In 1938, the AFL ejected the eight member unions of the CIO, including the ITU. At the 1938, ITU convention at Birmingham, Alabama, President Claude M. Baker disclosed to the delegates the decision of the AFL. Three unions returned to the AFL. On May 21, 1941, the ITU turned down reaffiliation with the AFL by referendum vote of the ITU members. In 1944, the ITU reaffiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The AFL promised the ITU full autonomy. ITU President Woodruff Randolph and AFL President William Green re-established and re-affirmed the ITU-AFL relationship, as if no breach had taken place. The five remaining unions subsequently formed the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The CIO rejoined the AFL in 1955, forming the new entity known as the AFL–CIO. AFL–CIO President George Meany and his successors would have a cool relationship with all ITU presidents from Randolph to Bingle. ITU President Joe Bingle asked AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland to speak at the 1983 San Francisco ITU Convention; Kirkland declined.