ABSTRACT
The 1919 American Federation of Labor convention spelled out the deficiencies of a recent industrial innovation: the company union. “With hardly a pretense of organization, unaffiliated with other groups of workers in the same industry, destitute of funds, and unfitted to use the strike weapon, the company union is a complete failure … a delusion and a snare” (AFL 1919, p. 303). Adopted without debate, the resolution was similar to many union proclamations of the post-World War I years, when the labor movement enjoyed unprecedented power and élan. But this statement proved to be more than a routine expression of union militancy. The 1919 attack was the first blow in what would be a long and effective campaign against company unionism. Ultimately, it would result in a successful legislative assault on the company union as it had been known since the mid-1910s.
