COLUMBUS, Ohio — The American Federation of Labor, also known as the AFL is the largest labor federation in the country. It started over 130 years ago in Columbus.

“There would be no labor movement if it wasn't for the labor movement in Ohio and the historical things that have happened here in Ohio,” said President of the Ohio AFL-CIO Tim Burga. 

What You Need To Know

  • The largest labor federation in the U.S., the American Federation of Labor (AFL),  started in Columbus in 1886

  • In 1958, the AFL-CIO started in Cleveland

  • President of the Ohio AFL-CIO Tim Burga has been president for 13 years and says his passion for labor unions stems from his family 

“In 1886, The American Federation of Labor was founded by a group of union leaders that came into Columbus, Ohio, on the corner of Fourth and Town Street where the Holiday Inn is — that now there is a marker there, but that's where the American Federation of Labor was formed,” said Burga. 

The AFL didn’t become the AFL-CIO until 1956. The CIO is a committee of industrial unions and stands for the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Then in 1958, the Ohio AFL-CIO was established in Cleveland. Burga has been president for 13 years. He shared his passion for labor unions stems from his family. 

“I'm a product of organized labor. And it was organized labor that built America, frankly, and created the middle class,” said Burga. 

According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10% of workers in the U.S. are members of a union. Columbus City Council President pro tem Rob Dorans is passionate about the impact labor unions can have for he is a third generation union member himself. As the champion of the first Labor Day celebration in the City of Columbus, he knows first-hand how impactful unions can be. 

“I was born on a Saturday and my dad was on strike on Monday over health care benefits. So while the first days of my life were pretty defined by the struggle between workers and unions and employers, and ultimately that strike settled to help make sure that health care benefits weren't cut. And that was something that goes back to the first days, literally, of my life,” said Dorans.