Building Trades Council and the Teamsters created internal divisions that ultimately held up construction projects throughout the city in 1936. The feud ended when local Teamsters leader Edward Murphy worked out an agreement that put the projects back in motion and ultimately unseated Building Tradesman Albert Dalton in 1938 as Executive Secretary. Thomas Lenahan replaced Dalton.

CIO Purge Convention
CIO Purge Convention, 1949

Over the next decade, the CFL lost significant membership due to raids from the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) while other locals left voluntarily. With the election of Philip Murray to the national CIO in 1940, the AFL and CIO feuds simmered. Concerns about communist influence within the CIUC would ultimately keep the relationship tenuous in Cleveland until the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, which required union officials to sign anti-communist affidavits. Fearful that they would lose affiliates to the CFL, the CIUC expelled members with Communist Party ties.

When the CIO met in Cleveland for their national convention in 1949, they expelled the radical element of their organization. The shift removed obstructions between the CFL and CIUC.

CLEVELAND AFL-CIO
News Article Cleveland AFL-CIO

In 1955, the AFL and CIO merged to form the AFL-CIO. Three years later, on April 17, 1958, the CFL and CIUC merged to become the Cleveland AFL-CIO with a membership of 200,000. 

The Cleveland AFL-CIO Charter
The Cleveland AFL-CIO Federation of Labor Charter

 

Source: The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve