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Cigarmaker Was a “Pure And Simple” Man

Keep it “pure and simple”; that’s what Samuel Gompers, a New York City cigar maker, believed would bolster U.S. trade unionism. By this phrase he meant emphasize economics—wages and benefits—not political or revolutionary motives. Thus, Gompers set the tone for American trade unionism for decades to come.

A founder and the first president of the American Federation of Labor, he was born in London, England, on January 27, 1850. Shortly after emigrating to the United States in 1863, he joined the Cigarmakers Union in New York City. Working his way up the union ranks, he became head of the AFL in L886 and almost uninterruptedly served the American labor movement in that capacity until his death in 1924.

Several principles of American unionism were born of the “pure and simple” principle. Perhaps the most important was that collective bargaining should be the foundation of the movement, while politics should be secondary. As for politics, Gompers creed was, “Reward your friends, and defeat your enemies.” Also, the national unions would be independent, with the federation exerting limited authority over its affiliates. Another basic concept he propounded was that of exclusive jurisdiction—one union to a trade.

Gompers relied on the prestige of being AFL president and his personal experience in order to resolve disputes among the unions. One of his earlier goals was to eradicate racial discrimination among affiliates, while jurisdictional disputes also occupied a good deal of his efforts. In addition, while advocating restraint in the use of the strike, he saw it as the unions’ most powerful weapon in conducting negotiations.

Although enduring many changes through the years, the trade union movement in the United States continues to operate according to many of the doctrines Gompers and his associates established—although political activism on behalf of organized labor has assumed a more prominent role than in his day.