Editor’s note: I’d been a member of the IWW for a while, but I didn’t really know what that meant until the 2011 Wobbly Campout, held at Belfair State Park. After a weekend of laid-back conversations with fellow workers across the Pacific Northwest, I interviewed Fellow Worker D.J. to get the inside scoop. Ed: What’s … Continue reading Who Are the Wobblies?
Posts
Remembering Karen Weill
Fellow worker, fearless activist, and intrepid legal assistant Karen Weill passed away on March 10th 2020, after a months-long battle with cancer. She died peacefully with her beloved husband Larry Hildes at her side, as he had been every day throughout her long illness. Within the IWW, she helped charter the Whatcom-Skagit branch. In the … Continue reading Remembering Karen Weill
Fallen IWW Project: Stumpy Payne
A brief biography of Stumpy Payne, one of the foremost IWW self-taught intellectuals and authors.
Carlos Cortéz: Building a Ship We Might Not Sail On
Seattle Worker interviews Fellow Worker Dave “Tuck” Tucker about his time with Carlos Cortéz, an artist, poet, editor, Indigenous struggles activist, and longtime wobbly.
That Sense of Connection: How to Build Up Branch Officers
In part 1 of a two-part series, Lexi Owens discusses methods and successes in building up and mentoring branch officers.
In November, We Remember: Sedition Act of 1918
In Portland, moms are standing up to protect protestors. Meanwhile, US Atty. Gen. William Barr is suggesting that the Sedition Act be used to bring many US cities—including Seattle and Portland—under "control." He has suggested that these cities be declared "Anarchist Jurisdictions." In November, we remember that the Sedition Act was one of the main … Continue reading In November, We Remember: Sedition Act of 1918
When Fort Lewis Soldiers Fought for a Union: “The Battle of Cascadia”
The following article was a collaboration between Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and GI organizers, and members of the Seattle Worker committee. -ed. For American working class youth during the Vietnam War, the US military was often their first real encounter with employment. The Vietnam War was a brutal, ugly, and dangerous conflict, with millions … Continue reading When Fort Lewis Soldiers Fought for a Union: “The Battle of Cascadia”
Working Under Threat of COVID
Seattle Worker: What was workplace organizing like before COVID? William Clayworth (customer service): Before COVID I was doing customer service, and we were making progress. It was easy to talk to my coworkers during the down time. We had been talking about our grievances, and some of us were meeting in a space the IWW … Continue reading Working Under Threat of COVID
The Rise of the Freelance Journalists Union
As I'm sure most of you are all too aware, slogging through the wage system is no easy ride, no matter how you sell your labor. If, however, you sell your labor as a freelance journalist, there is a new organization that hopes to make the task a little easier: The IWW Freelance Journalists Union. … Continue reading The Rise of the Freelance Journalists Union
The Forever War on the Homefront
by x388133 The 9/11 attacks will always remain a foggy memory for me. I was 9 years old and in the first couple weeks of fourth grade when the towers came down. The adults’ fear permeated every part of life in the days and weeks afterward. My parents sheltered my sister and I in the … Continue reading The Forever War on the Homefront
Seattle Industrial Workers of the World 