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 […]
In 2005, when the IWW celebrated its 100th year, we had a scarce 100-odd members in the British Isles. This year, as the comrades at New Syndicalist report, they passed 1000 members! Ten fold growth in ten years is impressive, and it means that they’re doing a lot of things right. If we want to hit […]
[Introduction: This is the first in a series which will focus on three books which I think are particularly useful to reviving a fighting labor movement in the US. They are: The Blue Eagle at Work: Reclaiming Democratic Rights in the American Workplace, Charles Morris, 2005; Reviving the Strike, Joe Burns, 2011; and Out of the Jungle: Jimmy […]
One of the most important tasks for rebuilding a fighting workers movement, a workers movement which can help lead to a post-capitalist society, isn’t to have all the right details and correct ideological positions about what happened long ago, in a land far away. It’s to ask how we can have a functioning workers organization which […]
This summer I came across a blog called Wobbling Towards Communism, which bills itself as the “Official Blog of the Communists of the IWW”. Despite misgivings about the bombastic title, I was initially happy to see the new page. In general it’s good to see more open discussion around the IWW and what we’re trying to […]
In my first post on this blog, “Getting Your Second Five Year Card: Six Tips for Life-Long Wobblies“, I encouraged Fellow Workers to strategize ten years ahead for the organization.
Two prominent IWW campaigns have recently incorporated Thanksgiving into their strategy, recognizing that this is an incredibly profitable time for US capitalism, and a time when most US workers want to work less and spend time with people they care about.
[Introduction: Minneapolis Community and Technical College produced the 1935 play Waiting for Lefty in October 2013. I wrote an article for the December ’13 Industrial Worker reviewing the concept of the play, the production at MCTC, and the relevance for building a revolutionary labor movement today. A Fellow Worker from Minneapolis wrote a letter to the IW about the […]
Lifelong Wobbly 