A merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations took place in 1955, and the new organization became known as the AFL-CIO. Prior to the merger of the two big unions each had a political committee. They were the Political Action Committee (PAC) of the C.I.O., and the Labor League for Political Education (LLPE) as the A.F.L. counterpart. These papers relate to the Committee on Political Education (COPE), formed after the merger.
The purpose of COPE is to state the position of Labor on political issues, to analyze the records and qualifications of candidates from the stand-point of Labor, and to get out the vote.
