Which labor organization was founded to unite workers across trades, often advocating broader reforms?

• A. Knights of Labor
• B. AFL
• C. IWW
• D. War Industries Board

Answer: (A)

The key idea is uniting workers from different trades under one banner and pushing broad social and economic reforms. The Knights of Labor epitomized this approach. Founded in 1869, it marketed itself as an inclusive union that welcomed skilled and unskilled workers, women, and, at times, African Americans, all under one umbrella. Its goals went beyond bargaining for higher wages to sweeping reforms like the eight-hour workday, the abolition of child labor, equal pay for women, and broad social reforms that could transform the economy and society. This cross-trades, reform-minded vision set it apart from later craft-focused or more radical unions.

By contrast, the American Federation of Labor concentrated on organizing skilled workers within specific trades and focused on practical workplace gains through craft unions, rather than broad social reform. The Industrial Workers of the World pursued a more radical, across-industry unionism but emerged later and operated with a different, oftentimes confrontational emphasis. The War Industries Board was a government agency during World War I, not a labor organization.

So, the Knights of Labor best fits the idea of uniting workers across trades and advocating broader reforms.