The Wobblies: The Story of the IWW & Syndicalism in the United States

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The Wobblies: The Story of the IWW & Syndicalism in the United States

Author: Patrick Renshaw
Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
Copyright: 1968
Pages: 264
Cover Price: $ 17.95

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Does anyone save historians remember the Wobblies? This nickname for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the revolutionary labor union founded in Chicago in 1905, not so long ago was part of the vocabulary of labor and socialist movements everywhere. But few who have heard of the Wobblies know much about their history, aims, or achievements or their impact on American labor.

In this new edition of his classic study of the Wobblies, Patrick Renshaw tells the story of how they planned to combine the American working class, and eventually wage earners all over the world, into one big labor union with an industrial basis, a syndicalist philosophy, and a revolutionary aim. A careful, balanced work. New York Times Book Review. A lively introduction to a trying and violent period in American industrial history. Journal of American History. The story of American trade unionism is a sorry one dirty and tragic and this is one of the worst chapters. Times Literary Supplement.

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Background Information

The Industrial Workers of America, also known as the Wobblies, strove to create one big union for all workers. The American labor movement began tentatively during the Industrial Revolution and reached maturity during the New Deal with the support of and for FDR.