Conference for Progressive Political Action

The Conference for Progressive Political Action was officially established by the convention call of the 16 major railway labor unions in the United States, represented by a committee of six: William H. Johnston of the Machinists' Union, Martin F. Ryan of the Railway Carmen, Warren S. Stone of the Locomotive Engineers, E.J. Manion or the Railroad Telegraphers, Timothy Healy of the Stationary Firemen, and L.E. Sheppard of the Order of Railway Conductors. The idea of joining the "forces of every progressive, liberal, and radical organization of the workers must be mobilized to repel these assaults and to advance the industrial and political power of the working class" seems to have originated with the National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party, which issued an appeal to unions and progressive political organizations for such a group in September 1921.

The CPPA was originally intended to be an umbrella organization uniting various elements of the Farmer-Labor political movement around a common program for joint independent political action. In practice, however, invitations to the group's founding conference were issued to members of a wide variety of "progressive" organizations, including those who did not seek a new political organization. As a result, the body was quite heterogeneous and unable to agree on a program or even a declaration of principles at its initial gathering.

The first National Conference of the CPPA was held in Chicago in February 1922. It was attended by 124 delegates from a broad spectrum of labor, farmer, and political organizations, as well as a group of progressive individuals. The gathering passed an "Address to the American People," stating its criticism of existing conditions and formally proposing an amorphous plan of action validating the status quo ante: the labor unions on the group's Right Wing to endorse labor-friendly candidates of the Democratic Party, the Socialists and Farmer-Labor Party adherents on the group's left wing to conduct their own independent campaigns.

...
Wikipedia