Congress of Industrial Organizations
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What was the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)?
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a North American federation of industrial unions. It emerged in the mid-1930s within the American Federation of Labor (AFL), from which it was expelled in 1937 because the AFL limited its membership to craft unions and refused to support the CIOâs organization of industrial unions, which welcomed unskilled factory workers.
The CIO introduced unionism into the steel, rubber, and automobile industries, reaching agreements with large corporations such as General Motors and U.S. Steel. In 1955, the CIO merged with the AFL to form the AFL-CIO.
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Why was the CIO created?
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was created because the American Federation of Labor (AFL) refused to support the organization of industrial unions, which welcomed unskilled and semiskilled factory workers, limiting its membership to craft unions. In November 1935, John L. Lewis, along with representatives from other unions, formed the CIO to organize workers in mass-production industries. The CIO introduced unionism into the steel, rubber, and automobile industries and reached agreements with corporations such as General Motors and U.S. Steel. In 1938, the CIO formalized its break with the AFL at its first convention.
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What types of workers did the CIO represent?
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of industrial unions that emerged in the mid-1930s. It welcomed unskilled and semiskilled factory workers, in contrast to the American Federation of Labor (AFL), which restricted its membership to craft unions. Founded by John L. Lewis and other labor leaders, the CIO aimed to organize workers in mass-production industries such as steel, rubber, and automobiles. The CIO achieved significant victories by introducing unionism into previously unorganized industries and reaching agreements with major corporations. In 1955, the CIO merged with the AFL to form the AFL-CIO.
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How was the CIO different from other labor organizations of its time?
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) differed from other labor organizations of its time, like the American Federation of Labor (AFL), because it welcomed unskilled and semiskilled factory workers, whereas the AFL limited its membership to craft unions. The CIO was formed in 1935 after a resolution for industry-based organization was defeated at the AFL convention. The CIO introduced unionism to industries like steel, rubber, and automobile, reaching agreements with major corporations. In 1955, the CIO merged with the AFL to form the AFL-CIO.
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What important actions or strikes did the CIO help organize?
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was formed in 1935 after a dispute with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) over whether union organization should be based on craft or industry.
Key actions and strikes the CIO helped organize:
- General Motors sit-down strike (1936-37): This dramatic strike demonstrated the effectiveness of the "one shop, one union" motto, inspiring other successful sit-down strikes.
- Organization of key industries: The CIO introduced unionism into previously unorganized industries like steel, rubber, and automobile, reaching agreements with major corporations such as U.S. Steel and General Motors.
- Ford Motor Company organization: In 1941, the CIO successfully organized the employees of Ford Motor Company and other large industrial corporations that had previously refused to sign agreements with the CIO.
- United Automobile Workers (UAW): The CIO played a role in the creation of the UAW. The success of sit-down strikes, along with President Franklin D. Rooseveltâs election in 1936, prompted automobile manufacturers to change their policies.
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What eventually happened to the CIO?
The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of industrial unions that split from the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1938. In 1955, the CIO merged with the AFL to form the AFL-CIO, an organization that continues to operate today. The merger occurred for several reasons, including political unity and similar goals. The resulting organization represents millions of workers.
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Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), federation of affiliated North American industrial unions that originated in the mid-1930s within the American Federation of Labor (AFL), from which it was expelled in 1937. The AFL limited its membership to craft (skill) unions and refused to support the CIOâs organization of industrial (workplace) unions, which welcomed unskilled and semiskilled factory workers. The CIO operated independently until 1955, when it merged with the AFL to form the American Federation of LaborâCongress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
As the Great Depression unfolded in the 1930s, the political environment in the United States became increasingly favourable to organized labour. Because of both ideological reasons and labourâs growing influence on the Democratic Party, the New Deal administration of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt proved to be a much more willing partner to the trade-union movement than its Republican predecessors had been. The rights to organize and to engage in collective bargaining that were gained by unions under the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of 1933 were further buttressed by the 1935 passage of the Wagner Act (officially, the National Labor Relations Act).
Against this backdrop, organized labour grappled with the pivotal matter of whether unions should be structured on craft or industry lines. At the American Federation of Laborâs 1935 convention, the issue came to a head. After an industry-based resolution, which stated that âin the great mass production industriesâŠindustrial organization is the only solution,â was defeated, a rift occurred in the organization. In November 1935 John L. Lewis, the president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) union, and representatives of seven other unions (two more unions joined later) announced the formation of the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO), with the intention of organizing workers in mass-production industries.
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Lewis and the UMWA (supported principally by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America [ACWA] and the International Ladiesâ Garment Workersâ Union [ILGWU]) initially provided the money and organizational framework for the mobilization and unionization of unskilled and semiskilled factory workers. Soon the CIO and the AFL were battling for leadership of American labour, often trying to organize the same workers. The CIO built momentum by introducing unionism into the previously unorganized steel, rubber, and automobile industries, reaching agreements with such large corporations as U.S. Steel and General Motors. But the process was often violent.
A dramatic âsit-downâ strike against General Motors during the winter of 1936â37 convinced many unskilled workers that the motto âone shop, one unionâ could work and prompted other successful sit-down strikes to follow. The more traditional leaders of the AFL, who remained committed to limiting membership to craft unions, responded to CIOâs success by suspending the 10 dissident unions.
The committee formalized its break with the AFL when it held its first convention in Pittsburgh in November 1938. There it adopted a new name (Congress of Industrial Organizations) and constitution. It also elected Lewis as the organizationâs president.
Lewis, a lifelong Republican, had crossed party lines to support Roosevelt for the presidency in 1932 and 1936, but he pledged to resign as CIO president if Roosevelt were to win a third term in 1940. When Roosevelt was reelected, Lewis stepped down and was replaced by Philip Murray, who had served under Lewis in the UMWA. During the following year the CIO organized the employees of the Ford Motor Company, steel companies (including Bethlehem, Republic, Inland, and Youngstown), and other big industrial corporations that previously had refused to sign agreements with it.
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Having notched these significant unionizing victories, the CIO unions still had to prove that they had the wherewithal to enforce the contractual provisions of workplace due process and to discipline a turbulent rank and file. Under close wartime regulation during World War II, they did so, and institutional relations between the CIO and corporate industry were solidified. After a strike wave tested the parameters of this relationship in the immediate postwar period, there ensued a system of industry-wide collective bargaining that endured for the next 40 years. In 1955 the CIO merged with the AFL to form the AFL-CIO.