Abstract

The A. F. of L. Faces a Fact

Like the Roman Catholic church in its relation to birth control, the Old Guard of the American Federation of Labor has yielded a few inches to the inevitable without as yet sacrificing an iota of its power and control. From the point of view of progressives, liberals, and radicals of every shade both in and out of the labor movement, the annual conventions of the American Federation of Labor since 1915 have probably presented the most discouraging spectacle in our yearly calendar of events. The fifty-fourth annual convention, held in one of the stormiest years in its history and in San Francisco, California, that had recently witnessed a prolonged and highly significant strike, was only a little less discouraging than usual, not so much because of the widely heralded "victories" of labor leader John L. Lewis, supported by radicals and progressives, in his battle for industrial unionism and for enlargement of the Executive Council.