How were the concept of job standards and work rules important to the vision of the American Federation of Labor?

The AFL was a federation of skilled crafts unions. As such, their primary constituency was skilled craftsmen. They were concerned with protecting both the work and quality of the skilled crafts that were being threatened by mass production techniques. Thus the AFL established and maintained job standards through work rules that governed apprenticeship standards, which tasks should be done by union members and which should be done by unskilled workers, how work would be allocated. By refusing to work unless their conditions were met, skilled workers represented by the AFL could exert power over employers and win gains at the bargaining table. In addition, the AFL felt that the exercise of autonomy and control by union members was essential in preparing them to be active participants in a democratic society and a force that could balance the power of big business.