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| The seal of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers of the Untied States (above) was instituted Aug. 4, 1876. The first labor union in Wyandotte County was Pioneer Lodge No. 1 (seal below), Rosedale, Kan., organized Aug. 13, 1881. |
(Editor's note: This is the 71st in a series of "then and now" articles on places and things of interest in Kansas City, Kan., compiled by area historian Margaret Landis in observance of the 100th birthday of KCK in 1986. Much of the information has appeared in past editions of The Kansan.)
(Transcriptions are presented without changes except to improve readability.)
With Labor Day on Monday, today's "Then and Now" focuses on the history of labor unions in Kansas.
Labor Day, as observed in the Untied States, is the first Monday in September and is a legal holiday.
It is in recognition of the men and women who make up the work force in our country. The day is usually celebrated by parades, addresses by prominent labor leaders and picnics.
The general policy of labor and trade unions has been to rely on arbitration, cooperation and education to secure good working conditions and wages for the workers and to pass resolutions for needed legislation.
Trade union: An organization of wage earners engaged in the same trade, occupation or calling.
Labor union: Mixed organizations composed of wage earners of different occupations.
References show that trade unions are as old as the Temple of Solomon. Organizations of skilled workmen were known to the ancients.
The Lecompton and Leavenworth Typographical (Printers) Unions of 1859 are the earliest records of a trade union in Kansas.
Other early unions:
The Knights of Labor was originally organized as a local, secret labor union established in Philadelphia in 1869 through the efforts of Uriah S. Stephens, a clothing cutter.
As it grew, it aimed to include all workingmen in one organization. The National labor Union was the first national labor organization of the post Civil War Days.
The first efforts of unification were made by such organizations as the National Labor Union and the Knights of Labor.
By the 1880s, the Knights of Labor was the foremost labor organization in Kansas. Thomas F. Hannan was elected the first mayor of the consolidated city of Kansas City, Kan., in 1886. He was a stone-mason and contractor and active in the Knights of Labor. His activities were a campaign issue. After serving three terms as mayor, he remained active in the Knights of Labor.
A decline of the Knights of Labor started in 1886 and by the late 1890s had virtually disappeared.
The American Federation of Labor was organized on the plan of leaving to each trade the direction of its own affairs and the organization of its own union. The federation is a creation of national and international trade unions.
On Nov. 15, 1881, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Movements was founded as the nucleus for a "federation embracing every trade and labor organization in North America."
Samuel J. Gompers was AFL's first president.
In 1981 the AFL-CIO commemorated the 100th Anniversary of the American Labor Movement as a united federation of the various trades.
In 1956 the merger convention of the American federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations was held in New York City.
According to the Labor Union Directory in the 1986 World Almanac there are:
In Kansas City, Kan. -- The International Headquarters of the Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, AFL-CIO, is located in the Brotherhood Building, 8th Street and Minnesota Avenue.
Charles Jones was re-elected international president at its recent convention in Hollywood, Fla.