Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) began his union career in the Cigarmakers International Union (CMIU). Growing up in impoverished cigarmakers tenement buildings, first in London and then in New York, caused Gompers to lean towards socialism in his early years. Later in life, however, Gompers rejected his radial politics in favor of high-benefit business unionism for skilled workers. He advocated unions which responded to the issues of benefits and wages rather than social issues. He opposed the industrial unionism of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), which attempted to organize all labor regardless of skill, gender, or race. Gompers helped found the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and was president nearly continuously from 1886-1924. Gompers developed a strategy of labor-management cooperation rather than militant confrontation. He is considered to be the father of modern �business unionism.�