A.F. OF L. 42 BUTTONS FROM TED WATTS COLLECTION INCL. GOMPERS, EARLY TEAMSTERS, DUES, ETC.
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Item Description
Sizes are .75" to 1-3/8". All cello except litho are row 1 #4, row 2 #1-2, all in row 7 plus two in row 8. Last three in row 8 are damaged with all others VF to Mint. Row 1 #1 is rare World War I button naming American Alliance For Labor And Democracy. Group was established Sept. 1917 by initiative of AFL to build worker support for the war. Long time AFL President Samuel Gompers (see next two memorial items c. 1924) was incensed by the 1917 Socialist Party national convention that passed a resolution calling Wilson's war entry decision "a crime against the people of the United States and against the nations of the world". The organization named on this button was to provide "intellectual guidance" to working class Americans potentially influenced by the Socialists' anti-militaristic pronouncements. Light stain lower left. First we've seen. Fourth is for Gomper's successor Wm. Green. Fifth is heavy brass pin-back naming A F Of L but also with teamsters logo and name Team Drivers International Union. Some tarnish on left. Reverse names Detroit Rubber Stamp. Seems quite early. Most of the others are monthly dues buttons for a wide variety of industries. They span early 1900s up to 1960s with most from 1930s-1940s. Ted Watts Collection.
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