The Wobblies are having a party. A big, yearlong party in the United States and around the world to celebrate a big event: their 100th anniversary.
The Industrial Workers of the World, whose members refer to each other as Wobblies, is one of the first labor unions started to organize workers for common rights.
\It's a historic union and pretty unusual that a union lasts 100 years,"" said John Peck, an IWW member and the Madison-branch secretary. ""It's had a pretty important role in labor struggles throughout U.S. history.""
Throughout its 100 years the IWW has fought in the interests of workers, believing working people are entitled to everything they produce, not the share of profits they receive as wages.
John Remington, professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, believes the IWW has endured the last century because it provides an organization and philosophy that appeals to a unique population.
""It tends to be a marginalized segment on the far left,"" Remington said. ""But there's continued to be a small but significant percentage of trade unions who have radical, political ideas and are interested in workers' control.""
The IWW is unique among labor unions in that it might not fight immediately for a contract in the style of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, but instead use other innovative ways to organize, according to Nathaniel Miller, IWW Centenary coordinator.
""I guess the key would be that we're really interested in letting the workers that are on the shop floor set the pace of their organizing campaign,"" Peck said. ""Our members-the people actually doing the work-are deciding how they want to organize in their particular jobs as opposed to a union setting a policy of how to organize.""
Emerging at the end of the 19th century, unions helped improve and protect workers' rights. Union membership grew during the early 1900s as their abilities to obtain fair wages and conditions became more influential. In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act was passed, limiting the power of unions and the methods they could use. The 1950s saw the further decline of unions as links were made to organized crime. According to Remington, despite the decline in membership, labor unions continue to influence the American economy because the major industries are still unionized.
""The big guys are still organized, like transportation and manufacturing, and there's heavy unionization in the public sector and in the federal sector,"" Remington said. ""They still have a significant role in determining wages, hours and terms of conditions of employment.""
Although unions will continue to play a role in protecting workers, it is not likely they will be able to have the political influence they once did because they have not supported the Republican Party recently, Remington added.
With about 50 members, Madison's IWW branch is very active in helping workers organize, including their role with UFCW Local 538 workers against Tyson in February 2003 and assisting the Teaching Assistant Association in their strike last spring, according to Peck. Beside this year's centenary events, the Madison Wobblies will begin a campaign to organize Madison's downtown workers.
""We're doing a downtown worker organizing drive because there are a lot of workers on State Street and in the downtown area that we don't think are being treated very fairly,"" Peck said. ""Not just in terms of wages, but in terms of other rights that they should have.""
The IWW's success in the last century will be the focus of their centenary celebration this year. Events are scheduled to occur across the nation and around the world wherever IWW branches exist. The national IWW is organizing a conference in Chicago to occur on June 24 to 26. Festivities are also scheduled in Milwaukee and Madison, where five events are planned. The first will occur April 20 to celebrate the history of the IWW in song, as labor songs have served an important role throughout IWW history.
""We have and we still publish almost since the beginning what we call the Little Red Songbook, which is just a songbook with various labor songs,"" Miller said. ""It's constantly evolving as new songs are coming in, new songs are being written and lyrics to songs are being changed.""
The IWW of Madison will also host a May Day concert by singers Anne Feeny and Dave Rovics on May 7 at Memorial Union Terrace and a panel discussion on IWW's history in Wisconsin on May 14 at Memorial Union.
