Final answer:
The American Federation of Labor (AFL), led by Samuel Gompers, was focused on organizing skilled workers in craft unions for economic gains, primarily through collective bargaining and strikes, and remained largely apolitical.
Step-by-step explanation:
The American Federation of Labor's Organizational Focus
The American Federation of Labor (AFL), under the leadership of Samuel Gompers, focused on organizing skilled workers into craft unions to achieve economic gains such as increased wages and shorter work weeks. The AFL's approach was to use collective bargaining and strikes to reach its goals, and it avoided political action unless it directly affected working conditions.
Unlike other labor movements of the time that sought to include a broad range of workers, the AFL mainly represented skilled laborers, and it used tactics like supporting a closed shop to maintain its bargaining power. By 1914, the AFL grew significantly, with over 2 million members but still excluded a large portion of the industrial workforce.