Episode about the early history of the revolutionary Industrial Workers of the World union in the United States, 1905-1918. In conversation with Peter Cole, coeditor of the new book Wobblies of the World: a Global History of the IWW.
- WCH6: The Industrial Workers of the World in the US, 1905-1918 – Currently available exclusively for our patreon supporters
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More information
- This is our playlist of early IWW music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL71HxBMvC6bxcbE373VUIFoIkZqqRVM79
- You can buy Peter’s book, Wobblies of the World: a Global History of the IWW here in our online store.
- For a detailed history of the IWW in the US, you can get this extensive collection of writings in our online store here: Rebel Voices
- This is a very short history of the union: https://libcom.org/history/articles/iww-usa
- And this is a great collection of oral histories of the IWW: https://libcom.org/history/solidarity-forever-oral-history-iww-stewart-bird-dan-georgakas-deborah-shaffer
- Also check out Peter’s book Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive-Era Philadelphia
Glossary
– Big Bill Haywood – here is a selection of articles by our about him: https://libcom.org/tags/bill-haywood
– Syndicalism – this is a short introduction to syndicalism: https://libcom.org/library/syndicalism-introduction
– Anarchism – this is a short introduction to anarchism: https://libcom.org/thought/anarchist-communism-an-introduction
– Lucy Parsons – this is a short biography: https://libcom.org/history/articles/1853-lucy-parsons
– Eugene Debs – this is a short biography: https://www.iww.org/history/biography/EugeneDebs/1
– Mother Jones – this is her autobiography: https://libcom.org/library/autobiography-mother-jones
– Philadelphia Local 8: more info in Peter’s book linked to above, and here: https://libcom.org/library/100-years-ago-philadelphia-dockers-strike-local-8-iww-mouvement-communiste-kolektivně-pr
– Ben Fletcher – short biography: https://libcom.org/history/articles/1890-19-ben-fletcher
– Bread and roses strike – this is a short history: https://libcom.org/history/1912-the-lawrence-textile-strike
– Denver domestic workers – more info here: https://libcom.org/history/letter-iww-domestic-workers-union-1917-jane-street
– John Dos Passos – short biography: https://libcom.org/history/john-dos-passos
– Accounts of a few IWW free speech fights. Spokane: https://libcom.org/history/1908-10-spokane-free-speech-fight – Missoula: https://libcom.org/history/1909-missoula-free-speech-fight – San Diego: https://libcom.org/history/1912-san-diego-free-spech-fight
– Upton Sinclair – here are some of his works: https://libcom.org/tags/upton-sinclair-0
– Anarcho-Syndicalism – this is a short introduction: https://libcom.org/thought/anarcho-syndicalism-an-introduction
– General strike – classic IWW text on the general strike: https://libcom.org/library/general-strike-ralph-chaplin
– Joe Hill – an account of his execution: https://libcom.org/history/1915-the-murder-of-joe-hill
– Little red songbook – online here: https://libcom.org/library/little-red-song-book
– Ralph Chaplin – archive of his texts here: https://libcom.org/tags/ralph-chaplin
– Utah Phillips – obituary here: https://www.iww.org/history/biography/UtahPhillips/1
– This is a database of hundreds of incidents of repression against the IWW up to 1920: https://libcom.org/history/database-repression-iww-1906-1920
– Frank Little – article about his murder here: https://libcom.org/library/man-was-hung
– Centralia massacre – article about the murder of IWW member Wesley Everest: https://libcom.org/history/1919-the-murder-of-wesley-everest
– Everett massacre – short account here: https://libcom.org/history/everett-massacre-1916-walt-crowley
– Greenville IWW battle against the KKK: https://libcom.org/history/1924-kkk-iww-wage-drawn-battle-greenville
– Knights of Labor: this is a short history – https://libcom.org/history/knights-labor-1869-1885-louis-adamic
Acknowledgements
IWW music used in the episode under Fair Use includes:
– Solidarity forever – Pete Seeger – buy it online here: https://amzn.to/2x63dYE
– There is power in a union – Joe Glazer and Bill Friedland – buy it online here: https://amzn.to/2IGaQKS
– The preacher and the slave – Utah Phillips – buy it online here: https://amzn.to/2J421dc
Edited by Tyler Hill of the Gods & Ghosts podcast: https://tylerkenthill.podbean.com/
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