The 19th-century industrialization of Indiana was accompanied by the emergence of an active and somewhat militant organized labor movement in which workers sought relief from economic distress through political activism. Meeting in 1873, state and local leaders of Indiana’s craft unions began to organize city and state trade assemblies and to unify these unions into one brotherhood to protect workers’ interests. The first citywide body of this kind in the state was the Indianapolis Trades Assembly, formed in July 1880, by representatives of the printers, cigar makers, and iron molders.
Under the presidency of Samuel L. Leffingwell of Typographical Union Local No. 1, the Indianapolis Trades Assembly became the focus for organized craft labor in the city. In 1883, the organization became known as the Indianapolis Central Labor Union (CLU). Within a decade, it represented 83 local labor organizations and nearly 11,000 workers in Indianapolis. By 1894, it had affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Early in its existence, the Central Labor Union amended its constitution to prohibit endorsements of candidates or political parties and to exclude members who were candidates for, or holders of, elected or appointed public office. This provision sought to prevent office seekers from using the union to further their own political careers and platforms.
The union generally refrained from political involvement unless it affected local craft unions. Although serving to unify the city’s diverse local unions, the Central Labor Union did not control individual locals. It did, however, recognize that the most powerful weapon at its command was the boycott. Merchants feared boycotts by organized labor since many firms had been closed and ruined by the use of such tactics. Given its importance in effecting changes in labor policies, no boycott was official without the endorsement of the Central Labor Union. With this proper sanctioning, the boycott became a very powerful tool of local labor organizations.
The Indianapolis Central Labor Union became divided in 1923 when it departed from its stance of noninvolvement in political issues. Confronting the rising power and influence of the in the city and state, by a narrow margin the union approved a resolution that condemned the Klan as “un-American and unconstitutional.” At least three local unions left the organization to protest labor’s position on an issue which they considered not directly related to labor.
Most recently, from 1981 to 2009, Robert “Bob” Voorhies served as president of what was then known as the Central Indiana Labor Council. Among his accomplishments, Robert Voorhies played an instrumental role in the election of 1999 that resulted in Bart Peterson being the first Democrat to take office as mayor of Indianapolis since the passage of .
In 2016, the Central Indiana Labor Council was restructured into a chapter of the newly created Hoosier Heartland Labor Area Labor Federation. There are three chapters currently under the Area Labor Federation umbrella: Central Indiana AFL-CIO, Northeast Indiana AFL-CIO, and Howard/Tipton AFL-CIO. This organization serves as one of three Area Labor Federations in Indiana organized under the Indiana State AFL-CIO whose purpose is to promote labor’s agenda at the local level and to support its member unions. In 2016, the council represented nearly 50 local unions and 55,000 members.
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