when did the american federation of labor start
December 8, 1886
title: American Federation of Labor text: American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States founded in Columbus, Ohio, in December 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor union. Samuel Gompers of the Cigar Makers' International Union was elected president at its founding convention and reelected every year, except one, until his death in 1924. The A.F. of L was the largest union grouping in the United States for the first half of the 20th century, even after the creation of the Congress title: American Federation of Labor text: organizing effort. The A.F. of L. responded with its own massive organizing drive that kept its membership totals 50 percent higher than the CIO's. American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States founded in Columbus, Ohio, in December 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor union. Samuel Gompers of the Cigar Makers' International Union was elected president at its founding convention and reelected every year, except one, until his death in 1924. The A.F. of L title: American Federation of Labor text: of Industrial Organizations (CIO) by unions which were expelled by the A.F. of L. in 1935 over its opposition to industrial unionism. The Federation was founded and dominated by craft unions throughout its first fifty years, after which many craft union affiliates turned to organizing on an industrial union basis to meet the challenge from the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the 1940s. In 1955, the A.F. of L. merged with the CIO to create the AFL-CIO, which has comprised the longest lasting and most influential labor federation in the United States to this day. The American Federation of title: American Federation of Labor text: Labor (A.F. of L.) organized as an association of trade unions in 1886. The organization emerged from a dispute with the Knights of Labor (K of L) organization, in which the leadership of that organization solicited locals of various craft unions to withdraw from their International organizations and to affiliate with the K of L directly, an action which would have taken funds from the various unions and enriched the K of L's coffers. The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions also merged into what would become the American Federation of Labor. One of the organizations embroiled in this title: Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions text: Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada (FOTLU) was a federation of labor unions created on November 15, 1881, at Turner Hall in Pittsburgh. It changed its name to the American Federation of Labor (AFL) on December 8, 1886. During the Long Depression of 1873-1878, the Knights of Labor emerged as a potent force for workers in the United States. But as Marxists and Socialists joined the labor movement and fought for dominance within various labor unions, influential newspapers began to advocate for the suppression of