What do you think?
Rate this book
One Big Union: Industrial Workers of the World, Seventh Edition
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 26, 2018
Packs a punch. I’ll take solidarity unionism over business unionism any day of the week.
January 17, 2026
This booklet is a good introduction to the theory and practice of the Industrial Workers of the World--the One Big Union. It lays out the basic philosophy and organizing model of the IWW in a concise manner that makes it easy to read, understand, and digest. This booklet is distributed to every new member of the IWW and its goal is to get the worker to be active in the union and begin organizing their workplace.
Of course, the IWW's ultimate goal is the transformation of the entire global economy and the replacement of capitalism with economic democracy via control of production and distribution by the workers in the various industries organized into One Big Union--the IWW. That's no small goal and presenting it in a concise manner with a few general principles can make it seem far easier to accomplish than it is. Add to that the traditional romanticism of the IWW and the western belief that there is one true way of doing things if only we would do it and you have some of the weaker aspects of the pamphlet. The fact that IWW has never been very effective in sustained mass organizing is a sign of some of its weaknesses.
That being said romanticism isn't always a bad thing, especially when workers need hope in the face of worsening economic and working conditions. Furthermore, workers organized across industries could be an effective way of truly interrupting capitalist production and distribution, and the fact that we are in a neo-fascistic situation here in the United States that demands large scale resistance means that the philosophy and practice of the IWW remains salient and applicable. The General Strike remains labors most powerful weapon and is filled up so many potentialities if only we could enlarge our belief of what is possible and start organizing toward that goal.
In other words, an effective path forward is both simple and difficult. It's simple in the sense that if the working class perceived its power, organized itself as a class (as the preamble to the IWW Constitution states), and began taking concrete action (particularly, the General Strike) it truly could interrupt and challenge global capitalism. The logic of this strategy is clear. It is difficult because worker morale is low, people don't often perceive things beyond their immediate struggles and conditions, the working class is very divided, and organizing takes time and effort in an environment where most workers feel like they don't have extra time or energy. But this booklet is not meant to answer every question or critique. It is a concise presentation of the IWW's "principles and goals," and in that sense the booklet communicates effectively and accomplishes its goal.
To engage with the larger questions and critiques workers should consider joining the IWW or another militant working class organization/union in order to participate in and contribute to the conversation. The road to liberation may demand thousands of steps but the journey down that road begins with the first one. Take that first step fellow worker, because if and when you do you won't be walking alone. Whether or not we accomplish our large scale goal, we can build solidarity here and now to the best of our ability and to the highest degree possible and in doing so we can create an alternative (even if on a small scale) to the principles of domination and exploitation that characterize the dominant capitalist economic and social system that we must navigate and suffer through every day.
iww.org
Of course, the IWW's ultimate goal is the transformation of the entire global economy and the replacement of capitalism with economic democracy via control of production and distribution by the workers in the various industries organized into One Big Union--the IWW. That's no small goal and presenting it in a concise manner with a few general principles can make it seem far easier to accomplish than it is. Add to that the traditional romanticism of the IWW and the western belief that there is one true way of doing things if only we would do it and you have some of the weaker aspects of the pamphlet. The fact that IWW has never been very effective in sustained mass organizing is a sign of some of its weaknesses.
That being said romanticism isn't always a bad thing, especially when workers need hope in the face of worsening economic and working conditions. Furthermore, workers organized across industries could be an effective way of truly interrupting capitalist production and distribution, and the fact that we are in a neo-fascistic situation here in the United States that demands large scale resistance means that the philosophy and practice of the IWW remains salient and applicable. The General Strike remains labors most powerful weapon and is filled up so many potentialities if only we could enlarge our belief of what is possible and start organizing toward that goal.
In other words, an effective path forward is both simple and difficult. It's simple in the sense that if the working class perceived its power, organized itself as a class (as the preamble to the IWW Constitution states), and began taking concrete action (particularly, the General Strike) it truly could interrupt and challenge global capitalism. The logic of this strategy is clear. It is difficult because worker morale is low, people don't often perceive things beyond their immediate struggles and conditions, the working class is very divided, and organizing takes time and effort in an environment where most workers feel like they don't have extra time or energy. But this booklet is not meant to answer every question or critique. It is a concise presentation of the IWW's "principles and goals," and in that sense the booklet communicates effectively and accomplishes its goal.
To engage with the larger questions and critiques workers should consider joining the IWW or another militant working class organization/union in order to participate in and contribute to the conversation. The road to liberation may demand thousands of steps but the journey down that road begins with the first one. Take that first step fellow worker, because if and when you do you won't be walking alone. Whether or not we accomplish our large scale goal, we can build solidarity here and now to the best of our ability and to the highest degree possible and in doing so we can create an alternative (even if on a small scale) to the principles of domination and exploitation that characterize the dominant capitalist economic and social system that we must navigate and suffer through every day.
iww.org
January 30, 2013
Great little booklet that is handed out to every new IWW member upon joining to help understand how the IWW model of unionism differs dramatically from other models.
Not much else to say about it.
Not much else to say about it.
September 16, 2021
This is a simple, highly motivating, common sense piece of literature. I think perhaps a resurgence in IWW membership is overdue.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews