We live in a messed up world full of people messed up by it, yet the IWW seems to have a special gift for creating a certain type of “man monsters”. Particularly at our national level, but elsewhere too. Even more interesting, these tend to be nice, hard working, college educated, feminist, Robert’s Rules knowing, man monsters.
Printable PDF Version Back to the Future, Part 1: The last general strike in the US was in Oakland in 1946. That year there were 6 city-wide general strikes, plus nationwide strikes in steel, coal, and rail transport. More than 5 million workers struck in the biggest strike wave of US history. So what happened? Why haven’t […]
This is a recording from the IWW Southern Speaking Tour event which took place in Houston, TX, earlier this summer. The IWW Southern Speaking Tour saw events in 13 different Southern Cities and was probably the largest coordinated IWW activity across the South since the 1930s. We hope that it’s just the prelude to much […]
GOALS FOR THE IWW OF 2020: 10,000 members in North America 100 Branches in North America, with an average size of 100 members 1,000 members and 20 Branches in the US South HOW WE GET THERE: Fully automated luxury syndicalism Eradicate amateurism Strong metrics on membership recruitment, engagement, and attrition Crush bosses
Fitch, Robert. Solidarity for Sale: How Corruption Destroyed the Labor Movement and Undermined America’s Promise. New York: PublicAffairs Books, 2006. Hardcover, 432 pages, $7.88. “In 1997, a Bureau of Labor Standards reports revealed that New York City, where UNITE [now UNITE HERE] had its headquarters, had the worst sweatshop problem in the nation. About […]
Don Jennings AKA Randy Lowens AKA Prole Cat (May 2, 1960 – March 8, 2012)* There are large parts of the American South in which anyone who questions the Iraq war, or thinks that women should decide what to do with their own body, is considered to be radical, on the extreme edge of […]
“Is anything too good for the working class?” Books for a revived American worker’s movement, part 2: Out of the Jungle. Thaddeus Russell, 2001. How much is too much for workers to earn? What standard of life should they expect? Since the 1960’s new left, there has been a dominant mood among parts of the […]
The Chicago Teachers Step Up – What does it mean? The decision of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to participate in the Black Friday protests against police brutality is an important step forward, advancing both the struggle against the Chicago police department, and allowing the CTU to flex its muscles before the […]
[I’m honored to host this obituary for FW Bill Krist, written by J. Pierce, et al. I feel fortunate to have been able to meet Bill shortly before he passed, and agree with J. Pierce that he provides a great example of what it means to be a “Lifelong Wobbly.” A shorter version of this […]
This post is a departure from my usual style of allowing thoughts to mellow for weeks or months. I’m writing this after the results of the #Greferendum are in, showing a massive victory for the No vote which the far left was pushing, against the opposition parties and all of the European “institutions.” I’m writing […]
Lifelong Wobbly 