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Biography of: Samuel Gompers
Author: Scott Howard

Timeline
Leadership Style
Political Philosophy

Timeline

  • Jan 26, 1850 Gompers is born in London to Solomon,a cigarmaker, and his wife Sarah Rood Gompers.
  • 1860 Gompers enters cigar trade.
  • 1864 Cigarmakers, ship carpenters, and plasterers Organize unions. Gompers joins Cigarmakers National Union Local 15.
  • Jan 28, 1867 Gompers marries Sophia Julian.
  • 1873 Gompers attends meetings of the IWA and joins the inner circle known as "Die Zehn Philosphen" a group That envolves into the trade union oriented Economic and Sociological club.
  • 1875 Gompers is a charer member and first president of CigarMakers International Union (CMIU) Local 144.
  • 1876 Gompers joins New York American Section which favors trade unionism.
  • Jan, 1878 Led the New York City cigarmakers strike against pay cuts and restrictive factory rules. Unable to find a job for the next 4 months.
  • 1881 Gompers publishes a series of articles on tenement-house workers in the New Yorker Volkszeitung.
  • Aug 15, 1883 Gompers testifies before the Education and labor Committee of the U.S. Senate.
  • Jan, 1886 Gompers begins one year term as president of NY State Workingmens Assembly.
  • 1889 Nominated to run for state senate in NY 7th district, but declines.
  • Aug 22, 1893 He meets with NYC mayor Gilroy to press for a municpal public works program to relieve umempoyment.
  • Aug 28, 1893 Addresses the International Labor Congress at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
  • Dec 14, 1895 Elected president of AFL, held the position for the rest of his life.
  • Jan 31, 1900 Went to Cuba
  • Feb 13, 1904 Went to Puerto Rico
  • Dec 08, 1924 He attends the Pan American Federation of Labor meeting in Mexico City. He becomes ill and is rushed back to El Paso, Texas, where he dies.

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Leadership Style & Political Philosophy

Samuel Gompers was a Radical that had a very innovative Philosophy. He was the first person to fight for shorter hours, higher wages, and safe sanitary working conditions for employees. He was a confident spokesman which gave him a little more influence than the other workers. He promoted the idea that economic organization was the key to a more satisfying life, in and out of work. His actions were very nonviolent. He just tried to educate everyone and show people that his new way was better. After he pushed his views around for a while everyone began to come around he became elected the president of the American Federation of labor. He held this position for the rest of his life. "But while our Federation has thus been conservative, it has ever had its face turned toward whatever reforms, in politics or economics, could be of direct and obvious benefit to the working classes." From this quote, you can see that he thinks that the federation is acting conservative while Gompers himself falls more on the radical side. His innovative role has changed the conditions of our working lives today.

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