Samuel Gompers whose American Federation of Labor worked to promote harmony among the different unions at the time and to establish the concept of collective bargaining in order to insure shorter working hours, higher wages and better working conditions. He was president of the AF of L from 1886-1894 and resumed from 1895 until his death in 1924.

Here is a clip of him speaking with regards to our war effort in 1918, where labor was heavily relied on to supply arms and supplies to the military.

So while we're watching the situation in Wisconsin, have a listen to the guy who got the modern labor movement rolling.