LABOR: Long Way from Pittsburgh

In Pittsburgh 73 years ago, the men who began the American Federation of Labor were imbued with a doctrine of class warfare that rings tinnily in the preamble to its constitution: "A struggle is going on in all the nations of the civilized world between the oppressors and the oppressed of all countries, a struggle between the capitalist and the laborer, which grows in intensity from year to year."

In Washington last week, 20 A.F.L. and C.I.O. leaders, who plan to merge forces at a joint convention next December, agreed on a new constitution (but not a new name). The constitution takes a strong stand against racial discrimination, provides powers to expel any corrupt or Communist-dominated affiliate. The greatest change, however, came in the preamble.

Instead of echoing the Marxist manifesto, the new preamble proclaims allegiance to "our way of life and the fundamental freedoms which are the basis of our democratic society." The words "struggle." "oppressed." "capitalist" and "laborer" are not even mentioned in the document.