The History of Labor Unions
... the same occupation regardless of where they worked. Some examples of craft unions are electricians, carpenters, and printers. Formed in 1886 the American Federation of Labor was the country’s first organization of craft unions. This was also known as the AFL. Samuel Gompers was the first president of this organization. The second type of union is the industrial union and it organizes all workers in a particular industry, regardless of the workers crafts. Examples of am industrial union are the United Mine workers of America and the United Steelworkers of America. The committee for Industrial organization was formed within the AFL in 1935. The president of the union at this time was John L. Lewis. When they were expelled from the AFL in 1938 and formed a new organization known as the CIO. In 1955 the two fede...