The FEDERATION OF ORGANIZED TRADES AND LABOR UNIONS OF THE U.S. AND CANADA'S SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION was held in Cleveland 21-24 Nov. 1882, the first such meeting held in the city. The federation, formed in Pittsburgh in 1881, was the precursor of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Of the 19 delegates, 3 were from Cleveland: George A. Collins, president of the Cleveland Trades Assembly, Donald McIntosh of the Carpenters, and William J. Cannon of Cigarmakers Local 17. The other 16 delegates represented 10 unions and 8 national or international unions; Samuel Gompers of New York (later president of the AFL) was one of the more vocal. The Cleveland convention passed resolutions concerning child labor, prison labor, education, and apprenticeships. After a lengthy discussion over Intl. Typographical Union representative F. K. Foster's paper "Protection vs. Wages," the congress went on record opposing a high or protective tariff, reversing its stand of 1881. When the convention approved a motion demanding that the national 8-hour law be enforced, the convention's secretary was instructed to notify Pres. Chester Arthur, asking him to enforce the statute. Resolutions condemning actions taken by various companies against workers and unions were also passed. In an effort to unite the labor movement, the congress allowed the Knights of Labor, the Women's National Labor Union, and all "bona fide" labor unions of men and women to be represented in the federation.
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