The Struggle of Organized Labor: Attempts to Organize National Unions: Knights of Labor; American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers (WXT) (feb 27, 1869 – feb 27, 1893)

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The Knights of Labor is a labor union founded by Terence V. Powderly that included a diverse group of workers who worked as a secret society in order to avoid detection from their employers. The Union advocated for worker cooperatives, abolition of child labor, and the abolition of trusts and monopolies. The labor Union did not want to make the changes necessary to the labor environment through violent means like striking. On the other hand, the Knights of Labor preferred settling labor disputes through arbitration or negotiation. However, their attempt to organize a national union resulted in a loosely established union so they were not able to stop the union members who went on strike. For that reason, they lost plenty of their members after the strike on Haymarket. On the contrary, the American Federation of Labor or AF of L, established by Samuel Gompers had less and more concise economic goals. The Union was founded as a conjunction of 25 craft unions under one to focus on raising wages and improving work conditions. The AF of L became one of the largest unions in the United States with upwards to 1 million members. But like other Unions, the AF of L would not produce any significant reforms until the early 20th century.

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