Samuel Gompers: Father of fair labor
So much of America's fair labor is due to the work of Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor and first president of the organization until his death in 1924.
As many important figures who are not necessarily covered in American history books are featured around Washington, D.C., Gompers' memorial is prominently displayed at 11th and Massachusetts, remembering his work to develop contracts, higher wages, shorter hours and collective bargaining for the American laborer.
The bronze memorial was created by sculptor Robert Aitken and installed in Gompers Memorial Park in 1933, named for Gompers as well. His friend and president, Franklin Roosevelt, made a dedication speech. The memorial shows a 16-foot Gompers sitting straight up, with allegorical figures behind him reading and shaking hands, symbolizing education, cooperation, justice and unity.
The inscription on one side reads “Say to the organized workers of America that as I have kept the faith I expect that they will keep the faith. They must carry on, say to them that a union [man] carrying a card is not a good citizen unless he upholds the institutions of our country and a poor citizen [of] our country if he upholds the institutions of our country and forgets the obligations of his trade association.”
Gompers was British-born but moved to the United States in his early teens where he helped his father make cigars. He joined the Cigarmakers' Union where he subsequently became president, while founding the AFL. His goal was create a working way of life for Americans, an “American” standard of life, that allowed people to live, dress and eat better, while earning money to educate their children.
Gompers' memorial is a pleasant stop along the walk through a mostly office building section of town, though some homeless like to frequent the park and sleep on the bench behind the memorial. At one point in history, homeless people discovered that the pedestal was hollow and would find shelter under it. The memorial's location across the street from the libertarian think-tank Cato Institute makes for a funny sense of how Washington operates.
Posted by Rin-rin Yu
