George Meany - Merger of The AFL and The CIO

Merger of The AFL and The CIO

Meany's "first official act" after becoming head of the AFL in 1952 was to put forward a proposal to merge with the CIO.

Meany took firm control of the AFL immediately upon being elected president, but it took a bit longer for Walter Reuther to solidify his control of the CIO. Reuther was a willing partner in the merger negotiations. It took Meany three years to negotiate the merger, and he had to overcome significant opposition. John L. Lewis of the United Mine Workers called the merger a "rope of sand", and his union refused to join the AFL-CIO. Jimmy Hoffa, then second in command of the Teamster's Union, protested, "What's in it for us? Nothing!", but the Teamsters went along with the merger initially.

Meany's efforts came to fruition in December, 1955 with a joint convention in New York City that merged the two federations, creating the AFL-CIO. The new federation had 15 million members, while two million U.S. workers were members of unions outside the AFL-CIO.