Written by lifelongwobblyOctober 21, 2016May 3, 2017

“The leftists go into the business unions, but they don’t come out”: books for a renewed American workers movement, part 3: Solidarity for Sale

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 […]

Written by lifelongwobblyOctober 21, 2016May 3, 2017

Remembering a Southern Revolutionary

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 […]

Written by lifelongwobblyJanuary 22, 2016May 3, 2017

“Is anything too good for the working class?” Books for a revived American worker’s movement, part 2: Out of the Jungle

“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 […]

Written by lifelongwobblyJanuary 18, 2016May 4, 2017

Workers Power Against Police Brutality and Racist Terror

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 […]

Written by lifelongwobblyNovember 3, 2015May 3, 2017

So Long, Krazy Bill

[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 […]

Written by lifelongwobblyJuly 5, 2015May 4, 2017

What could we accomplish in Greece?

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 […]

Written by lifelongwobblyJune 3, 2015June 3, 2015

Would yearly dues allow the US IWW to grow as fast as the UK?

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 […]

Written by lifelongwobblyMay 13, 2015May 3, 2017

Books for a renewed American workers movement, part 1: “The Blue Eagle at Work”

[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 […]

Written by lifelongwobblyMay 8, 2015May 4, 2017

What questions do you have for current CNT members?

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 […]

Written by lifelongwobblyMay 4, 2015May 3, 2017

The POUM, in their own words

An introduction to an introduction On my first day in Barcelona during a trip a few years ago, I was walking down the fabled Ramblas street. Barcelona is a very dynamic city, with a much more “European” feel than Madrid, and there’s quite a lot to draw your attention. But it was a municipal library […]