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Wobblies of the World: A Global History of the IWW
Founded in 1905, Chicago’s Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is a union unlike any other. With members affectionately called “Wobblies” and an evolutionary and internationalist philosophy and tactics, it rapidly grew across the world. Considering the history of the IWW from an international perspective for the first time, Wobblies of the World brings together a group of leading scholars to present a lively collection of accounts from thirteen diverse countries, revealing a fascinating story of anarchism, syndicalism, and socialism.
Drawing on many important figures of the movement—Har Dayal, James Larkin, William D. “Big Bill” Haywood, Enrique Flores Magón, and more—the contributors describe how the IWW and its ideals spread, exploring the crucial role the IWW played in industries such as shipping, mining, and agriculture. Ultimately, the book illuminates Wobblie methods of organizing, forms of expression, practices, and transnational issues, offering a fascinating alternative history of the group.
Drawing on many important figures of the movement—Har Dayal, James Larkin, William D. “Big Bill” Haywood, Enrique Flores Magón, and more—the contributors describe how the IWW and its ideals spread, exploring the crucial role the IWW played in industries such as shipping, mining, and agriculture. Ultimately, the book illuminates Wobblie methods of organizing, forms of expression, practices, and transnational issues, offering a fascinating alternative history of the group.
280 pages, Hardcover
Published January 15, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 18, 2018
Taking the "world" part of the radical socialist and anarcho syndicalist union Industrial Workers of the World seriously, the authors look beyond the typically American history of the IWW to center it in a global context. World history argues that history should not be limited by borders, for often both people, ideas, and organizations flow across the limits of national governments. The IWW had a strong representation in the United States by immigrant workers during its heyday of the 1900s-1910s, and had branches as far flung as Australia, Chile, and Sweden, sharing ideas of European syndicalism back and forth across the Atlantic and indeed influencing revolutionaries in Ireland, Mexico, and Spain.
In the introduction, the editors state that 1) the IWW emerged as part of a global syndicalist movement influenced by French, Italian, and tactics of others 2) The IWW was an international organization with its base in migrant laborers and maritime workers. 3) It was not monethelic in thought or totally independent of political movements, but in fact differed on basis of locals and nationalities, with some places having more anarchist leanings and others more socialists. 4) In the United States it was multilingual, with 44% of its membership as immigrants and 14 of its papers during its height being in non-English languages. 5) Its chronology varies on the local, industry, and national place. Some peaked and died during the WWI repression, some soared only to sharply decline by the destructive 1924 split. Some branches didn't grow or peak until the late 1920s.
The book is divided into three sections of chapters. The first looks at transnational influences on the IWW in the US, particularly French, Italian, Spanish, and Mexican ideas of revolutionary practice. The second section looks to IWW branches and organizing outside the US, like in Mexico, Australia, Canada, as well as a particularly well researched chapter by Matt White about the Wobblies who served in Spain in the 1930s and sacrificed the cream of their maritime organizers lives to fight fascism, which breaks new ground on the activities of the Wobblies after their decline in the 1920s as they became heated rivals and later enemies with the Communists. Lastly, the final section looks to the influences of the IWW on non-Americans, like Irish Revolutionary James Connolly, who had previously been a member during his time in the United States before becoming a central organizer of the Easter Rising.
This book does an excellent job looking to the influences of the legendary IWW far beyond its American base. While the union was mainly an operation of the United States, it was not confined to influence solely in its borders, and indeed, the majority who passed through it during its height were not Americans by birth. This is a must read for those interested in world history, radical history, and labor history.
In the introduction, the editors state that 1) the IWW emerged as part of a global syndicalist movement influenced by French, Italian, and tactics of others 2) The IWW was an international organization with its base in migrant laborers and maritime workers. 3) It was not monethelic in thought or totally independent of political movements, but in fact differed on basis of locals and nationalities, with some places having more anarchist leanings and others more socialists. 4) In the United States it was multilingual, with 44% of its membership as immigrants and 14 of its papers during its height being in non-English languages. 5) Its chronology varies on the local, industry, and national place. Some peaked and died during the WWI repression, some soared only to sharply decline by the destructive 1924 split. Some branches didn't grow or peak until the late 1920s.
The book is divided into three sections of chapters. The first looks at transnational influences on the IWW in the US, particularly French, Italian, Spanish, and Mexican ideas of revolutionary practice. The second section looks to IWW branches and organizing outside the US, like in Mexico, Australia, Canada, as well as a particularly well researched chapter by Matt White about the Wobblies who served in Spain in the 1930s and sacrificed the cream of their maritime organizers lives to fight fascism, which breaks new ground on the activities of the Wobblies after their decline in the 1920s as they became heated rivals and later enemies with the Communists. Lastly, the final section looks to the influences of the IWW on non-Americans, like Irish Revolutionary James Connolly, who had previously been a member during his time in the United States before becoming a central organizer of the Easter Rising.
This book does an excellent job looking to the influences of the legendary IWW far beyond its American base. While the union was mainly an operation of the United States, it was not confined to influence solely in its borders, and indeed, the majority who passed through it during its height were not Americans by birth. This is a must read for those interested in world history, radical history, and labor history.
April 5, 2018
This offers a lot of information in easily digestible chapters. A great addition to the history of our fighting union. You can bring this to work and have plenty of time to read it on your breaks (or make your own time when the boss isn't looking). Once you've read it, join the One Big Union and fight for the better things in life, including more leisure time for reading.
July 18, 2025
This collection looks at the International Workers of the World as a truly international group, seeking to show how the transient nature of much labour, as well as the porous borders of the pre-WW2 (or even 9/11) world, spread the Wobbly ethos globally.
The "international" part of IWW was, to some extent, a reflection of ambition rather than reality, and scholars often treat them as an American union as this was where they were founded, headquartered, and usually had the largest membership. Even within America, it was an unusually diverse union, publishing documents and newspapers in dozens of languages, organising workforces from all over the world and inspiring people with very different worldviews with a syndicalist vision that centred the power of the worker and gave an exciting vision of a different world. Many major victories were won by the IWW, especially relative to their size, before the US government pursued a brutal extermination strategy when the IWW opposed WW1 as an imperialist war that kills workers. Hundreds of wobblies were killed by the police or military, many other imprisoned and/or deported.
Mexico and Canada, as the two countries adjacent to the US, unsurprisingly had interesting intertwinings with IWW history. In Mexico, many Wobblies travelled to support the Mexican revolution, and either stayed to organise unions in Mexico or left the IWW to be more involved in the Mexican revolutionary party. In Canada, IWW branches were successful in organising particularly the lumber industry of the deep forests, inspiring transient immigrant workers and prompted a government backlash that, despite being less violent than the US, effectively quashed their organisational ability.
Much IWW history also unfurled in Australia and New Zealand, which a few chapters are devoted to. The IWW was one of the earliest (white) groups arguing for the inclusion of indigenous workers (until then completely ignored by unions) in labour struggles, though this rhetoric did not actually result in much identifiable indigenous involvement with the IWW—though perhaps contributed to the apparent refusal of indigenous people to scab on Wobbly workers.
South Africa, too, had flurries of Wobbly activity, where the IWW stood out among unions for refusing to accept the normalisation of the racist system of government and labour relations.
In Europe, the relationship was often quite fraught. The IWW admired the powerful syndicalist unions visible in France and pre-Franco Spain (and many Wobblies fought in international brigades during the Spanish civil war), but periodic attempts at tactical alliances and affiliations floundered, and the IWW also had uncomfortable issues with attempts such as the profintern, to unite international unions.
There's also a few chapters devoted to individual Wobblies, whose trajectory reveals something about the nature of the organisation.
Overall, the book is wide-ranging in scope and interesting in how much it reveals. Though occasionally dry, and too-full of acronyms, it offers a glimpse at an organisation that saw a path to a better world and fought for it, and—despite the immense repression they faced wherever they emerged globally—were often able to force apart cracks in the "liberal" world order. There's much to learn from them for those in the left today, even almost 100 years after the height of their power.
The "international" part of IWW was, to some extent, a reflection of ambition rather than reality, and scholars often treat them as an American union as this was where they were founded, headquartered, and usually had the largest membership. Even within America, it was an unusually diverse union, publishing documents and newspapers in dozens of languages, organising workforces from all over the world and inspiring people with very different worldviews with a syndicalist vision that centred the power of the worker and gave an exciting vision of a different world. Many major victories were won by the IWW, especially relative to their size, before the US government pursued a brutal extermination strategy when the IWW opposed WW1 as an imperialist war that kills workers. Hundreds of wobblies were killed by the police or military, many other imprisoned and/or deported.
Mexico and Canada, as the two countries adjacent to the US, unsurprisingly had interesting intertwinings with IWW history. In Mexico, many Wobblies travelled to support the Mexican revolution, and either stayed to organise unions in Mexico or left the IWW to be more involved in the Mexican revolutionary party. In Canada, IWW branches were successful in organising particularly the lumber industry of the deep forests, inspiring transient immigrant workers and prompted a government backlash that, despite being less violent than the US, effectively quashed their organisational ability.
Much IWW history also unfurled in Australia and New Zealand, which a few chapters are devoted to. The IWW was one of the earliest (white) groups arguing for the inclusion of indigenous workers (until then completely ignored by unions) in labour struggles, though this rhetoric did not actually result in much identifiable indigenous involvement with the IWW—though perhaps contributed to the apparent refusal of indigenous people to scab on Wobbly workers.
South Africa, too, had flurries of Wobbly activity, where the IWW stood out among unions for refusing to accept the normalisation of the racist system of government and labour relations.
In Europe, the relationship was often quite fraught. The IWW admired the powerful syndicalist unions visible in France and pre-Franco Spain (and many Wobblies fought in international brigades during the Spanish civil war), but periodic attempts at tactical alliances and affiliations floundered, and the IWW also had uncomfortable issues with attempts such as the profintern, to unite international unions.
There's also a few chapters devoted to individual Wobblies, whose trajectory reveals something about the nature of the organisation.
Overall, the book is wide-ranging in scope and interesting in how much it reveals. Though occasionally dry, and too-full of acronyms, it offers a glimpse at an organisation that saw a path to a better world and fought for it, and—despite the immense repression they faced wherever they emerged globally—were often able to force apart cracks in the "liberal" world order. There's much to learn from them for those in the left today, even almost 100 years after the height of their power.
June 25, 2023
A series of essays about the Industrial Workers of the World. The book was assembled largely to combat the idea that the IWW was a wholly American entity. Previous histories did focus on the US activities of the organization and tracing its decline to rising nationalism in the wake of World War I and this framing limits the IWW's impact on the labor movement and its place in history.
Each essay focuses on a specific part of IWW history, usually zeroing in on a significant figure or two. This can read a bit like Great Man history but it also puts a name and a face on a movement which can be helpful to make it understandable. Each individual topic could probably warrant a book of its own (and indeed, several have) but this book makes for a good primer to this wide variety of topics and taken in totality gives you a broad view of the IWW's history and effect on the labor movement. The IWW was banned in Canada as essentially a terrorist organization. The Swedish language was banned because Swedish Wobblies were trying to organize the logging industry.
The essays all come in at about 12-ish pages and have a ton of notations. But there's a lot of condensing here as there would have to be. Some stories span decades with larger casts of historical personages. But the reduction does make it a bit hard to read cover-to-cover. It's pretty dry material but it's also rather a reference book to begin with and we shouldn't hold that against it. It's a primer on a much broader subject and even while being just a primer it's still nearly 300 pages. If nothing else, Wobblies of the World is an excellent resource to mine for other labor history reading.
Each essay focuses on a specific part of IWW history, usually zeroing in on a significant figure or two. This can read a bit like Great Man history but it also puts a name and a face on a movement which can be helpful to make it understandable. Each individual topic could probably warrant a book of its own (and indeed, several have) but this book makes for a good primer to this wide variety of topics and taken in totality gives you a broad view of the IWW's history and effect on the labor movement. The IWW was banned in Canada as essentially a terrorist organization. The Swedish language was banned because Swedish Wobblies were trying to organize the logging industry.
The essays all come in at about 12-ish pages and have a ton of notations. But there's a lot of condensing here as there would have to be. Some stories span decades with larger casts of historical personages. But the reduction does make it a bit hard to read cover-to-cover. It's pretty dry material but it's also rather a reference book to begin with and we shouldn't hold that against it. It's a primer on a much broader subject and even while being just a primer it's still nearly 300 pages. If nothing else, Wobblies of the World is an excellent resource to mine for other labor history reading.
October 21, 2020
This book rescues the IWW from a thoroughly US and English speaking centered understanding of its history. 42% of dues paying members in the union's heyday were immigrant workers and the union that emerges from the books chapters is one that is “part of a global syndicalist movement, simultaneously influencing and influenced by syndicalist movements in other countries, a truly international organization spread out across the globe."
It's an essential read for anyone interested in the labor movement's past and future.
It's an essential read for anyone interested in the labor movement's past and future.
November 19, 2025
As a collection of essays, naturally some are better than others. The info presented is both condensed and interesting, with really is the point of a primer essay collection novel such as this. It's especially interesting when the authors move beyond the labor aspect and dig deeper into how despite their protestations, the Wobblies were always political. I didn't mind the dryness, but I could have done without the fifty million acronyms that really mucked up the flow at times.
January 12, 2019
Interesting overview of this organisation’s history and impact in various parts of the world, which clearly illustrates the way Wobblies in various countries supported and organised with each other.
June 28, 2019
A fascinating collection
November 20, 2018
This is an excellent collection. Incredibly even in quality considering it is an edited collection. A useful corrective to the idea that the IWW was only an American union, this is a welcome edition to wobbly history.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews