AMERICAN LABOUR

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 270, 13 August 1942, Page 2

AMERICAN LABOUR

Two Divisions Planning To Merge ORIGIN OF SPLIT The American Federation of Labour and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which are now planning to merge for an all-out war effort, are the two great divisions of organized labour in the United States. They are approximately 'equal iu numerical strength. Last year the federation reached an all-time peak in membership with an approximate total of 5,000,0(H). About the same time the congress also reported a membership in round numbers of 5,000,000. A serious split in the Labour movement, which led to the formation of the Congress of Industriul Organizations, occurred iu August, 1936. The central question at issue was whether the organization of labour should be on the basis of industrial unions, including all workers, skilled or unskilled, engaged in a particular industry, or on the basis of craft unions, small bodies of skilled workers, such as largely composed the Federation of Labour. Before this the. labour leader, Mr. John L, Ixtwis, bad founded the Committee for Industrial Organization, and his advocacy of the indnsl.rial unions was opposed by the Federation of Labour. In the slrtlggle that ensued the council of Hie federation suspended 10 out. of the .12 unions that had joined the Committee for Industrial Organization, thus leaving them without a vote at the annual convention. This, Mr. Lewis described as “an appalling blunder,” and when the Congress of Industriul Organizations was created to succeed the Committee for Industrial Organizations, he was elected first president in November, 1938. He was re-elected the following yeai', but in November, 1910, he resigned in fullilment of a pledge that if Mr. Roosevelt was reelected he would regard it as a vote of no-confidence in himself. He jiersnaded his old friend and associate, Mr. Philip .Murray, to succeed him.

One of tlie latest developments in the somewhat stormy recent history of American labour has been the outbreak of a tierce feud tietween Mr. Lewis and Mr. Murray. Mr, Lewis succeeded iu ousting Mr. Murray from the vice-pre-sidency of the Mine Workers’ Union, which he had held for 20 years, but Mr. Murray continues to enjoy the support of most C.T.O. unions.