At the age of thirteen he went to New York City, where in the
following year he joined the first cigar-makers' union organized
in that city. He enlisted all his boyish ardor in the cause of
the trade union and, after he arrived at maturity, was elected
successively secretary and president of his union. The local
unions were, at that time, gingerly feeling their way towards
state and national organization, and in these early attempts
young Gompers was active. In 1887, he was one of the delegates to
a national meeting which constituted the nucleus of what is now
the Cigar-makers' International Union.
The local cigar-makers' union in which Gompers received his
necessary preliminary training was one of the most enlightened
and compactly organized groups of American labor. It was one of
the first American Unions to adopt in an efficient manner the
British system of benefits in the case of sickness, death, or
unemployment. It is one of the few American unions that
persistently encourages skill in its craft and intelligence in
its membership. It has been a pioneer in collective bargaining
and in arbitration. It has been conservatively and yet
enthusiastically led and has generally succeeded in enlisting the
respect and cooperation of employers. This union has been the
kindergarten and preparatory school of Samuel Gompers, who,
during all the years of his wide activities as the head of the
Federation of Labor, has retained his membership in his old local
and has acted as first vice-president of the Cigar-makers'
International.
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