Efforts were made during World War I to organize at the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, which saw business boom during the war; a union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor was formed by a small number of machinists there. The war was also good for business at the Rath Packing Company and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butchers, another AF of L association, attempted to build a union, although little came of their efforts.

    The era of the First World War was one of considerable tension and unrest in labor-management relations throughout the nation. To foster greater cooperation between the two groups, the National War Labor Board was established in April 1918. This organization, in principle at least, accepted unionization and supported such issues as the eight-hour workday, and allowed labor to assist the government and the business community in shaping wartime policies. The end of the war meant that the federal government would no longer fight for the recognition of labor unions, as it had through the War Labor Board. At the same time, organized labor was blamed for skyrocketing living expenses, and much of the public feared the rise of labor and political radicalism. Further contributing to the lack of support for the local labor movement was the fact that both the Rath plant and the tractor plant, now owned by John Deere and Company, hired farm workers during the winter months and these temporary employees, in general, did not share the concerns of year-round workers. The small union that had been founded during the war at the tractor plant did not survive this lack of support.