Samuel Gompers Monument, 2007
Susan Clinard
Gompers Park
Southwest corner of West
Foster and North Pulaski Avenues
A
cigar maker since the age of 10, England-born Samuel Gompers (1850-1924)
immigrated to the United States at the age of 13 and within a year joined the
United Cigar Makers in New York City. He became increasingly concerned about
the conditions of the workers as well as labor relations. In 1886, he became
the first president of the American Federation of Labor, a role he held until
his death. As the nation’s leading trade unionist of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, Gompers promoted collective bargaining to
secure shorter hours and higher wages. He promoted harmony among the different
craft unions that comprised the AFL.
Today, the federation, known as the
AFL-CIO, continues to be one of the most powerful labor organizations in the
country. In commemoration of this leader, nearly 40 different labor unions
worked together over several years to commission this monument. It became
possible after a major donation from the Edward M. Marx Foundation. The
life-sized statue, with a sculpted box of cigars at the base, was unveiled
during a ceremony on Labor Day, 2007.
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