User:Isamadris/be bold

Origin The forerunner of the IAM was the Machinists and Blacksmiths' Union,founded in 1859; this organization collapsed shortly after the Panic of 1873. In 1888, Thomas W. Talbott, an Atlanta railroad machinist, revived the union and dubbed it the IAM. The immediate object of the IAM was to raise wages, and its membership like that of many top-tier craft unions was restricted to white males. IN 1895, the IAM joined the American Federation of Labor two years after AFL president Samuel Gompers urged the IAM to drop its whites- only policy.

1920's IAM grew rapidly in the early 20th century. In 1911, the IAM to allow unskilled machinists as well as female workers. Women had been accepted into the IAM membership. By 1915, many of its members had won an eight- hour workday, and by 1918 the IAM had more than 331,000 members making it the largest union in the nation.