AFL-CIO

[ey-ef-el--see-ahy-oh]

abbreviation

1. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations: a federation of trade unions formed in 1955 by merger.

AFL-CIO

abbreviation

1. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations: a federation of independent American trade unions formed by the union of these two groups in 1955

AFL-CIO

1. Abbreviation for the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations, two groups that merged in 1955 to become the largest federation of labor unions in the United States. Member unions, including a variety of workers from machinists to musicians, make up over seventy percent of the unionized labor force in the United States.

Though officially nonpartisan, the AFL-CIO has strong traditional ties with the Democratic party.