John A. Flett

Flett, John A.

John A. Flett, carpenter, trade-union organizer (b at Hamilton 1860; d there 19 Mar 1941). Flett began a long, distinguished labour career in his local carpenters' union. By the end of the 1890s, he had filled several important posts in the Hamilton labour movement and was emerging as a leader within the fledgling TRADES AND LABOR CONGRESS OF CANADA, where he was an early and outspoken advocate of independent political action for labour. In 1900 the American Federation of Labor chose him as its Canadian organizer, and Flett travelled across the country adding new recruits. At its 1902 convention, the TLC decided to consolidate international unionism in Canada by expelling any "dual unions" competing in the same field with AFL affiliates. That meeting also confirmed its commitment to the continental connection by choosing Flett as its president. He remained AFL organizer for Canada until 1925.