American Federation of Labor and
Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO)
Largest labor union in the United States.
The AFL-CIO formed in 1955 when the American
Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged. During the 1950s and 1960s, the AFL-CIO
concentrated on increasing the wages of union members and
on improving employee benefits. Collective bargaining, legal
under the Wagner Act, provided labor with a powerful bargaining tool, and the prosperity of the times resulted in
employers agreeing to most union demands. However, by the
1970s economic stagflation (the coexistence of high unemployment and high inflation) resulted in many workers being
laid off.
One of the most difficult challenges faced by the union
was that the Japanese automakers flooded the U.S. market
with their smaller, more fuel-efficient cars just when the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
placed embargoes on oil shipped to western nations. For the
first time, AFL-CIO officials petitioned Congress to raise tariff rates on Japanese imports. Congress did not acquiesce to
an increase, because tariff officials agreed that Americans
wanted smaller vehicles and the Japanese had not engaged in
unfair trade practices. The AFL-CIO continued to pressure
the government, fearing the loss of American jobs. The
Japanese agreed to voluntary export restrictions and began
building plants in the United States to address the issue of lost
jobs. Since the late 1980s, the union has opposed free trade.
During the negotiating process for the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the AFL-CIO pushed for provisions that would protect American workers and the environment and expressed its disapproval when Congress ratified
the agreement without such provisions.