The local cigar-makers' union in which Gompers received his
necessary preliminary training was one of the most enlightened
and compactly organized groups of American labor. It was one of
the first American Unions to adopt in an efficient manner the
British system of benefits in the case of sickness, death, or
unemployment. It is one of the few American unions that
persistently encourages skill in its craft and intelligence in
its membership. It has been a pioneer in collective bargaining
and in arbitration. It has been conservatively and yet
enthusiastically led and has generally succeeded in enlisting the
respect and cooperation of employers. This union has been the
kindergarten and preparatory school of Samuel Gompers, who,
during all the years of his wide activities as the head of the
Federation of Labor, has retained his membership in his old local
and has acted as first vice-president of the Cigar-makers'
International. These early experiences, precedents, and
enthusiasms Gompers carried with him into the Federation of
Labor. He was one of the original group of trade union
representatives who organized the Federation in 1881. In the
following year he was its President. Since 1885 he has, with the
exception of a single year, been annually chosen as President.
During the first years the Federation was very weak, and it was
even doubtful if the organization could survive the bitter
hostility of the powerful Knights of Labor. It could pay its
President no salary and could barely meet his expense account.*
Gompers played a large part in the complete reorganization of the
Federation in 1886. He subsequently received a yearly salary of
$1000 so that he could devote all of his time to the cause. From
this year forward the growth of the Federation was steady and