Summary: Five Personalities In Labor Relations

According to Fossum (2002), there were five primary leading personalities in labor relations. Terence Poderly and Uriah Stephens were the main leaders and personalities of the KOL. They focused mainly on long term goals and were partial to arbitration over strikes. These idealistic views caused them and the KOL to be not as popular and therefore lacked members and growth. Another similar personality was that of William Sylvis, leader of the NLU in 1866 (Fossum, 2002). The NLU and its leader Sylvis were also not very effective like the KOL due to fact that his goals were primarily political and reformist (Fossum, 2002). Samuel Gompers was the first president of the AFL after its creation in 1886 and lead for 39 years (The Library of

Congress, 2014). He was mainly focused on obtaining quantitative goals and seeking out immediate results and preferred a pragmatic approach with bargaining over winning qualitative goals or pursuing a legislative tactic.
One of the final personalities in labor relations was known as “Big Bill” Haywood. He was known for helping to organizing the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). Haywood and several other socialists were also recognized for joining their unions to create the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Compared to the KOL, the NLU, and the AFL the IWW was seemingly radical with its main goal set in eliminating the wage system. Unfortunately, this goal did not set well with employers who fought them rigorously and so, in turn, feasible union could not be created. The IWW’s also created turbulence for its self during World War I when its leaders demanded that their union members would not be taking part or supporting either side, stating that only the capitalist would profit, this stance had a huge impact on the IWW’s popularity and membership (Fossum, 2002).