IWW union organizers held street meetings, condemning employers for the low pay and poor working conditions of lumberjacks, migrant laborers, and other unorganized workers. One thing, however, drew the Wobblies together-the so-called "free speech fights" in Western cities. Bitter arguments between the socialists and anarchists weakened the union. The question of his guilt still causes controversy. The IWW considered Hill innocent and rallied supporters with his memory. In 1915, union organizer Joe Hill was tried, convicted, and executed in Utah for murdering a store owner during an armed robbery. Defended by famed attorney Clarence Darrow, Big Bill was acquitted when the only witness against him proved to be a liar. In 1907, Big Bill Haywood was put on trial for the bombing murder of a former Idaho governor. In addition, IWW leaders were often arrested and accused of violent acts. But after winning a strike, the IWW often failed to follow up and establish a strong, permanent local union. For example, a strike by Nevada gold miners won them an eight-hour day. Some said that IWW stood for "I Won't Work." But Harrison Gray Otis, the anti-union owner of the Los Angeles Times, put into print the IWW's most lasting name: the "Wobblies."ĭuring the early years of the IWW, the Wobblies had some successes. The willingness of the IWW to sign up almost anyone gave it the reputation of being a union of hoboes, drifters, and other lowlifes. The two sides finally compromised by agreeing that the IWW would operate in both areas, but would not become attached to any political party. They rejected political participation and argued for "direct action" in the form of strikes, worker demonstrations, and even sabotage. But the anarchists believed that the election system was merely a tool of capitalism. Debs, wanted the IWW to engage in politics and elections. The socialists at the convention, like Eugene V. The delegates split over one important issue. Their goal was to organize the working class to declare one big general strike to "take possession of the earth and the machinery of production." According to the IWW's founding document, "It is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism." Once this was accomplished, a "Cooperative Commonwealth" would be established with the workers in control. They called for all workers to join their "One Big Union," which they named the Industrial Workers of the World. The delegates at the convention condemned the American Federation of Labor for failing to organize the vast majority of industrial workers. He announced that the purpose of the meeting was to create a working-class movement to free workers from the "slave bondage of capitalism" and to bring workers "up to a decent plane of living." Big Bill called the convention to order by pounding a piece of board on the podium. The founding convention took place in Chicago. In 1905, Big Bill joined like-minded union leaders and socialists, anarchists, and other radicals to organize a new national union. A powerful speaker, he gained the reputation as a militant union organizer and strike leader. In the 1890s, Haywood helped form the Western Federation of Miners union. Haywood reluctantly returned to the harsh life of a mine wage worker. He discovered that he liked working for himself rather than for an employer, but he lost his homestead when the land became part of an Indian reservation. Haywood eventually married and took up homesteading in Nevada. At age 9, he began working in copper mines. William Dudley Haywood grew up on the rough and violent Western frontier. One of the main organizers for the IWW was "Big Bill" Haywood. Known as the "Wobblies," these unionists wanted to form "One Big Union." Their ultimate goal was to call "One Big Strike," which would overthrow the capitalist system. In 1905, a new radical union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), began to organize workers excluded from the AFL.
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