…with Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know, from the How Stuff Works Network…
Think of STDWYTK as a popular science take on all kinds of “stuff” you didn’t know you need to know! If you’re into hidden histories, real and theoretical conspiracies and unexplained phenomenons, you might like STDWYTK.
This month, the pod published a 2 part story about Union Busting (the history and the present). The first segment is a casual but well referenced short history of the labor movement – it origins, purpose and goals plus short summaries of the Pinkerton Agency and the voilent suppression of early union formation. Segment two covers the modern movement and resurgence of union busting including the resurgence of company towns, what’s really going on with labor law and the Pinkertons, again (they never really left).
Seems there’s a real conspiracy going on to suppress workers’ rights.
If you’re trying to organize your workplace and are facing union busting tactics (or if you just want to learn a little more about this “industry”) check out the Union Busting Playbook.
While they’re not as common as they once were, labor unions are back in the news as employees of companies like Amazon, Starbucks and more choose to organize, pushing for better pay, more rights and so on. In part one of this two-part episode, Ben and Matt explore the history of unions (which can themselves be conspiratorial)… as well as the powerful forces seeking to destroy unions, or prevent them from forming in the first place.
For nearly half a century, Russian emigrant Emma Goldman was the most controversial woman in America, taunting the mainstream with her fervent attacks on government, big business, and war. To the tabloids, she was “Red Emma, queen of the anarchists,” but many admired Goldman for her defense of labor rights, women’s emancipation, birth control, and free speech.
Is a member-run union for all workers, a union dedicated to organizing on the job, in our industries and in our communities. IWW members are organizing to win better conditions today and build a world with economic democracy tomorrow. We want our workplaces run for the benefit of workers and communities rather than for a handful of bosses and executives.
We are the Industrial Workers of the World because we organize industrially.
This means we organize all workers producing the same goods or providing the same services into one union, rather than dividing workers by skill or trade, so we can pool our strength to win our demands together. Since the IWW was founded in 1905, we have made significant contributions to the labor struggles around the world and have a proud tradition of organizing across gender, ethnic and racial lines – a tradition begun long before such organizing was popular.
FAQ
WOAH! Is the IWW legit? Do you still exist? Yes, the IWW is a legitimate organizing body and yes, we are still here! Historically, we have been one of the biggest and most influential unions in the past and we believe “now” is a unique time where we can be even more useful than before. The NEO chapter has seen a recent influx of membership for a variety of reasons, some timely (pandemic and workplace safety concerns, the rise of gig workers and the exploitation of “essential” workers are just a few) and some timeless (the human being’s basic desire for respect and dignity in all aspect of our lives.)
I am a member of another union. May I join? Yes. Many IWW members are also members of other unions. They are women and men who form the fighting heart of such unions; rank and filers who strive to make their unions yield returns for the membership and not completely degenerate into docile pacifiers serving the boss.
Such workers have joined the IWW because they want to build a union stronger, more fearless, more honest, than the unions dominant today. Such a union must, in the end, match the unity of the employers with the greater unity of the workers, match the power of the employing class with the greater power of the working class.
That union is the one big union of the IWW.
Will the IWW protect my privacy? Although there have been times (as with other unions) when members, to guard themselves from beating or lynching, have had to carry their IWW cards inside their shoes, the IWW has never been a secret organization.
Members of the IWW are proud of their red cards, which mark them as women and men and not driven sheep. Halls are open to all; union meetings are held regularly and openly; public meetings are advertised and are open to all workers.
Our official membership, however, is NOT made public for a variety of reasons. Most importantly to help workers avoid retaliation in their places of work. Undocumented workers may also want to keep their affiliation private and we respect that choice. It is up to each worker how public they choose to make their affiliation.
Does the IWW require a particular political affiliation? Or discourage another? There are no politics in our union. While the IWW identifies as an anarcho-syndcalist organization (and thereby inherently “left”) it is poor union policy to encourage one religion, political party or candidate over another. These are not union questions, and must be settled by each union member according to personal conscience. The union is formed to reach and enforce decisions about industrial questions. Its power to do this can be destroyed by the diversion of its resources to political campaigns.
