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The Industrial Workers of the World: Its First One Hundred Years 1905-2005
Many histories have been written of the Industrial Workers of the World, often called the Wobblies. Founded in 1905 in hopes of uniting the working class into One Big Union, the IWW promoted industrial organization at a time when craft unionism was the established pattern. The IWW welcomed all workers, regardless of ethnicity, race or gender when other unions boasted of their exclusionary policies. Its reliance on direct action on the job generated much of the strategy and tactics of the modern labor movement. Often referred
to as the singing union, Wobblies wrote hundreds of labor songs and published millions of copies of their "Little Red Songbook." The IWW's theme song, "Solidarity Forever," became the anthem of the entire American labor movement.
"The IWW: Its First 100 Years" is the most comprehensive history of the union ever published. Written by two Wobblies who lived through many of the struggles they chronicle, it documents the famous struggles such as the Lawrence and Paterson strikes, the fight for decent conditions in the Pacific Northwest timber fields, the IWW's pioneering organizing among harvest hands in the 1910s and 1920s, and the wartime repression that sent thousands of IWW members to jail. It is the only general history to give substantive attention to the IWW's successful organizing of African-American and immigrant dock workers on the Philadelphia waterfront, the international union of seamen the IWW built from 1913 through the 1930s, smaller job actions through which the IWW, Wobbly successes organizing in manufacturing in the 1930s and 1940s, and the union's recent resurgence. Extensive source notes provide guidance to readers wishing to exploreparticular campaigns in more depth. There is no better history for the reader looking for an overview of the history of the Industrial Workers of the World, and for an understanding of its ideas and tactics. Includes 55 photographs and illustrations.
to as the singing union, Wobblies wrote hundreds of labor songs and published millions of copies of their "Little Red Songbook." The IWW's theme song, "Solidarity Forever," became the anthem of the entire American labor movement.
"The IWW: Its First 100 Years" is the most comprehensive history of the union ever published. Written by two Wobblies who lived through many of the struggles they chronicle, it documents the famous struggles such as the Lawrence and Paterson strikes, the fight for decent conditions in the Pacific Northwest timber fields, the IWW's pioneering organizing among harvest hands in the 1910s and 1920s, and the wartime repression that sent thousands of IWW members to jail. It is the only general history to give substantive attention to the IWW's successful organizing of African-American and immigrant dock workers on the Philadelphia waterfront, the international union of seamen the IWW built from 1913 through the 1930s, smaller job actions through which the IWW, Wobbly successes organizing in manufacturing in the 1930s and 1940s, and the union's recent resurgence. Extensive source notes provide guidance to readers wishing to exploreparticular campaigns in more depth. There is no better history for the reader looking for an overview of the history of the Industrial Workers of the World, and for an understanding of its ideas and tactics. Includes 55 photographs and illustrations.
247 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 13, 2019
A good book to read if you want to read about historical events but a bit of a slog to get through. Very dry.
August 9, 2008
kind of like reading 20,000 leagues under the sea. page after page of "kansas city local 61 set out in earnest in the spring of 1914, aiming at $4 a day, but pushed the going wage only to $3 from a previous $2.50." huh? dude, though it might be beyond the scope of the book, having been partially written in the 50's, give me a contemporary dollar equivalent. shit may as well be ichthyology if you don't give me some more context.
it's heartening to think that a 200 page plus book is filled with more or less the barebones numbers of IWW endevours, but just short of totally awesome to read. it's just that the economy was so different through most of my union's fervent history. though a class conscious union's as needed as ever, those looking to extrapolate tactical know how should look elsewhere.
the last chapter "solidarity unionism" is honestly the most engrossing. the 00's have been way kinder to us wobs than the 90's:
"the 1990's saw a steady stream of IWW organizing drives, most of which continued to follow the model of seeking formal [NLRB] recognition"
"IWW members [since the turn of the century] are increasingly moving beyond single shop organizing, developing industry-wide and regional campaigns that do not rely on union recognition or contracts. ... As the IWW celebrates it's 100th anniversary it is once again an international union"
word.
it's heartening to think that a 200 page plus book is filled with more or less the barebones numbers of IWW endevours, but just short of totally awesome to read. it's just that the economy was so different through most of my union's fervent history. though a class conscious union's as needed as ever, those looking to extrapolate tactical know how should look elsewhere.
the last chapter "solidarity unionism" is honestly the most engrossing. the 00's have been way kinder to us wobs than the 90's:
"the 1990's saw a steady stream of IWW organizing drives, most of which continued to follow the model of seeking formal [NLRB] recognition"
"IWW members [since the turn of the century] are increasingly moving beyond single shop organizing, developing industry-wide and regional campaigns that do not rely on union recognition or contracts. ... As the IWW celebrates it's 100th anniversary it is once again an international union"
word.
April 26, 2013
It has been a long time since I first read this, and I think my politics have developed a bit more. I found the book somewhat conservative - there is a line of thinking that comes in it that says "the IWW isn't a political organization, it is an economic organization, and it is patriotic to the ideals of the United States of America". I think this is an old wobbly line of thinking that saw "politics" as strictly electoralism, and an idea that we have generally outgrown. The whole section on the general strikes in America lead by "workers' Sailors' and Soldiers' Councils' is very glaring in it's conservativism.
It is an interesting look at bits and pieces of the long history of the IWW. I would recomend it to people when they are first getting active, I guess.
It is an interesting look at bits and pieces of the long history of the IWW. I would recomend it to people when they are first getting active, I guess.
September 15, 2011
As a semi-official union history this was always going to have a fairly positive bias, but the authors are thankfully unafraid of making some (seemingly correct) criticisms of wobbly practices over the decades. It focusses primarily on the actions, the strike and free speech fights, rather than the internal politics and development of the organisation which is a welcome change of emphasis from Brissenden's more inward looking account.
May 29, 2013
This book is quite dry. As a semi-official history of the IWW, I was expecting a bit more. This manages to capture none of excitement that exists within the IWW's history, instead it's just page after page of so-and-so Local 123 having a strike or job action. There's definitely more thorough histories of the union out there and better works that capture the IWW spirit.
August 13, 2017
Kahramanlık yıllarını çok uzun anlatmış. Benim asıl ilgilendiğim -ve muhtemelen okuyucuların asıl ilgileneceği- 60-80 arası kabarış (Sivil haklar, savaş karşıtı mücadeleler, Avrupa'da 68 vs.) ve 90lar ertesi (SSCB'nin çöküşü ve bunun IWW'ya etkileri) yeniden canlanma dönemi. Ama o dönemlere ilişkin çoğunlukla iç hikayeler var.
January 16, 2016
Interesting read but it's way too factual. There's not a lot of context to many of the facts that are laid out. As a union organizer, I was able to follow what they were talking about but I can't imagine someone without some type of union/labor law background understanding a lot of this.
November 21, 2010
This was a nice overview of Wobblie history, though it was a bit dry at times. This is an area of history that is overlooked in schools and the book taught me a lot.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews