WCFL: The Voice of Labor and Its Role in Union Ownership of Broadcast Media

Abstract

In the 1920s, the invention and introduction of the radio proved to be one of the most effective tools of communication ever developed. It was direct, personal, and extremely timely. Many business organizations, groups, as well as many individuals, found radio to be an important tool to advertise products, influence public opinion, and help gain political advantage. One interested group that considered radio an effective method of promoting its goals and agenda early on was American Labor. In one specific case, while radio had its acknowledged advantages, a significant debate raged between the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and its affiliated unions in Chicago as to the value of media ownership. To some, the city of Chicago and the Midwest was and is one of the strongest labor markets in the country. As a result, a power struggle for the best way to influence the citizens of the area was waged between the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) and the AFL. This is a study that acknowledges that debate and the outcome would have significant implications for labor in the Chicago market as well as for America for over a century.