The Free Federation of Workers (, FLT) was a union federation in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1899 and initially led by

Santiago Iglesias Pantín Santiago Iglesias Pantín (February 22, 1872 – December 5, 1939), was a Spanish-born Puerto Rican socialist and trade union activist. Iglesias is best remembered as a leading supporter of statehood for Puerto Rico, and as the Resident Commis ...

. Its political arm became the Socialist Party, founded in 1915. It affiliated with the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...

in October 1901, and it grew increasingly close to the AFL's conservative approach to unionism. This led to the creation of the rival General Confederation of Workers (CGT) in the 1930s. The FLT and CGT later merged and formed the basis of the Puerto Rico Federation of Labor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Free Federation Of Workers Political history of Puerto Rico 1899 establishments in Puerto Rico National federations of trade unions Trade unions in Puerto Rico Trade unions established in 1899