Samuel Gompers (January 27, 1850 – December 13, 1924) was an
English-born
American cigar maker who became a Georgist
labor union leader and a key figure in
American labor history. Gompers founded the
American Federation of Labor (AFL), and served as the organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924. He promoted harmony among the different
craft unions that comprised the AFL, trying to minimize jurisdictional battles. He promoted thorough organization and collective bargaining to secure shorter hours and higher wages, the first essential steps, he believed, to
emancipating labor. He also encouraged the AFL to take political action to "elect their friends" and "defeat their enemies". During
World War I, Gompers and the AFL openly supported the war effort, attempting to avoid strikes and boost morale while raising wage rates and expanding membership.