Author: seattleiww

In the Orondo-Chelan Area, Columbia River Valley, Washington By Dave Tucker In early 1984, some Wobs from the Bellingham IWW Branch began an apple orchard organizing project in the Chelan area. We all had at least a couple, and sometimes many, years experience in harvest and other orchard jobs. In February of 1984 we started … Continue reading The IWW’s Orchard Workers Organizing Project, 1984-1985

Fellow Worker Noah interviews Fellow Worker Edgar of Familias Unidas por la Justicia So I know that Familias Unidas and the Whatcom Skagit branch of the IWW have had a good relationship with each other over the past few years. But I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about Familias Unidas? … Continue reading Solidarity with a Side of Berries

by FWs Gordon and Sean Our union, the Industrial Workers of the World, was founded during a time of economic upheaval, rapid industrialization, and migration — many of our class were forced into the streets, bereft of substance because the bosses needed a reserve army of labor. The IWW was established in response to these … Continue reading Mutual Aid to End Homelessness

by FWs Gordon and Sean We live in an unhealthy society. LGTBQ people are harassed for wanting to be free and abortions are illegal. People die every day for lack of basics: 3.5 million Americans are in danger of losing their homes, 340 thousand people died during the pandemic for lack of health care, and … Continue reading Freedom Along the Salish Sea

by FWs Gordon and Sean The purpose of the IWW is to carry on the struggle for the emancipation of the working class and to build through its industrial organization an administrative structure for the continuation of production after the abolition of capitalism. We’re carrying on the struggle for emancipation because we’re workers exploited by … Continue reading Worker Power

by FW Noah There has been much said, both in the annals of labor history as well as within the IWW, as to the relevance of the IWW in the labor history of years past. Indeed, we were one of the largest rank and file unions at the beginning of the 20th century, conducted some … Continue reading Why We Wobble

The following was excerpted by FW Kristin from a nearly illegible copy of the Industrial Worker from May Day, 1923. All mistakes are mine. At the May Day Celebration in People's Park, Renton Junction, Seattle, thousands of freezing, wet, and uncomfortable persons stood their ground and listened to a scathing indictment of capitalism by Elmer … Continue reading 1923: May Day is Celebrated by Striking Workers in the U.S.

Friends and Fellow Workers! The IWW is purchasing and installing a monument in Centralia, Washington to commemorate and honor the Wobblies who died or were imprisoned following the Centralia Tragedy of November 11, 1919. On that day, the IWW union hall was attacked for the second time by a mob of American Legion men acting … Continue reading A Monument for Centralia

Manuel “Tortuguita” TeranThey/It4/23/96 – 1/18/23 Manny was a close friend, comrade, and above all, a constant fighter for working people. I knew them in Tallahassee through the IWW, Food Not Bombs, and Live Oak Radical Ecology and I will never cease to be amazed by their tireless activism, their extreme empathy, and their ability to … Continue reading Remembering Tortuguita

By Cedar Bushue Union-busting tactics have been around in the United States since we’ve had corporations. Early union-busting tactics involved killing workers and having the military come in (for example, Battle of Blair Mountain) as well as many others, such as companies hiring Pinkertons. Our government has always favored the corporations, particularly in these early … Continue reading Union-Busting Practices and What We Can Do to Fight Them