Chicago labor and the quest for a democratic diplomacy, 1914-1924

the long version

This provocative book is the first to establish the impact of United States foreign policy during the World War I era on the development of the labor movement. Applying the methods of community study, Elizabeth McKillen reconstructs the campaign waged by a Chicago labor coalition against the foreign policy objectives of the American Federation of Labor. McKillen demonstrates that AFL leader Samuel Gompers supported the war effort because he recognized an unprecedented opportunity to secure access for labor to policymaking circles. As she documents the diplomatic activities of the AFL, McKillen chronicles its bitter struggle with the Chicago Federation of Labor, which sought different avenues to power for American workers. While exploring the conditions that stimulated activism in municipal labor councils, McKillen considers how ethnic rivalries, particularly among Irish- and Polish-Americans, helped shape attitudes concerning labor politics and foreign policy. Throughout, she also compares the British shop stewards' movement to Chicago labor's rebellion against AFL diplomatic policy. Delineating the intertwined histories of organized labor, ethnic politics, and diplomacy during a pivotal time, McKillen offers a revealing precedent for questions of labor policy in today's global economy as well.