Melanie Brown

Today, the term "industrial" tends to refer more to factory workers. This was, however, not the case when the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was created. The IWW is for all workers who earn their living using their mind and hands. The only people who are denied membership are those who own the power to hire or fire. A Chinese restaurant owner mispronounced "IWW" and said "Are you eye wobble wobble?" From then on, the name "Wobbly" has been used to refer to members of the IWW.

The IWW is a sort of "do-it-yourself" union. There are no leaders to help fight, but instead, the support of other IWW members. The IWW provides resources, speakers, how-to manuals, and other bodies to help on picket lines. The IWW believes in "industrial unionism" where all workers in one industry belong to the same union and band together in case of a strike. They also believe in direct action where the workers themselves protest to get what they want. Wobblies also believe that their power lies in the workplace and not in the vote. It is for this reason that the IWW rarely deals with politics. Not signing away the right to strike is another major belief of the IWW.

In 1905, in Chicago, a new union called the IWW was being formed. The Western Federation of Miners needed the union in the western part of the U.S. and Canada. Membership slowly grew, but was dwindling in 1910. The IWW then had a sudden increase in membership in Canada. This sudden increase in memberships was mostly due to the fact that many industrial workers felt that they had no power when it came to the use of their skills and knowledge. The IWW had a new strategy aimed at transferring the power from the employer to the employee.

The IWW was essentially made up of six industrial departments: 1) Agriculture, Land, Fisheries, and Water Products, 2) Mining, 3) Construction, 4) Manufacturing and General Production, 5) Transportation and Communication, and 6) Public Service. These divisions were made so that all workers in one industry were in the same industrial union. This was also known as "industrial unionism." The success of the IWW can be greatly attributed to the larger number of people in each union due to these divisions.

The IWW, with its ever-growing membership used many different tactics to achieve what they wanted. One tactic was on the job strikes or sabotage. The IWW was the first union to use this method. Workers would continue to work, but with less speed and efficiency. This was highly effective because all of the workers participated and scabs could not fill their positions. This also showed the employer that the worker has the ultimate power. The IWW was also the first to use mass sit-downs and the organization of immigrant workers. Another approach was to stage free speech fights and labour pageants. The IWW was also famous for its songs that were collected in the Big Red Song Book. One such song is"Solidarity Forever" which was sometimes considered the IWW anthem.

Between 1906 and 1914, the IWW experienced major growth in Canada, especially in British Columbia and Alberta. On May 5, 1906, the first Canadian IWW union charter was issued to the Vancouver Industrial Mixed union No. 322. 1906 also saw the formation of five new locals in B.C. One of these locals, known as the "Bows and Arrows," was the Lumber Handlers Job Branch.

By 1911, there were 10,000 IWW members in Canada. The largest numbers were from mining, logging, Alberta agriculture, and the textile industries. That same year, in Prince Rupert, 1000 strikers came out to support a local of IWW street workers. There were 56 arrests as well as numerous injuries.

In 1911, organization began among the construction workers assembling the Canadian Northern Railway (CN) in B.C. In September of that year, 900 workers stopped construction on 100 miles of track. Biscay, an IWW organizer, was kidnapped by authorities but was quickly released after the entire workforce on the railway threatened a walkout. Near the end of 1911, on-the-job action won a 50-cents per day pay raise.

IWW membership on the CN alone was at 8000 by February 1912. The unbearable living conditions in the work camps were not being addressed by the government, so on March 27 all 8000 workers walked out, freezing construction on over 400 miles of track. Wobblies in Vancouver, Seattle, Tacoma, San Francisco, and Minneapolis helped to create a "1000-mile picket line" as they picketed employment offices. Strikers were deported by gunpoint by the thousands yet the picket lines remained. 3000 workers from the Grand Trunk Pacific in B.C. and Alberta were also arrested. This movement, also know as the Fraser River Strike, was made more famous by the song "Where the Fraser River Flows." This strike lasted until the fall of 1912, when the strikers settled for only a few slight improvements.

With the start of World War one, Wobblies were constantly being persecuted and arrested. By 1914, the once thriving union could only claim 465 members throughout Canada, and by 1915, the last three Canadian branches dissolved. This however did not mean an end to protests. In 1916, the IWW was already reorganizing in Canada. It managed to move from Minnesota, north into Ontario. The attempt to control Wobbly action strengthened and, in 1918, several Wobblies were imprisoned. On September 24, 1918, the IWW was made illegal along with 13 other organizations including the International Industrial Union. Anyone found to be a member of one of these organizations was sentenced to five years in prison. This federal order was to be in place while Canada was in war. This still did not stop Wobbly action. Wobbly coordinators then went underground to continue their work. Two IWW branches were formed in Toronto and Kitchener when, on April 2, 1919, the ban on the IWW was lifted.

In 1921, after the fall of the Labour Workers Industrial Union (LWIU), the IWW as well as several other organizations started to recruit the old members. In 1921 and 1922, most strikes were an attempt to stop wage reductions. The workers lost most of these strikes. In 1923, the IWW had three branches with job control in Canada, but the following year proved to be quite prosperous. On January 1, 1924, the IWW Lumber Workers of Cranbrook B.C. requested an 8 hour day with a minimum wage of four dollars per day. They also wanted the release of all class war prisoners, no discrimination against IWW members and no criticizing of IWW literature. Three weeks later, there was an attempt to bring in scabs but picketing made this almost impossible.

In 1924, the remainder of the Canadian Lumber Workers voted to join the IWW. This same vote named Nick Vita as secretary. His first task was to assign 8000 IWW union cards. After recruiting 3000 members, this hope quickly disappeared.

1925 brought about the formation of a new Agricultural Workers branch in Winnipeg. This brought the total number of Canadian branches to 6 and the membership to 10,000. This was the same as it was in 1911. One of the 6 branches was a coal miners branch in Wayne Alberta. That year, this branch fought the IWW's first large coal strike.

The IWW membership, as well as the number of branches changed continually between 1926 and 1928. The 1930's saw a dramatic expansion in IWW activity in Canada. In 1935 There were 12 IWW branches with 4200 members.

After the Second World War and the fascist crusade's no-strike pledges, IWW actions were held back. Campaigning for the IWW in Canada was strong, especially in Northern Ontario, until mass conscription resulting from Canada's entry into the war left the IWW with no job-control base. Between 1936 and 1939, the IWW in Ontario formed part of the union malitia in Spain. Many Canadian Wobblies were killed in Spain. The suspected killers were the Stalinist agents.

Just before World War Two, the IWW Canadian Administration headquarters was temporarily moved to Toronto. Here, Wobblies showed their support to the soap boxing efforts of anarchists from various communities. When the war started, many Wobblies were sent to war or joined the Armed Forces. When the war ended, re-development of the IWW was slow. There were 6 branches and 2100 members in 1949. By 1951, the IWW in Canada had branches in only three different cities. After the Cold War, there were no Canadian IWW branches left. The remaining Wobblies were taken in by the General and Scandinavian divisions. Despite the gloomy looking future of the IWW, it somehow managed to survive. This is mostly thanks to the courage and devotion of the old Wobblies to keep their spirit alive.

Over the years there have been many drives and other efforts to sign up new members to the IWW. The IWW has also managed to pick up a few newspapers and print co-ops. In 1975, the IWW had organizations in Canada as well as the U.S., Sweden, Britain, Guam, New Zealand, and Australia.

Despite major set backs and many threats, the IWW has managed to survive through repression, imprisonment, murder and deportation. The Wobblies were, and still are a major contributor to changes in the workforce.