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.
“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 […]
[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 […]
[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 […]
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.
From February to April 2011, everyone had their eyes on Wisconsin, praying for or dreading the widespread, self-organized strikes against the state’s austerity measures that seemed like a real possibility. So much has happened since then that it almost seems like ancient history, but this movement was seen by many of us at the time […]
When the Spanish CNT held its first Congress after the death of Franco, in 1979, there were thousands of attendees representing hundreds of new branches across the country. The mid 1970s saw an explosively resurgent and uncontrollable labor movement which the state was desperately trying to rein in, and many of the more radical elements […]
Lifelong Wobbly 