AFL Term Analysis

The acronym for the American Federation of Labor, a national federation of labor unions established in 1886 as an umbrella organization for multiple unions. The origins of the AFL go back to the famed labor leader Samuel Gompers, who in 1881 established the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States of America and Canada, a precursor to the AFL. Gompers served as the AFL’s first president and held that post (with the exception of a single year) until 1924. Until the 1930s, the AFL only represented skilled workers. In 1935, AFL member and noted labor leader John L. Lewis formed the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which existed alongside the AFL until the two organizations merged as the AFL-CIO in 1955. In Bulosan’s novel, branches of the UCAPAWA attempt to join the AFL, often as an alternative to the CIO.