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How did the AFL-CIO form in 1955?

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The Code of Hammurabi diorite stela, with carved figures at the top showing Hammurabi seated with cuneiform inscriptions below. — Labour law Diorite stela inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi, 18th century bce.

The AFL-CIO was formed in 1955 through the merger of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).123

The two organizations had been separated since the late 1930s, primarily due to disagreements over union structure: the AFL focused on craft-based unions, while the CIO championed industrial unionism to organize unskilled and semiskilled factory workers. Following the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, both federations began to align their political efforts in opposition to the new law, which gradually fostered greater union solidarity.13

After the death of CIO president Philip Murray in 1952, Walter P. Reuther assumed leadership of the CIO. Three years later, in 1955, the two federations successfully merged. George Meany, the former head of the AFL, became the president of the newly unified federation, which represented approximately 15 million workers at the time of its formation.32