The 'Wobblies' (an affectionate name for IWW members) is a long standing social movement (since 1905) that is premised around revolutionary union andclass struggle. The aim of the IWW is to create a one big union (OBU) thatwould serve the interests of the laboring classes everywhere. It is one ofthe few labor movements that is active in North America.
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn*
James Connolly*
Eugene V Debs*
Rudolf Rocker*
Michael Bakunin
Sam Dolgoff*
William Meyers*
Anarchism
Anarcho-syndicalism
Anti-capitalism
Anti-globalization
Direct action
Blocking movement
Protest
Picket*
Revolution
Workplace sabotage
website: www.iww.org (usa/international) www.iww.ca (canada)
email: www@iww.org (USA) pmoore@iww.ca (canada)
telephone: (415) 863-9627 (usa)
snail mail: P.O. Box 13476, Philadelphia, PA 19101, USA
The core of its activities takes place in the US (with General Headquarters in Philadelphia), Australia, British Isles, and Canada. Active branches canalso be found in Germany, Italy, Ireland, Poland, and South Africa.
1905 to Present
The IWW has a long and rich
history. Its birth is attributed to American and Canadian workers who became
“keenly aware that craft unions could not deal with the new threat of
monopoly capitalism” (Leier 1987:1). In 1904, a meeting of six unionists
in Chicago, dissatisfied with the American Federation of Labour (AFL), resulted
in the call for a conference. In 1905, a conference was held where the Industrial
Union Manifesto was issued. The manifesto attracted more than 200 delegates,
who met the same year at the
Continental Congress of the Working Class where the IWW was launched. In their
own words, the IWW maintains that “[t]he present capitalist system is
its [IWW’s] father and the labour movement of the past generations its
mother” (Industrial Workers of the World 1937:33). More specifically,
Wobblies sprung into action because they believed that the interests of labor
and capital are fundamentally opposed and that the changing nature of capitalism
necessitated a change in union organization. With the centering of management,
trade unions were, in their eyes, left “unable to cope with the ever growing
power of the employing class” (Leier 1999:12). In fact, Wobblies believed
that trade unions help maintain the system of capitalist exploitation. The IWW
constituted an attempt to break with the fragmented organization of workers
by trade, in favour of a broader organization of workers by industry. Only such
an organization, it was argued, could combine
the struggle for better working conditions with the struggle for the revolutionary
transformation of capitalist society.
The IWW is a union unlike
any other. It is a grassroots, democratic and militant union that seeks to organise
ALL workers in ALL industries in ALL countries into 'One Big Union'. Unlike
many of the TUC unions, the IWW has no stifling bureaucracy with fat cat salaries
that'll do a deal with the boss behind the membership's back and stitch them
up. The IWW wishes to unite workers along industrial lines in order that they
will not be kept divided and competing with each other in their different trades.
The IWW cannot sell you
out because its leadership is its rank and file -
its members make the decisions and have the final say. The IWW won't try to
flog you life assurance or credit cards, but will offer expert advice on
labour law and practical help when you experience any work related hassle
whether 'large' or 'small’.
We believe in helping workers to help themselves through collective
organisation, not in selling services or forming partnerships with
employers. In short the IWW will offer SOLIDARITY, DIRECT ACTION and the
WILL TO WIN - things the TUC (to put it mildly) seem to lack!
available at: http://www.iww.org.uk/info/whoweare.html
Strike/ General strike
Revolution
Sabotage
Direct action
Education
Construction of alternatives
The IWW advocates a myriad
of means. Its emphasis on direct action includes
using the power and knowledge which is already available to workers. This is
largely open-ended and may involve slowing down, working shorter hours,
striking and picketing. The IWW has historically also advocated sabotage,
but it was always careful to distance it from Luddite-like property
destruction (today the IWW claims to have no official position on sabotage).
Its educational campaigns are aimed to advance the class consciousness of
its members and to pave the way towards a general strike that would allow
for the construction of industrial democracy.
Although the IWW presents
itself as ‘non-political’, and has in the past
argued that “[t]he ideals of the I.W.W. are not the ideals of theory,
but of
tendencies” (Industrial Workers of the World 1937:107), it is possible
to
ascertain, to some extent, its ideological and theoretical positions.
The IWW maintains that industrial democracy, for which it strives, requires
that workers’ are able to control their workplaces, but that such control
could not be achieved by the support of a political candidate or party.
‘Political affiliations’, are, in fact, undesirable because they
divide
workers and obscure the fact that the modern state (including the socialist
state) is fundamentally “pro-capitalist and anti-proletarian” (Industrial
Workers of the World 1937:106). As such, the IWW opposes centralized state
power, arguing instead: “We, who are the source of all power need not
seize
power; that is the strategy of those who would oust our present rulers to
rule us themselves” (Industrial Workers of the World 1934:33).
Furthermore, the IWW maintains that industrial democracy is at odds with
capitalism and can only be achieved by “forming the structure of the new
society within the shell of the old” (Industrial Workers of the World
1934:2). To aid in the “wrest[ing of] every possible concession from
capitalism” and in its eventual abolishment (Industrial Workers of the
World
1934:21), the IWW argues that it itself is an instrument of class war which
is preparing workers “to take over the operation and control of the means
of
production and distribution” (Industrial Workers of the World 1937:43).
Because it desires the diffusion of state power and the abolishment of
economic monopoly, and because it envisions their replacement with
cooperative associations, the IWW can be said to fit well within the
tradition of anarchist thought. More specifically, its affinity for working
class organization and its insistence on building the ‘new world’
through
direct economic action carried out by a rank-and-file movement, situates it
well anarcho-syndicalism. Nevertheless, some scholars express doubt about
the ‘anarchism’ of the IWW. George Woodcock notes, “ the IWW,
which drew so
much of its vigour and its methods from the hard traditions of the American
frontier, was at most a parallel movement to anarchism. It contained too
many Marxist elements ever to be truly libertarian, and its central idea of
the One Big Union was fundamentally opposed to the anarchists’ passionately
held ideals of localism and decentralization” (1986:398).
The wage system and the
state. IWW activities have always targeted
capitalist interests, and their battles for free speech and opposition to
war has in the past placed them at odds with liberal democratic states.
Socialist states are also, however, the ‘enemy’, because they violate
the
principle of free agreement by maintaining hierarchical economic relations
in which a class of bureaucrats replaces the capitalist class.
Internet: websites; email
lists-serve; news email archive; web radio; webvideo.
Print: newspaper “Industrial Worker”; numerous pamphlets, website
includes
an extensive list of books by and on the IWW.
Audio: website includes a list of music CD’s.
Word of Mouth: ‘chin wags’, which are social events for chatting,
games, and
debates
Recent mass media representations
are largely indifferent, but not hostile.
The IWW is mainly mentioned in passing; although, in some instances details
about the union are provided. Thus, The New York Daily News reports:
“Unhappy [Starbucks] workers want to unionize the java joint on Madison
Ave.
and 36th St. If successful, they will be the first baristas from the
ubiquitous chain to unite. They submitted union cards yesterday to the
Industrial Workers of the World IU/660. Within 45 days, workers at that
store will vote whether or not to join.” (May 19, 2004).
Similarly, the CBC notes: “The people commonly known in larger cities
as
squeegee kids have formed a union of sorts in Vancouver to fight what they
consider is unfair prosecution by police… Those who have joined the
Industrial Workers of the World's, Vancouver chapter, don't pay union dues,
and they haven't negotiated a contract with any employer. But they vote for
their leadership and hold workshops about educating members on their
rights.” (Oct 11, 2003).
Can be broken down as follows:
1. Direct action- pickets, strikes, boycotts, and slow downs have been used
extensively.
2. Education and outreach- organizing branches, leafleting, working with
activist groups.
3. Construction of alternatives- community programs.
1. In 1979, Ann Arbor, MI,
IWW IU660 (General Distribution Workers)
organizing begins. They defeat the lockout at Charing Cross Bookstore. They
also strike and win NLRB election at University Cellar Bookstore at
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The new contract includes significant
workers control provisions. More recently, in 1996, Kensington, CA, the IWW
strikes the computer firm Memory USA. The employer gives in to the workers
demands.
2. In 1990, the radical environmentalist group Earth First!, is persuaded
under IWW influence to renounce tree spiking as a tactic to save ancient
forests. Two EF!-IWW locals are established that year.
3. In 1983, Bellingham, WA, the IWW initiates Food for People project to
feed unemployed and underemployed. Program ends when powers that be pressure
landlords into not renting space.
The IWW maintains that it
is wholly independent and that it is not
controlled by or affiliated to any political party or movement.
Nevertheless, at times Wobblies have found it useful to participate in
solidarity with other activist groups. In 1985, Wobblies actively supported
a campaign in Vancouver, BC, initiated by the Organization of Unemployed
Workers to obtain free bus service for people on fixed incomes, and in 1999,
Young IWW members participated in Seattle during protests around the World
Trade Organization conference, where many activist groups were present.
Thus, although not officially affiliated with any particular movement, the
IWW’s commitment to social change results on occasion in cooperation and
solidarity. Its website, for example, promotes numerous links to anti-war
groups, alternative media, and other activist endeavours.
In the past, the IWW has been sympathetic to the Spanish National
Confederation of Labour (CNT). This should not be surprising, as the CNT,
much like the IWW embraced concepts such as workers assemblies, solidarity,
branch autonomy, anti-authoritarianism and revolution. In fact, both the IWW
and the CNT are often regarded as anarcho-syndicalist unions.
Many books and articles
have been written on the IWW. For a complete list of
literature, scholarly and otherwise, that the IWW approves and disapproves
of, see: http://www.iww.org/culture/
The IWW Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ)
http://www.iww.org/culture/official/qanda.shtml
is a good place to start.
As is the One Big Union http://www.iww.org/culture/official/obu/
document. For a detailed treatment of IWW history see:
Brissenden, P. F. (1957).
The IWW: A Study of American Syndicalism. New
York: Russell & Russell.
Brooks, J.G. (1913) American
Syndicalism: The IWW. New York: The Macmillan
Co.
Thompson, F. (1955). The
IWW: Its First Fifty Years. Chicago: IWW.
For a discussion of the
IWW in the context of New Social Movement (NSM)
theory, consult:
Fitzgerald, K. J. & Rodgers, D. M. (2000). Radical Sociological Movement
Organizations: A Theoretical Model. Sociological Quarterly. (pp.573-593).
Berkely: University of California Press.
For a gender analysis of
the IWW, see:
http://www.iww.org/culture/articles/shor1.shtml
For a case study of the IWW, see:
http://www.iww.org/culture/articles/Gaylord1.shtml
US Workers Solidarity Alliance:
http://www.workersolidarity.org/
South African anarcho-syndicalism:
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/africa.html
Japanese anarcho-syndicalist
journal: http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~rruaitjtko/
British Solidarity Federation:
http://www.solfed.org.uk
Irish Worker’s Solidarity
Movement: http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm.html
General anarcho-syndicalist
information: http://www.nucleus.com/~markv/aslinks.html
Rudolf Rocker’s Anarcho-syndicalism:
http://www.spunk.org/library/writers/rocker/sp001495/rocker_as1.html