1. How did the IWW differ from the AFL and other workers’ unions?
The IWW and the AFL were vastly different in a variety of ways, with perhaps the most obvious difference being each union’s composition and diversity, or lack thereof. The AFL, or American Federation of Labor, was founded first as a highly selective entity comprised primarily of white males, the majority of whom were skilled laborers and therefore a social and economic cut above unskilled laborers. The IWW, on the other hand, was founded by a group of socialists, trade union radicals, and anarchists, who sought to establish an open union in which any and all who wished to join would be welcome. The union would consist of blacks, women, poor white laborers, foreigners, and anyone else interested in joining.
The AFL, on the other hand, was led by a man named Samuel Gompers, who, while professing to believe in equal opportunity for all American citizens, made no attempt to translate those ideals into action or ensure that all who wished to join the AFL were welcome. To the contrary, the union was exclusive and, by all accounts, racist and sexist, whose leaders catered to self-serving interests and concerns that did not extend beyond their personal agendas and preferences. In fact, despite the ever-increasing number of working women (they comprised 1/5 of the
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AFL’s leaders were known excessiveness, and the many liberties they took and double standards they enforced. They themselves took home large salaries, lived far more comfortably than the other members of the AFL, and they developed key connections within fashionable society and with their employers. They had grown corrupt and selfish, yet took offense when their actions were questioned or decried. In fact, in a move reminiscent of the mafia, the AFL leaders employed men to rough up dissenters within the union who disagreed with them or called attention to their