Today In Labor History

November 14

1881: Trade unions formed the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Organizations, later becoming the AFL. Under the leadership of Samuel Gompers and Peter McGuire, the AFL became the most influential labor organization in the nation.

1903: Women’s Trade Union League founded in Chicago. WTUL history.

1938: To “organize workers into powerful industrial union,” United Mine Workers of America President, John L. Lewis called a meeting in Pittsburgh’s Islam Grotto, founding the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).

1979: Federation of Professional Athletes granted a charter by the AFL-CIO.