Rebel Voices An IWW Anthology

The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), commonly known as the Wobblies, were among the most well-respected and largest unions in the United States in the early 20th century. Having organized the first major automobile industry strike as well as major coalfield and transit workers strikes, the IWW has a history of being a fierce advocate for the worker. Long before most other unions, IWW welcomed women, African-Americans, and immigrants into their ranks, making the Wobblies among the most progressive organizations of the era. As the only comprehensive history of the IWW, this chronicle anthologizes nearly every important document and essay in the Wobblies' rich history. The impact of the IWW has reverberated through the history of unions and organized labor, and this is their story.

Joyce L. Kornbluh is a community activist and a labor historian, who has retired from the Labor Studies Center, University of Michigan. She is the author of A New Deal for Worker's Education and the coauthor of Rocking the Boat. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Fred Thompson was a publisher with Charles H. Kerr. Franklin Rosemont was a poet, an artist, a historian, a street speaker, the cofounder of the Chicago Surrealist Group, and a publisher at Charles H. Kerr. Daniel Gross is an organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World and a cofounder of the first union in the United States at the Starbucks Coffee Co. He is also the founding director of Brandworkers International, a nonprofit organization protecting and advancing the rights of retail and food employees. He lives in New York City.