Trade Union Unity League

For other uses, see Tuul River.
Trade Union Unity League
AbbreviationTUUL
FoundersWilliam Z. Foster
Founded1929; 95 years ago (1929)
Dissolved1935; 89 years ago (1935)
Preceded byTrade Union Educational League
IdeologyDual unionism
Political positionFar-left
International affiliationProfintern
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The Trade Union Unity League (TUUL) was an industrial union umbrella organization under the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) between 1929 and 1935. The group was an American affiliate of the Red International of Labor Unions. The formation of the TUUL was the result of the Communist International's Third Period policy, which ordered affiliated Communist Parties to pursue a strategy of dual unionism and thus abandon attempts at "bore from within" existing trade unions. TUUL unions aimed to organize semi-skilled and unskilled workers, many whom had been expelled from the American Federation of Labor (AFL).[1] According to the TUUL, the AFL was "an instrument of the capitalists for the exploitation of the workers."[2] Thus, the TUUL was formed as an organization in opposition to the AFL."[3]

  1. ^ Johanningsmeier, Edward P. "1.The Trade Union Unity League: American Communists and the Transition to Industrial Unionism: 1928-1934." 162.
  2. ^ The Trade Union Unity League (American Section of the R.I.L.U.): Its Program, Structure, Methods and History. New York: Trade Union Unity League, n.d. Print. 11.
  3. ^ Chaffee, Porter Myron; Jarrell, Randall; & Reti, Irene. (2004). Porter Chaffee: Labor Organizer and Activist. UC Santa Cruz: Regional History Project. 90.