Organized labor has played an important and dynamic role in the history of Indianapolis.

At one time the city served as headquarters for at least 12 international unions as well as the center of operations for such legendary labor leaders as Samuel Gompers, Eugene V. Debs and John L. Lewis.

Today, only the Journeymen Barbers International Union retains its headquarters here, as other unions have chosen to move their operations to Washington, D.C.

But the city remains a center of labor union activity, with an estimated 85,000 union members in the city and county, according to Bernard M. Hanley, president of the Marion County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council.

The city also is headquarters for the Indiana State AFL-CIO.

The first known labor organization in the city was in June, 1850, when a group of craftsmen formed the Mechanics Mutual Protections.

This pioneer group, which held a parade and convention in Indianapolis at that time, organized to win increased wages, better educational opportunities and provide security for families of members unable to work because of illness.

The oldest of all existing unions, the International Typographical Union, which was organized in New York City on December 2, 1850, maintained its headquarters here for many years.

By the mid-1970s, Indianapolis was headquarters for the Knights of Labor, and many other unions maintained strong local organizations in the city.

At this time the unions were organized by craft and were fiercely independent.

Unions were campaigning for eight-hour days, sick benefits and increased pay.

Strikes were frequent in the city during the post-Civil War period, but union organizations lacked financial and political muscle, with the result that most walkout efforts ended in defeat for the unions.

Railroad strikes in particular created turmoil during this period, especially in 1877 when a rail strike virtually paralyzed the state's transportation system.

Indianapolis unions formed the Central Labor Council in 1880.

By the 1890s there were more than 50 union organizations in Indianapolis.

Eugene V. Debs of Terre Haute spent much time in Indianapolis in his efforts to lead the first industry-wide union, in its battle against rail management.

Debs' movement finally collapsed and he served a jail term. After his release from prison, he became a socialist and in 1900 was nominated for president by the Socialist Party of America, which was holding its first convention in the city.

The Indiana Federation of Labor was formed in 1903. It was an outgrowth of the formation by 77 unions of the Indiana Federation of Trade and Labor Unions 18 years earlier.

By the early 1900s, Indianapolis' central location and superb rail connections made the city "the labor capital of America."

Samuel Gompers maintained offices in Indianapolis in his early days as president of the American Federation of Labor.

The United Mine Workers' international headquarters were established in the Merchants Bank Building by John L. Lewis.

Serving with Lewis in the mine workers was William Green, who would later become president of the AFL and would battle Lewis for control of the labor movement during the turbulent 1930s.

Other unions which maintained headquarters in Indianapolis at one time were the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, the Laundry Workers International Union, the Journeymen Stonecutters Association of North America, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the International Brotherhood of Bookbinders and the Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers International Union of America.

All these groups were affiliated with the AFL when they maintained headquarters in the city.

Beginning in 1917, Indianapolis was the scene of the so-called Hapgood experiment, a pioneer venture in turning over ownership and control of a company to its employees.

In that year, William P. Hapgood, Norman Hapgood and Hutchins Hapgood inherited the Columbia Conserve Company, 1800 Churchman Avenue, from their father, Charles Hapgood.

William Hapgood, who served as president of the plant which produced canned foods, said:

"We won't have a satisfactory social condition in the country until business becomes democratic with industry of the worker, by the worker and for the worker."

Shortly after they inherited the plant, William Hapgood, who had been in charge of the factory since 1910, won permission of his brothers to launch an employee ownership program.

Employees were encouraged to participate in management of the business and by 1925 the Hapgoods had signed a contract with their employees under which surplus profits went to the workers. The workers used the surplus profits to purchase common stock in the firm.

The workers gained control of the company in 1930, when William Hapgood voluntarily turned over 51 per cent of the company's stock to 150 employees.

By 1937 the workers had control of 63 per cent of the company's stock and were voting annually for the board of directors.

All of the stock was held collectively by elected trustees and salaries were raised or lowered with company earnings. Workers received sick pay and free medical care, as well as special family allowances.

Eventually, however, the experiment failed as the workers struck their own company for higher wages. In 1943 workers filed a successful suit which led to dissolution of the employee ownership plan.

In 1953 the firm was sold to John Sexton & Co., which still operates the Churchman Avenue plant.

Many provisions of the Hapgood experiment have been copied successfully by other companies, and the experiment is still a topic of study for labor specialists.