Founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1866, the National Labor Union (NLU) was the first nationwide association of trades unions in American history. Following the Civil War, unions made tremendous gains in terms of numbers and political strength. This upsurge led to the first “congress” of all labor organizations, held in Baltimore in August 1866. The result was the formation of the National Labor Union, which first consisted of 77 delegates representing some 60,000 workers. It established a program that called for all workers to join trade unions to have “an equal voice with the employer,” the granting of public lands to settlers only (as opposed to business interests), the abolition of contract labor, the establishment of cooperative workplaces (as opposed to wage labor), and most importantly the establishment nationwide of the eight-hour day. Within a span of a few short years, the NLU represented 640,000 workers.
William Sylvis, the president of the Iron Molders’ International Union, was elected president of the NLU in 1867 and helped shape it into an influential national organization. Sylvis was a hardworking leader who sought an end to the system of wage labor that was rapidly taking hold in the country. He also advocated increased involvement of people of color and women in the unionization process. Sadly, his early death at age 41 in 1869 left the labor movement bereft of one of its ablest leaders.
Because employers were largely successful in foiling the effort for a national eight-hour day, the NLU began to focus more on political reform and in 1872 formed the National Labor Reform Party. Unfortunately, the nominee Judge David Davis declined to run. The panic of 1873 the following year plunged the United States into a depression, which put unions on the defensive. This depression sounded the death knell for the NLU, which soon collapsed.
See also Colored National Labor Union.
Further reading: Melvyn Dubofsky, Industrialism and the American Worker, 1865-1920 (New York: Crowell, 1996).
—Troy Rondinone
World History
