Texas State Federation of Labor

[1] After several attempts to form a statewide labor organization had foundered, a convention was called at Cleburne, Texas by the Clebourne Trades Council on January 15, 1900.

[3] In 1903 the railroad brotherhoods agreed to join with the State Federation and formed the Joint Labor Legislative board of Texas.

However, the Federation soon decided to make the conventions annual and to expand the basis for delegates.

This system of representation would remain unchanged into the early 1940s, except for the addition of three delegates from each union label league.

[8] By the mid 1950s, union membership in Texas stood at about 375,000 or 17% of the non-agricultural working population.