Evening star., 1942-08-10
Hope for Labor Unity
Again Develops
Writer Tells How President
Repeatedly Hos Urged
AFL and CIO to Hurmonize
BIZ Bertrdm Benedict.

President Green of the AFL has an
nounced that he has accepted the pro-
posal of President Murray of the CIO
to discuss WAYS and means Of bringing
the two organizations together. This
proposal is understood to have resulted
from a conference at the White House
on July % with President Roosevelt.
The Committee for Industrial Organi-
zation was organized in the fall of 1885,
after the convention of the American
Federation had rejected, by vote of
18,o25 to l0924, John l.. Lewis proposal
to organize workers in certain industries
on an industrial, instead of a craft,
union basis. In January, 1886, the AFL
named a committee to bring the two
groups together, but without avail. In
September, 1886, the AFL Executive
Committee suspended 10 former AFL
unions which had gone into the CIO.
The 1886 convention of the AFL ex-
tended the life of the committee to con-
fer with the CIO. The convention re-
vealed that most of the large interna-
tional unions were bitterly anti-CIO,
while many of the State and local feder-
ations had some C1O sympathies.
BY 1887 the two labor bodies were
raiding each others territory. At the
AFL convention Green bitterly attacked
the CIO as disruptive movement and
Lewis as a disruptive personality but
the AFL accepted the proposal, voted at
q rIn tn ,foy
The conference opened late in October,
1887. The CIO demanded that it be
recognized as an autonomous unit within
the AFL, in case of unity; and that
workers in certain fields be organized
only on an industrial basis. The AFL
offered to take back the suspended
unions, but refused to grant the CIO
autonomous status within the AFL. The
AFL proposed conferences between the
unions concerned to end dual unionism;
the CIO insisted that all it's unions be
kept intact, and chiefly on this point the
conference was wrecked, after two
months.
In May, 1888, the AFL formally ex-
PEELED 9 of the 10 suspended CIO unions
In November the CIO organized on a
permanent basis, becoming the Con-
gress of Industrial Organiza tions. Presi-
dent Dubinsky of the international
Ladies Garment Workers Union with
drew from the CO. charging that at
the 1887 conference Lewis had made no
real effort toward unity. The ILGW re-
joined the AFL in 1910.
President Roosevelt asked each con-
vention in 1888 to confer on healing the
split. The AFL agreed, the CIO showed
little interest. On February %, 1899, the
President renewed his plea, and confer
ences were held. They ended in dis
agreement early in April. Green
charged that the disagreement was due
CIO leaders showing themselves more
conciliatory. The President asked each
convention in 1899 to try again for unity;
again the AFL professed willingness, the
CIO showed little interest.
In 1910 Lewis supported Willkie in the
presidential campaign, promised to re-
sign as CIO president If Roosevelt vera
elected, made good the promise, was
succeeded by Philip Murray. Through
out 194l the AFL professed willingness
to renew peace talks. In January, 1912,
a joint AFL-CIO committee of six mem
bers was organized to cooperate on the
war effort; for one thing, it has thrown
its influence against jurisdictional
strikes In the same month Lewis pro-
posed negotiations between the AFL and
CIO. Green accepted; Murray declined,
declaring that he had not been consulted
and questioning Lewis good faith.