International projectionist (Oct 1931-Sept 1933)

AMERICAN LABOR MOVEMENT'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY A review of fifty years of progress of the American Federation of Labor, with which the International Alliance is affiliated and in the councils of which it plays an important role David Levinson THE American Federation of tabor, of which the I.A.T.S.E. is an affiliated organization, is this year celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. It was in 1881 — from which year the Federation officially dates its birth — that a group of labor leaders, dissatisfied with the loosely organized status of unionism in the United States, called a convention at Terre Haute, Indiana, to remedy the situation. At this convention, attended by large bodies of delegates from St. Louis, Cleveland, Chicago, and other Western cities, with Pittsburgh the only Eastern city represented, plans were made for a more representative convention, to be held the same year in Pittsburgh. At Pittsburgh, with John Jarrett, at that time president of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, as temporary Chairman, the Federation of Organized Trades and Unions of the United States and Canada, representing 262,000 workingmen, was formed. In attendance at this memorable gathering were 107, representing eight national and international unions: forty-two were from local trade unions; three were from district assemblies of the Knights of Labor, an organization which had been very active as a forerunner of the Federation of Organized Trades and Unions of the United States and Canada. The organization which had been formed at Pittsburgh existed for but a short while, and finally faltered, principally because of the lack of funds. But, if this organization accomplished nothing else, it did serve to introduce to the public a man who was later to be proclaimed the greatest labor leader this country, if not the world, has ever had. This man was Samuel Gompers. Rise of Gompers At the third convention of the Federation of Organized Trades and Unions of the United States and Canada, held in New York in 1883, Samuel Gompers, who bad come into prominence in national labor circles after having done heroic work with the Cigar Maker's Union in its fight against unfair conditions in that field, was elected chairman of the organization and of its important legislative committee. SAMUEL GOMPERS "Grand old man" of the American Labor movement From 1883 to 1886, very little of importance was written into the history of unionism in the United States. But in 1886 the spirit that had been born in 1881 and subsequently had become dormant, was revived. The guiding geniuses and the masses of workingmen again felt the need for the display of a solid front of unionism. The most important step towards the realization of this need came at the Columbus, Ohio, convention, in December, 1886. At this convention the old Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions amalgamated with large groups from many other unions, and thus the American Federation of Labor, representing some 300,000 members in good standing in twenty-five organizations, came into being, with Samuel Gompers as its first president, a post which he held down to his death in 1924, with the exception of one year. Federation Gains To what extent there have been gains by organization since the inception of the Federation fifty years ago is clearly shown by a review of some of the work of the A. F. of L. given by the executive council to the 51st Convention. This report discloses that the organization of [26] the American Federation of Labor admittedly gave strength to the workers in 1881. From 1886 to 1890, the 8-hour day drives brought added leisure, cutting working hours per week from 63 to 58. From 1899 to 1904, membership in the Federation increased from 349,122 to 1,676,000, and immediately workers gained in leisure and better pay. In the five years of membership gain, average wages rose 14 per cent, and hours were shortened by nearly two per week. From 1904 to 1908, despite the business depression, labor still held its own. From 1909 to 1914 came another period of growth, during which time membership increased from 1,483,000 to 2,021,000, and gains in wages and hours were greater. Wages increased by 13 per cent, and hours were shortened by 1% a week. After 1913 began the wartime growth of trade union membership; membership was doubled and the increase in real wages was more than in any other five years of rising prices. Then came the post-war depression of 1921. Unions lost membership, wages declined, and the hours were lengthened slightly. Until the beginning of the 5-day week drive, there was practically no further gain in leisure. Wage losses were finally won back, but the wage level has not yet risen above the 1920 high. In fifty years altogether, workers have gained 15 hours leisure per week, and increased their buying power $13 a week; hours of work have decreased from 63 a week in 1880 to 48 a week in 1930; wages per hour increased from 19 cents in 1880 to 72 cents in 1929. Buying power of average wages in terms of 1929 dollars, increased from $18.80 to $34.75 in 1929. Present Condition The present organization structure shows that for the fiscal year ending August 31, 1931, there was a total mem bership of 2,889,550. This membership is distributed among 28,229 local unions in the 105 national and international unions with a membership of 2,875,019, and 334 local trade and federal labor unions directly affiliated with the American Federation of Labor with a membership of 14,531. Today, as the 50-year-old Federation faces an era of depression and changing