Junior Union Pin

[neodetectorist]

I found this pin today.


Junior Union
A.F. OFL.
Any ideas of The Who, what, where, and age of this group?

 

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[jewelerguy]

A.F. of L. is the American Federation of Labor. I can only guess that the 'junior union' was probably a high school aged group to promote union labor upon entering the work force after graduation. My guess is the pin dates to the late 1950's or early 1960's

 

[Red-Coat]

I think it’s A.F. of L. which was the American Federation of Labor, formed in 1886 in Columbus, Ohio by the diehard capitalist Samuel Gompers. The Federation was a collective of smaller craft unions such as the masons' union, the hatmakers' union and Gompers's own cigarmakers' union (he was from a family of Jewish cigar-makers, formerly resident in London).

These unions exclude unskilled workers and the collective wielded its power to raise wages for those in skilled trades by collective bargaining, using strikes and boycotts where necessary. Gompers himself strongly opposed socialism, spread racist arguments about the inferiority of Chinese immigrant workers, but maintained government support by shunning any drive for radical political change. During WWI he openly supported the war effort and did his best to raise worker morale (and wages), avoiding disruption from strikes.

The Federation was the most active national labor organization until the Great Depression when unskilled workers finally came together and ultimately merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955 to become AFL-CIO.

Presumably the ‘Juniors’ were a subset of the Federation.

 

[Red-Coat]

Addition: just saw 'jewelerguy' had responded while I was editing my reply. Note that the Federation ceased to exist under that name in 1955.

 

[Red-Coat]

PS: The manufacturer mark on the back might help date it more precisely but I can't read it from the picture. Looks like two groups of three letters each... perhaps the first group beginning with an 'M' and the second group possibly beginning with a 'P'.

 

[Lenrac2]

Cool find!!

 

[neodetectorist]

PS: The manufacturer mark on the back might help date it more precisely but I can't read it from the picture. Looks like two groups of three letters each... perhaps the first group beginning with an 'M' and the second group possibly beginning with a 'P'.

Thanks so much for all the info
The back seems to read
MFB
PIU
an interstate type shield (just like that seen in the famous RT 66 sign) surrounds these letters

 

[Hunk-a-lead]

great save, wtg

 

[erfranks]

Cool Find!!