"The National Labor Union"

The Colored National Labor Union (CNLU) was a stillborn attempt to create a central body to coordinate the activities of African American unions between 1869 & 1871.
The years immediately following the Civil War were uncertain ones for organized labor and the African American community.A series of labor congresses convened to explore the possibilities of trades union federation and to discuss broader issues of political and social reform.In 1866,seventy-seven white delegates gathered in Baltimore,Maryland,to announce the formation of the National Labor Union (NLU).The NLU styled itself an umbrella organization received one delegate for every five hundred members,and annual congresses were held to determine common goals.An executive board coordinated policy during the remainder of the year. John C.Whalley,a government office proofreader,was the NLU's first president,though the organization was largely the brainchild of William Sylvis,an iron molder.
The NLU's agenda was typical of mid-nineteeth century political reform groups.It combined vague rhetoric with calls for land reform,an end to convict labor,the substitution of mandatory arbitration for strikes,and the establishment of cooperative industries and distribution networks.The NLU advocated a reduction of work hours, as seven of its delegates hailed from the various eight-hour legues that had emerged throughout the country.From the beginning,NLU delegates spilt over two important questions:organizing African American workers and politics.Andrew Cameron,the editor of the Workingman's Advocate,recommended organizing African American workers.Both John & William concurred.Althrough the latter opposed Radical Reconstruction and had little personal sympathy for African Americans,he feared that African American workers would be employed as strikebreakers if the NLU turned its back. Acommitee was appointed to study the issue. In addition,NLU delegates debated politics,with a large faction favoring the creation of a labor party.These disputes had profound effects on African American workers.