This thesis has explored the need for working class solidarity in collectivities to meet external threats, A collectivity such as the AFL-CIO could use its house organ, The American Federationist, to inspire solidarity among workers through the use of class conscious expressions. The method employed in this study was a content analysis of selected articles for expressions deemed to evoke class solidarity. The hypothesis of the study was that the mean of class conscious expressions would be higher for a high threat period than for a low threat period.The.findings did not support the hypothesis and the literature on labor collectivities was re-examined. Many authors have cited the AFL-CIO for a lack of class consciousness and for behaving simply as an interest group in response to threats. The-findings of the study are consistent with these citations. The AFL-CIO appears in summary, as an interest group with a status quo orientation.