(AFL-CIO), a federation of autonomous labor unions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, and U.S. dependencies, formed in 1955 by the merger of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Heavily involved in politics, the AFL-CIO’s primary function is to lobby on behalf of organized labor and mediate disputes between its member unions. In 1999 the AFL-CIO included 68 national and international unions that had a U.S. membership …showed first 75 words of 1132 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1132 total…was named interim president, but Donahue was challenged for the federation’s presidency by John J. Sweeney, who won the first contested election for president in the AFL-CIO’s history. Committed to advancing the welfare of its members, the AFL-CIO has campaigned actively against the so-called right-to-work laws, which outlawed union shops (see closed shop), has worked to repeal the Taft-Hartley Labor Act, and has fought other legislation deemed inimical to organized labor’s interests. 11