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How Did Samuel Gompers Influence The Labour Movement

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Samuel Gompers helped to found and lead the initial stages of the labor movement in both Canada and the United States of America. He was born to a Dutch/Jewish family in London in 1850, and often followed in his father’s footsteps. Gompers finished the Jewish Free School of London at age 10, graduating at the top of his class. Though Gompers was so successful in school, he was unable to continue as his family needed money, and he was the oldest of five children. Shoemaking was Samuel’s first apprenticeship, however he quickly switched to cigar making to follow his father’s craft. The Gompers family lived in a one bedroom apartment, and when the London economy was especially poor in the 1860’s, the whole family emigrated to America. (New …show more content…

(New Netherland Institute) These organizations helped Gompers to form foundation for his future involvement in the labor movement, specifically the CMIU. After the Tompkins Square Riot of 1874, Gompers saw the labor movement in a different way, and changed many of his views. Gompers specifically abandoned socialism and understood the need for strong national unions to organize labor successfully. (Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor) Though Gompers understood the necessity of national unions, and the weakness of locals, he still felt that locals were useful for smaller problems and to help support the national unions. In 1874, Gompers founded local 144 of CMIU, where he became president, and remained a member for life. (New Netherland Institute) Gomper’s local union leader, Adolph Strasser, became president of the national union in 1877, where he worked with Gompers to strengthen CMIU in the face of technological advancements taking jobs. Strasser introduces policies such as plans to provide unemployment and strike funds, which allowed the national union to exert its power over the locals. (Historical Encyclopedia of American

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