Since our founding in 1905, the IWW has struggled for the rights of the entire working class. Northeast Ohio Wobblies in particular have a long history of especially intense solidarity. The Northeast Ohio IWW has long stood hand in hand with our fellow workers. From the fight for better working conditions at the Cleveland May Day Uprisings, to organizing tinners and slaters, cigar rollers, fence makers, rubber and steel workers, coal miners and machinists, we have been there with all our might through each triumph and defeat for our local working class.
No politician or government has the right to impede workers’ struggles, especially the inviolable right to strike. As such, we will support and respect any decision made by the railroaders in the face of the severe and unjustifiable government repression of their rights as workers. It goes without saying that we hold no such respect or support for the U.S. President or his Congress, who have once again played their role as workers’ enemies in the class struggle. No “law” violating workers’ rights is worth the paper used to print it.
As workers, we have the right and duty to organize our industries as we see fit. It is our work and our lives in question, as always. Members of the Northeast Ohio IWW continue to stand in solidarity with our fellow workers, knowing as we do that labor is entitled to all that it creates. Our membership is actively following updates from the Railroad Workers Rank and File Committee (RWRFC) and seeking ways to show material support in the coming days.
Solidarity Forever! Our union makes us strong!