AFL

E38449

interest group labor union federation trade union center

The AFL (American Federation of Labor) was a major U.S. national federation of labor unions that played a central role in organizing skilled workers and shaping labor policy from the late 19th to mid-20th century.

Aliases (2)

American Federation of Labor ×48
Australian Football League ×1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	interest group → labor union federation → trade union center →
activePeriod	early 20th century → late 19th century → mid-20th century →
affiliatedOrganization	American Federation of Teachers → Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners → International Association of Machinists → United Mine Workers of America →
alsoKnownAs	AFL →
conflictWith	Congress of Industrial Organizations →
country	United States →
dissolved	1955 →
event	expulsion of industrial unions that formed the CIO →
focus	collective bargaining → hours → wages → working conditions →
foundedBy	Samuel Gompers →
headquartersLocation	Washington, D.C. →
ideology	business unionism → craft unionism →
inception	1886 →
influenced	Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 → National Labor Relations Act of 1935 →
keyPerson	John L. Lewis → Samuel Gompers → William Green →
leaderTitle	president →
membershipEra	early 20th century →
membershipPeak	over 4 million members →
mergedInto	AFL–CIO →
notablePresident	Samuel Gompers → William Green →
opposedTo	industrial unionism (initially) → socialist political parties →
politicalPosition	moderate →
precededBy	Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions →
primaryConstituency	skilled workers →
publication	American Federationist →
roleIn	New Deal labor policy → Progressive Era labor reforms →
supported	closed shop agreements → use of strikes →
supportedPolicy	immigration restriction (early 20th century) → protective labor legislation →
unionType	federation of national and international unions →

Referenced by (3)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
American Federation of Labor →	alsoKnownAs
American Federation of Labor →	alternativeName
Brisbane Lions ("Australian Football League") →	league