The Los Angeles Federation of Labor was officially organized by the five unions of printers, cigar makers, tailors, carpenters, and bakers on June 23, 1889. The National AFL and CIO merged in 1955 and with the California State Federation of Labor in 1957. By early 1959 the Los Angeles Central Labor Council, five other central labor bodies, and the Greater Los Angeles CIO Council merged to create the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. The records in the collection consist primarily of administrative records that document the activities of the Federation from 1937 through 1963.

The Los Angeles Federation of Labor was officially organized by five distinct unions on June 23, 1889: printers, cigar makers, tailors, carpenters, and bakers. On September 7, 1890, the Los Angeles Typographical Union procured a charter from the San Francisco Federated Trades in order to form the Los Angeles Council of Labor. In 1894, the earliest Los Angeles Council of Labor, in an effort to create strength and unity, affiliated itself with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). During the 1930s, the National AFL was rocked by an internal split that resulted in the establishment of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The National CIO chartered the Greater Los Angeles CIO Council in May 1937, which maintained a separate existence for two decades. The National AFL and CIO merged in 1955 and the California State Federation of Labor in 1957. This set in motion a countywide merger in Greater Los Angeles between 1957 and 1959. By early 1959, the Los Angeles Central Labor Council and five other central labor bodies — Long Beach, Pomona, San Gabriel Valley, San Pedro-Wilmington, and Santa Monica — as well as the Greater Los Angeles CIO Council, merged to create the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

41.71 linear feet

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