TUUL unions aimed to organize semi-skilled and unskilled workers, many whom had been expelled from the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
[6] Despite his lifelong enmity towards dual unionism, Foster remained at the helm of the TUEL organization when it changed its name and tactics at its 1929 convention.
The TUUL emerged out the Trade Union Education League (TUEL), which was founded by William Zebulon Foster in 1920.
[11] This period in the Party's history has been called its "hey day" and is notable for Communists' unyielding antagonism to more moderate organizers, who were branded "social fascists."
TUUL activists attempted to organize some of the most marginal populations of the working class, such as the unemployed, women, and Blacks in the racially segregated American South.
[18] The passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) in 1933 led to increase in strike activity by the AFL and TUUL unions.
[19] With the enactment of the NIRA and the inclusion of Clause 7(a), which provided many private-sector workers with a federally protected right to organize, union membership in the United States increased considerably.
[24] This was largely because the National Industrial Recovery Act promoted the regulation of prices, wages, and production through a tripartite relationship of labor, capital, and the state.
"[26] Furthermore, the CPUSA viewed the NIRA as an attempt by the state, capital, and AFL leaders to deter militancy within labor unions.
The TUUL provided guidance and resources to those on strike and it sought to recruit members to affiliated unions.
[32] These successes, however, did not necessarily lead to a long-term membership increases or organizational stability for the TUUL's unions.
[35] With the establishment of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the end of Third Period Communism in 1935, American communist leader, William Z.