Karl Malcolm Ferdinand Laurrell (1844-1922) was a Swedish labor organizer and Marxist who was exiled from Sweden and eventually emigrated to the United States.[1][2] He was the secretary of the Scandinavian branch of the International Workingmen's Association and was also involved in union activities in New York City. He was an influential figure for Samuel Gompers, who he took under his wing and mentored. He urged Gompers to put his faith in the organized economic movement of trade unionism rather than the socialist political movement. While he encouraged Gompers to attend socialist meetings he discouraged him from joining. Laurrell represented cigar makers.[3]
References
edit- ^ Salvatore, Nick (15 May 1982). Eugene V. Debs: Citizen and Socialist. University of Illinois Press. p. 68 – via Internet Archive.
Karl Laurrell.
- ^ "Samuel Gompers Papers". www.gompers.umd.edu.
- ^ Kersten, Andrew E. (1 March 2009). Labor's Home Front: The American Federation of Labor During World War II. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814748244 – via Google Books.