The ''Industrial Worker'', "the voice of revolutionary industrial unionism", is the magazine of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

(IWW, a.k.a., "

Wobblies The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

"). It is now released quarterly. The publication was printed and edited by union labor, and frequently distributed at radical bookstores, demonstrations, strikes, and labor rallies. It covers industrial conditions, strikes, workplace organizing experiences, and features on labor history. It used to be released as a newspaper. Pyramid of Capitalist System

The newspaper was first printed in journal format in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

, in January 1906, incorporating ''The Voice of Labor'' (the newspaper from the former American Labor Union which had joined the IWW), and ''International Metal Worker''. It was edited by A. S. Edwards, and early contributors included Eugene V. Debs,

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

, Daniel DeLeon,

Bill Haywood William Dudley Haywood (February 4, 1869 – May 18, 1928), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American labor organizer and founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a member of the executive committee of the Socia ...

, and James H. Walsh. It also included poetry by Covington Hall. When the group led by ousted President Charles O. Sherman retained physical control over the paper, after the union's 1906 convention, and continued publication under that name for a few months (before giving up the ghost), the IWW then issued the '' Industrial Union Bulletin'' for several years. A.S. Edwards was elected editor of the ''Bulletin'' in 1906. Paul Frederick Brissenden, ''The I.W.W. A Study of American Syndicalism'', Columbia University, 1919, p. 176 The second series of the ''Industrial Worker'' started in 1909 in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. This series has continues, with one interruptionduring 1913–1916. In the early years, it was printed weekly and mainly circulated west of the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. While the IWW's "Official Eastern Organ" was ''

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

'', published in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and later, Cleveland, which continued until it merged with the ''Industrial Worker'' in Chicago in the 1930s. The Spokane paper was the birthplace of the

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

character Mr. Block, later commemorated in a Joe Hill song. The ''Industrial Worker'' usually ran four pages, with an annual eight page

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

issue, reflecting on gains of the labor movement in the previous year. Circulation fell off due to the repression of the IWW during and after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, reflecting a decline in the influence of radical unionism more generally. Presently, the ''IW'' editor is decided every two years, via an IWW referendum. Recent editors have included Jon Bekken, Peter Moore, Diane Krauthamer, and Roberta McNair. Currently, the publication is edited by a committee. Issues of the ''Industrial Worker'' are often available on

microfilm A microform is a scaled-down reproduction of a document, typically either photographic film or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original d ...

at university libraries and other research oriented facilities.

References

External links

*
A detailed study of the ''Industrial Worker'' from 1909–1930, including images
from The Labor Press Project
IWW Newspapers 1906–1946 (maps)
Maps of newspapers affiliated with the IWW, with information about language, founding period, and duration. {{Authority control Industrial Workers of the World publications National newspapers published in the United States Magazines established in 1906 1906 establishments in Illinois

See also

References

External links