Augustine McCraith (January 19, 1864 – March 26, 1909) was a Canadian labor unionist. Born on

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, McCraith became a printer and moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He was an

individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism or anarcho-individualism is a collection of anarchist currents that generally emphasize the individual and their will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individuali ...

, who argued that unions should be politically non-partisan. He joined the

International Typographical Union The International Typographical Union (ITU) was a North American trade union for the printing trade of newspapers and other media. It was founded on May 3, 1852, in the United States as the National Typographical Union. It changed its name to the ...

's (ITU) Local 13, serving as president of the local from 1891, and then as its secretary from 1892 until 1895. In 1894, McCraith was a delegate to the ITU's national convention, where he proved popular, and was delegated to attend 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 mutual ...

's (AFL) annual congress. There, he was an outspoken opponent of socialism, and won election as the federation's secretary, which entailed him moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. However, during the

1896 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1896. Former Governor William McKinley, the Republican nominee, defeated former Representative William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic nominee. The 1896 campaign, which took ...

, he objected that

Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 11, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's ...

, president of the AFL, had violated non-partisanship by supporting the Democratic Party. The AFL's executive declared that it retained confidence in Gompers, and McCraith did not re-nominate himself when his term as secretary ended, in 1897. McCraith later became the publisher of the ''Bay Ridge Press'' newspaper. He died in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, in 1909.

References

1864 births 1909 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian trade unionists Individualist anarchists People from Prince Edward Island Secretary-Treasurers of the American Federation of Labor {{trade-unionist-bio-stub