George, an unskilled worker in the 1930s, toiled 10 hours a day on an assembly line. His hours were long, his wages were low, and his working conditions were unsafe and unpleasant. George would probably have been more sympathetic to the views of John L. Lewis than to those of Samuel Gompers.

Question

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The primary reason that the AFL did not recognize the CIO in its infancy was a disagreement over whether to include industrial as well as craft unions in the AFL. The AFL was founded in 1886, and under the leadership of Samuel Gompers, it initially limited its membership to skilled workers who belonged to craft unions. In 1935, John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers, proposed that the AFL also organize unskilled and semiskilled workers in industrial unions. When his proposal was rejected, Lewis and his followers broke with the AFL and formed the CIO.

George, an Unskilled Worker in the 1930s, Toiled 10 Hours