Its mission was to assist trade unions in foreign countries, especially to help them remain independent of Communist influence.
"[3] The leadership of the AFL anticipated that Communists in each European country would have the backing of the Russian state and its propaganda in their efforts to dominate each nation's labor movement.
The Americans thought Eastern Europe was probably lost to their movement, but many others needed their assistance, including Greece, Italy, and Turkey.
[4] Initially their organizational counterpart was the World Federation of Trade Unions, which the AFL's rival, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), joined and which, it later transpired, the Soviets financed.
[6] The FTUC helped fund the Force Ouvrière in France in opposition to the Communist-controlled labor confederation in 1948.