Chicago Federation of Labor
 |
|
| Founded | November 9, 1896 |
|---|---|
| Members | Approx. 500,000 in 320 unions |
| Head union | Jorge Ramirez |
| Affiliation | AFL-CIO |
| Office location | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Country | United States |
| Website | www.chicagolabor.org |
The Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) is an umbrella organization for unions in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is a subordinate body of the AFL-CIO, and as of 2011 has about 320 affiliated member unions representing half a million union members in Cook County.
The labor body is also involved in political lobbying, often in alliance with other allied organizations (e.g.,. Interfaith Worker Justice), is active in Chicago politics, and participates in many of Chicago's civic committees (composed of business and city leaders).
The CFL was formed by the American Federation of Labor (AFL) on November 9, 1896. In part, the federation was an outgrowth of previous umbrella labor bodies in the city, many of which had fragmented during the previous two decades. But, in part, the formation of the CFL was an attempt to end corruption in Chicago's labor unions. Only over time did the CFL change its focus to strengthening the efforts of individual union locals by creating a unified voice for the city's labor movement, uphold the labor rights of its union members, and mediate contract disputes on behalf of local unions. Unfortunately, the CFL was dominated in its early years by Martin "Skinney" Madden, a notoriously corrupt labor leader who had managed to get himself elected President, Vice President and Treasurer for life in his Steamfitters' local in Chicago.
The early years of the CFL saw corrupt and reform elements battle for control. The CFL's constitution required an election for the presidency every six months, which encouraged instability, and a new president was elected roughly every year in the organization's first decade. Elections were also rife with fraud and violence. In January 1903, Madden arranged to have the names of all the reform candidates placed low on the ballot, many names were misspelled to deny the candidate election, and some names omitted altogether. Unions on both sides padded their membership lists in order to have more delegates to the convention. At least seven major brawls broke out on the convention floor, and one man was injured so badly he had to be rushed to the hospital. Only police intervention brought order. The July 1904 election saw such widespread violence (including fistfights in front of the ballot boxes). Three brawlers had to be carried home.
Reform elements began to get the upper hand in 1905. Charles Dold was elected in January of that year despite ballot irregularities, accusations of bribery, and ballot box stuffing. When Dold appeared to have enough support to win re-election on July 16, 1905, Madden's supporters attempted to prevent his victory by smashing ballot boxes and destroying ballots. Madden's thugs severely beat Michael Donnelly, a Dold supporter and international president of the Amalgamated Butcher Workmen, on the floor of the convention in full view of hundreds of delegates. Madden disrupted the election so much that a new election was held on August 6. Again, Madden used violence and fraud to force cancellation of the election. Dold finally won re-election on August 13. Madden's forces boycotted the August 13 election and claimed the results were invalid. He pressured the CFL into invalidating the election on August 20, but public outcry and an investigation by the AFL led the CFL to reverse itself on September 3.
...
Wikipedia