The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1938-09-22
erned, whose representatives make the


The millions of American working
men and women who constitute the
membership of the American Fedora
tion of Labor and it's affiliated unions
are the rulers of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor. They rule by their
votes.
The founders of the American Fed
Grafton Of Labor combined with their
passion for democracy an almost re-
ligious faith in unity.
Even in ancient times workers came
to the realization that individually
they could not bargain effectively with
their employers but that collectively
their position was strengthened. They
discovered the Importance of unions.
Speaks, Acts With Authority
One union is very much stronger
than it's individual members. A group
of unions is proportionately stronger
than the separate units. A federation
of all unions can speak and act with
authority for all wage earners in the
country.
Wage-earners and their trade unions
who felt the need for such a national
organization to look after their in
terests organized the American Fed
GRAFTON of Labor in 1881.
United action by trade Unions had
grown up along with the development
of manufacturing. In the early days,
when there were no railroads; shops
and factories supplied their own towns
and the regions near them. United
action by unions was confined to towns
or commercial districts. Later, when
canals and railroads could carry shoes
from Boston to California, or oil from
Texas to Maine, unions began to link
themselves into national organizations
that reach across the country.
There had been previous efforts to
organize in national movement, but
none had proved lasting. But the lead
ers felt there should be one great natl
onal organization to which all unions
should belong which could speak and
act with the combined strength of all.
A~group of such leaders devoted to
the national union idea met in Terre
Haute, Ind, in the late summer of
1881, drafted an organization plan
and called a trade union conference
for Pittsburgh, November 10.
GOmpers' First Appearance
Union chiefs from all over the
country came to this Pittsburgh
meeting-a cigarmaker from San
Francisco to ask for help in the cigar
makers struggles against coolie labor
and standards of labor; John Jarrett,
the able head of the Steel Workers
Union; Richard Powers, Of the Lake
Seamen; Lyman Brandt, of the Typo
graphical Union; N. H. Foster, printer,
of Cincinnati; Mark Crawford, printer,
of Chicago, and Samuel Gompers,
cigarmaker, of New York city.
i. Gompers was in the prime of his
youth-strong, confident and burning
with the determination to lift oppres-
sive burdens from the backs of the
workers and to give them the oppor-
tunity for self-help. This was his first
appearance in national labor affairs.
From the beginning he asserted the
driving power and forceful personality
which later won him the undisputed
leadership of the American labor
movement. To him, the union was the
dominant fact in life-the child of his
dreams, to which all else was subordi-
mated.
Conference Adopts Program
The Pittsburgh conference created a
Federation Of Trades and Labor
Unions of the United States and Can
ada, adopted a program of 13 points,
elected a legislative committee, but
failed to provide revenues for head
quarters, salaries and official expense.
Revenues means power to get results.
Five years passed and then there
came threat to the new national or
ganization. The powerful Knights of
Labor threatened to absorb the unions.
The Knights of Labor originally
was an organization of workers, en-
ployes and others who wished to or
ganize undertakings on cooperative
basis. 1t organized all kinds of work
ers into one organizations local as
sembly as it's unit was called. Under
the later leadership, the knights at
tempted to displace trade unions and
then the fight began.
The trade unions rallied in self-de-
Tense. Their leaders were called to a
conference in Columbus, Ohio, in De-
cember, 1886, simultaneously with the
convention of the Federation of Trades
and Labor Unions. The following
were among those represented in the
conference: Iron Moulders National
Union, international Typographical
U MON, German-American Typo
graphia, Granite Cutters National
Union, New England Lasters National
Union, Furniture Makers National
Union, National Federation of Miners,
Journeymen Tailors National Union,
Journeymen BARRIERS National Union,
Brotherhood of Carpenters and Join
ers, Metal Workers National Union,
and Cigarmakers international Union.
Gompers Elected First President
This gathering laid plans for a real
federation with revenues and full
time executive. The old federation
went out of existence to make way for
an active organization effective in
economic legislative and political fields.