Congress of Industrial Organizations

The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a U.S. labor federation founded in 1935 that organized workers across entire industries, including mass-production industries.

John L. Lewis: John L. Lewis was a U.S. labor leader who headed the United Mine Workers and helped found the CIO. As United Mine Workers president, Lewis led the organizing drive that launched the CIO.
Industrial unionism: Industrial unionism organizes workers in an industry or company into a union regardless of their specific occupations. This organizing principle distinguished the CIO from craft-centered unionism.
United Auto Workers: The United Auto Workers is a U.S. labor union founded in 1935 that represents workers in automotive and related industries. The UAW became a prominent CIO affiliate through its campaigns among automobile workers.
Labor movement in the United States: The U.S. labor movement comprises workers' organizations and campaigns for collective representation and improved working conditions. The CIO became one of the labor movement's major national federations.
American Federation of Labor: The American Federation of Labor was a U.S. labor federation that primarily organized workers by craft. The CIO split from the AFL over organizing industrial workers rather than maintaining craft union priorities.
Congress of Industrial Organizations organizing drives: CIO organizing drives were campaigns to recruit workers and establish industrial unions at major employers. These campaigns turned the CIO's broad strategy into workplace membership and bargaining power.
Flint sit-down strike: The Flint sit-down strike was a 1936–1937 United Auto Workers occupation of General Motors plants in Flint, Michigan. The strike forced General Motors to recognize the UAW, demonstrating the CIO's organizing power.
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established federal minimum-wage, overtime-pay, and child-labor standards in the United States. CIO-backed labor politics formed part of the broader pressure for federal workplace protections.
Committee for Industrial Organization: The Committee for Industrial Organization was the organizing body established within the AFL in 1935 that became the CIO. Its transformation into an independent federation gave the CIO its institutional beginning.
National Labor Relations Act: The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 protects many U.S. workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively. The law supplied a federal framework for union elections and collective bargaining pursued by CIO affiliates.

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