unionism

Trade unionism, industrial unionism, and socialism were the main forms of organized labor in the late nineteenth century early twentieth century, yet rarely did these shifting currents flow in complementary ways that might appeal to the vast majority of struggling workers. The three most important formal organizations were the American Federation of Labor (AFL), the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the Socialist Party of America. All three of these organizations had there own strengths but the many weaknesses and divisions combined with outside influences caused the retardation of their radical, left wing ideas.

The American Federation of Labor was founded with the intention of building the class conscioussness and economic power of workers by organizing them on occupational lines. It pursued policies to win short term, concrete, economic gains (Cashman,206.) The AFL was first established as the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada from several independent national trade unions in 1881 and it took its definitiv

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And the Socialist Party of America led by Eugene Debs had potential to improve the lives of workers everywhere but do to internal conflicts was unable to truly make a difference. He opposed alliances with political parties and the formation of a labor political party. ” (Cashman, 214)

By organizing the mass of workers who were excluded from the AFL, the Wobblies aimed to engage the employers in an unrelenting class war, culminating in a general strike to redistribute power and wealth. The AFL was a leading advocate for immigration restriction on both economic and nativist grounds. The socialist strength was strongest in small cities and towns but by 1917 it had increased its hold in larger cities of the industrialized East and Midwest (Cashman,219. Internal power struggles also derailed plans the IWW had for the labor movement.

The Industrial Workers of the World was a much more radical association than that of the American Federation of Labor. Haywood’s unconventional methods and uncompromising stands frequently put him at odds with allies and opponents alike. Because it was powerless to settle disputes between unions it was left open to internal down falls such as jurisdictional disputes over whether workers at a given task should be members of one union or another, and to discipline organizations whose policies were damaging to labor in general. The IWW and the socialist group were appealing to different types of workers. In 1901 the Socialist Party of America was formed. )

Socialism flourished in the early 1900’s and came to have an important impact on the lives of significant numbers of Americans, only to fall away sharply in the various domestic conflicts that accompanied World War 1. Overall the most practical contribution the IWW had on the American labor movement was their role as a shock force in leading unskilled workers when they rose in spontaneous strikes, and their ready ability to mobilize migrant, displaced workers at the bottom of society (Cashman,227. The AFL was decentralized and organized as a loose coalition of almost autonomous national unions (Cashman,205. )

Better known as the “Wobblies,” the IWW were singularly free of prejudice in an intolerant age.

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