The CNT (National Confederation of Labour) was the most important trade union in Catalonia for half a century. It drew on the traditions of 19th-century Catalan syndicalism and incorporated the modern European revolutionary structure. In 1918, its congress in Sants organised the unions by manufacturing sector. The CNT became a mass movement and Salvador Seguí, known as the Noi del Sucre, its most influential leader. The strike at La Canadenca and the interest in the Russian Revolution radicalised positions. A number of employers made attempts on the lives of working class leaders, to which the syndicalists responded with violence.