INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD
The Industrial Workers of the World—also known as the IWW, or the Wobblies—is a radi-
cal LABOR UNION that had its beginnings in Chicago in 1905.
An outgrowth of the Western Federation of
Mines, the IWW was created by WILLIAM D.
HAYWOOD, EUGENE V. DEBS, and Daniel
DeLeon. Its membership was open to all work-
ers, skilled or unskilled, with no restrictions as
to race, occupation, ethnic background, or sex.
The Wobblies opposed the principles of capital-
ism and advocated SOCIALISM.They followed
the tenets of syndicalism, a labor movement that
evolved in Europe before WORLD WAR I.The
syndicalists sought to control industry through
labor organizations. In their view the state rep-
resented oppression, which had to be replaced
by the union as the essential element of society.
To achieve their goals, the syndicalists advocated
practices such as strikes and slowdowns.
The Wobblies adopted many of the ideolo-
gies of syndicalism and employed direct-action
methods, such as propaganda, strikes, and boy-
cotts. They rejected more peaceful means of
achieving labor’s goals, such as ARBITRATION
and COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
From 1906 to 1928, the IWW was responsi-
ble for 150 strikes, including a miners’ strike in
Goldfield, Nevada, from 1906 to 1907; a textile
workers’ strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in
1912; a 1913 silk workers’ strike in Paterson,
New Jersey; and a miners’ strike in Colorado
from 1927 to 1928.
During World War I, the IWW began to lose
much of its strength. Its members were against
the military, and many were convicted of draft
evasion, seditious activities, and ESPIONAGE.In
addition,many members left the organization to
join the Communist party. By 1930, the IWW
was no longer regarded as an influential labor
force. Nevertheless, it still exists today.
Despite its radicalism, the IWW was respon-
sible for several gains for organized labor. It
brought together skilled and unskilled workers
into one union; it achieved better working con-
ditions and a shorter work week in many areas
of labor, particularly in the lumber field; and it
set a structural example that would be followed
