The Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is a revolutionary syndicalist labor union founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1905. The goal of the IWW is to join all working-class peoples together into “one big union” organized by industry rather than by trade. The IWW promotes organizing on the job to build workplaces that benefit workers and communities with the eventual goal of challenging capitalism through mass militant unionism.
The IWW established a presence in the Seattle area in 1905 and Wobblies (the nickname for IWW members) continue to organize workers in the Puget Sound region to this day. The IWW focused on organizing workers that the American Federation of Labor excluded, including so-called “unskilled” workers and workers of color. The IWW organized workers without regard to craft, skill, race, religion, or national origin, and was possibly the first non-segregated labor union in the US. In the 1910s in the Pacific Northwest, the IWW had success organizing lumber workers, who were performing some of the most dangerous work in the country at the time.
Additionally, many IWW members resided in Seattle, and the organization played a key role in the general strike. As a revolutionary organization with many militant members, the IWW’s involvement led some to believe that the strikers had revolutionary aims. Following the strike, police targeted dozens of Wobblies for arrest and many immigrant Wobblies, especially those from Russia, were later deported on the grounds of being “alien anarchists.”
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Industrial Workers of the World Seattle Joint Branches records. Accession no. 0544-001, Box 3/10. Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
The IWW was part of an international industrial unionism movement that aimed to organize all workers of the same industry into the same union. This chart shows how the IWW organized workers into industrial unions.
Industrial Workers of the World Seattle Joint Branches records. Accession no. 0544-001, Box 6/6. Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections.
The IWW produced literature to share ideas and educate fellow workers about their history, structure, and methods of workplace organizing. Pamphlets such as The Advancing Proletariat were intended to be shared both inside and outside the union, dispersing ideas as far and wide as possible, and were translated into as many as fourteen languages. Other pamphlets such as Ernest Riebe’s Mr. Block and the Profiteers was likely more appealing to Wobblies themselves as it detailed the many woes of Mr. Block, a man who lacked class consciousness and cherished capitalistic values.
Seattle members of the IWW, such as Walker C. Smith, worked at the Seattle-based Equity Printing Company which operated during the time of the general strike. Additionally, the Industrial Worker, the official newspaper of the IWW, was published in Seattle from December 1909 to May 1910, April 1916 to July of 1918, and July 1919 to November 1931.
Clara Fraser papers. Accession no. 3187-002, Box 3/16. University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
The IWW produced literature to share ideas and educate fellow workers about their history, structure, and methods of workplace organizing. Pamphlets such as The Advancing Proletariat were intended to be shared both inside and outside the union, dispersing ideas as far and wide as possible, and were translated into as many as fourteen languages. Other pamphlets such as Ernest Riebe’s Mr. Block and the Profiteers was likely more appealing to Wobblies themselves as it detailed the many woes of Mr. Block, a man who lacked class consciousness and cherished capitalistic values.
Seattle members of the IWW, such as Walker C. Smith, worked at the Seattle-based Equity Printing Company which operated during the time of the general strike. Additionally, the Industrial Worker, the official newspaper of the IWW, was published in Seattle from December 1909 to May 1910, April 1916 to July of 1918, and July 1919 to November 1931.
Richard V. Correll prints and papers. Accession no. 5855-001, Box 7. Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
In 1916, the IWW was attacked in Everett, Washington. Seattle Wobblies traveled to Everett to support striking shingle workers, who were being arrested and assaulted by vigilantes and police deputies. In response, the Seattle IWW sent approximately 250 to 300 additional supporters to Everett by steamship. The Wobblies were met in Everett by a contingent of more than 200 recently deputized citizens. While the exact death toll is contested, the armed confrontation that followed resulted in the death of a few “citizen deputies” and at least a dozen Wobblies. Many others were injured by the gunfire in what became known as the Everett Massacre.
Industrial Workers of the World Seattle Joint Branches records. Accession no. 0544-001, Box 9. Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
A number of shipyard workers were card-carrying members of both the IWW and an AF of L affiliated union at the time of the general strike. This IWW bulletin shows the hope that the IWW and AF of L might work together in the fight for workers’ rights.
Clara Fraser papers. Accession no. 3187-002, Box 3/26. University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
The cooperatively owned Equity Printing Company printed materials for the IWW, and prominent Wobbly Walker C. Smith worked at the press. This compilation pamphlet features a glossy, incognito IWW logo that is only visible if the pamphlet is held at a certain angle.
Industrial Workers of the World Seattle Joint Branches records. Accession no. 0544-001, Box 6/5. Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
This satirical play by Walker C. Smith explores the state repression of the IWW during the First Red Scare. Set in the “Inferior Court of Sawdust County,” a judge hears a succession of cases against various working-class defendants, including a Jewish man and A. Wise Wobbly.
In 1919, the state legislature passed a law against “criminal syndicalism,” so from 1919 to 1936, it was a felony to be a member of the IWW. Organizing activities were forced underground. This coincided with federal laws against sedition that targeted anarchists, syndicalists, anti-war activists, and other radical organizers.
Industrial Workers of the World Seattle Joint Branches records. Accession no. 0544-001, Box 6/7. Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections.
The IWW published literature in many different languages, such as this songbook printed in Svenska (Swedish), Dansk (Danish), and Norsk (Norwegian), to build solidarity with the multiethnic and multicultural workforce in Seattle.