Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A historical federation of labor unions in the United States and Canada: The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was a major national organization of craft unions. It was founded in 1886 and focused on achieving practical, short-term goals for skilled workers, such as higher wages and better working conditions, through collective bargaining. It merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun:
  • Samuel Gompers was the first and longest-serving president of the American Federation of Labor.
  • The American Federation of Labor initially organized workers by their specific craft or skill, rather than by industry.
  • In 1955, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations ended their rivalry and merged.

Advanced Usage

• "AFL": This is the standard and widely used abbreviation for the American Federation of Labor.
  • The AFL grew to become the most powerful labor organization of its time.

Variants and Related Words

• AFL-CIO (Proper noun): The federation created by the merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955. It remains the largest federation of unions in the United States.
  • The AFL-CIO represents millions of workers across various industries.

Synonyms

• Federation of labor unions: A general descriptive term for the organization's structure and purpose.
• Labor federation: A common term for an umbrella organization of multiple unions.

Related Terms and Concepts

• Craft unionism: The organizing principle of the early AFL, which grouped workers based on their specific trade or skill (e.g., carpenters, machinists).
• Collective bargaining: The primary method advocated by the AFL for negotiating wages, hours, and conditions between unions and employers.
• Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO): The rival federation, formed in the 1930s, which organized workers by industry (e.g., all workers in an automobile plant, regardless of skill). Its merger with the AFL is a key historical event.

Noun

1. a federation of North American labor unions that merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955