<P> 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 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 . </P>
<P> 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 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 . </P>
when was the american federation of labor founded
when was the american federation of labor founded
in December 1886
in December 1886