Difference between revisions of "Industrial Workers of the World"
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| − | The '''Industrial Workers of the World''' (IWW), nicknamed the "Wobblies" was a far-left violent [[labor union]] in the United States and | + | The '''Industrial Workers of the World''' (IWW), nicknamed the "Wobblies" was a far-left violent [[labor union]] in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1905 by William ("Big Bill") Haywood. Its goals were to create "one big union" and destroy capitalism. It practiced dual unionism, which undercut the established unions like the [[AFL]] unions. They in turn worked to destroy the IWW. |
| − | The IWW never had a large following, making its greatest impact | + | The IWW never had a large following, making its greatest impact when it seized control of a large textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912. The AFL unions greatly outnumbered the small IWW contingent in Lawrence, but dramatic actions gave momentum to the IWW, much to the disgust of regular unionists. John Golden, president of the A.F.L. United Textile Workers denounced the IWW action as "revolutionary" and "anarchistic" but failed to wrest the leadership of the strike away from the I.W.W. A.F.L. President [[Samuel Gompers]] denounced the strike as a "class conscious industrial revolution ... a passing event that is not intended to be an organization for the protection of the immediate rights or promotion of the near future interests of the workers." Radical historians have celebrated the strike. When the state government sent in the militia, the IWW sent in its top firebrands, Bill Haywood, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, and Carlo Tresca, an Italian anarchist. Finally the strike was a success, and the workers won a small pay increase. IWW membership swelled to 10,000, but the union proved unable to bargain on a routine basis for its members, and membership fell to 400 radicals. |
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| + | The IWW lost its next big strike, in Patterson New Jersey in 1916. | ||
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| + | It was strongest among miners and lumberjacks in the far west. In World War I it tried to sabotage the war effort. All leading Wobblies were arrested by the [[Woodrow Wilson|Wilson Administration]] under the [[Sedition Act of 1918]] and went to prison. The union collapsed, but a tiny remnant still exists. | ||
[[Image:Iww-kill.JPG|thumb|350px|this 1912 IWW cartoon calls for murdering the capitalists]] | [[Image:Iww-kill.JPG|thumb|350px|this 1912 IWW cartoon calls for murdering the capitalists]] | ||
Revision as of 10:14, May 30, 2009
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), nicknamed the "Wobblies" was a far-left violent labor union in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1905 by William ("Big Bill") Haywood. Its goals were to create "one big union" and destroy capitalism. It practiced dual unionism, which undercut the established unions like the AFL unions. They in turn worked to destroy the IWW.
The IWW never had a large following, making its greatest impact when it seized control of a large textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912. The AFL unions greatly outnumbered the small IWW contingent in Lawrence, but dramatic actions gave momentum to the IWW, much to the disgust of regular unionists. John Golden, president of the A.F.L. United Textile Workers denounced the IWW action as "revolutionary" and "anarchistic" but failed to wrest the leadership of the strike away from the I.W.W. A.F.L. President Samuel Gompers denounced the strike as a "class conscious industrial revolution ... a passing event that is not intended to be an organization for the protection of the immediate rights or promotion of the near future interests of the workers." Radical historians have celebrated the strike. When the state government sent in the militia, the IWW sent in its top firebrands, Bill Haywood, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, and Carlo Tresca, an Italian anarchist. Finally the strike was a success, and the workers won a small pay increase. IWW membership swelled to 10,000, but the union proved unable to bargain on a routine basis for its members, and membership fell to 400 radicals.
The IWW lost its next big strike, in Patterson New Jersey in 1916.
It was strongest among miners and lumberjacks in the far west. In World War I it tried to sabotage the war effort. All leading Wobblies were arrested by the Wilson Administration under the Sedition Act of 1918 and went to prison. The union collapsed, but a tiny remnant still exists.
The IWW remains an icon of the far left, who admire its bitter, often violent opposition to capitalism and its rejection of American ideals.
Further reading
- Dubofsky, Melvyn. We Shall Be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World (abridged ed. 2000) excerpt and text search
