Workers' International Industrial Union
Encyclopedia
The Workers' International Industrial Union (WIIU) was a Revolutionary Industrial Union active in the United States
, Canada
, Britain
and Australia
. A revived version of the original WIIU was launched in the United States in 2009.
The Socialist Labor Party of America
(SLP), which had helped to found the Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW) in Chicago, also formed the first IWW branches in Australia. The SLP withdrew from the IWW in 1908
, primarily over the IWW's rejection of political action as a means, when coupled with economic organization, to emancipate the working class from wage slavery.
The WIIU was founded in Detroit in 1908 by unions who broke with the original IWW over the question of political action. This group also adopted the name Industrial Workers of the World, but it changed its name to Workers' International Industrial Union in 1915.
The Detroit IWW (which became the WIIU) created an industrial union structure that was similar to that of the IWW. The split between the Chicago IWW and the Detroit IWW was replicated in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.
Unlike the IWW, which from 1908 onwards constitutionally restricted itself from political alliances, the WIIU advocated political associations, and maintained a close association with the SLP, although (as of 1922) it declined to openly affirm this association. Robert Hoxie, author of Trade Unionism in the United States, referred to the Detroit IWW as socialistic, and the Chicago IWW as quasi anarchistic. Unlike the IWW, WIIU tactics called for a general lockout of the capitalist class. Instead of leaving the means of production to the capitalists and their scabs, the WIIU calls for workers to take possession of the means of production and begin operating them in the interests of society.
The WIIU was criticized for focusing more on propaganda than on organizing workers. From 1908 to 1922, the relationship between the IWW and the WIIU was characterized as "bitter".
The WIIU gained the affiliation of DeLeon's Socialist Labor Party (SLP) and the British Advocates of Industrial Unionism - although a small group remaining aligned to the original IWW left to form the Industrialist League - and a small section of former Wobblies in Australia which included James Arthur Dawson.
The WIIU shared much of its membership with the SLP, and struggled after DeLeon's death in 1914. It was invited to attend the first conference of the Comintern
in 1919, but did not affiliate. The WIIU never did conduct a strike of any importance. In 1916, the WIIU claimed a membership of 2,500, while its rival, the Industrial Workers of the World, claimed a total membership of 70,000. By the 1920s the WIIU was practically - and kindly - overlooked; where it was noticed it was criticized sharply, a ghost from a much more hazy past. The organization was finally disbanded in 1925.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. A revived version of the original WIIU was launched in the United States in 2009.
The Socialist Labor Party of America
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
(SLP), which had helped to found the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
(IWW) in Chicago, also formed the first IWW branches in Australia. The SLP withdrew from the IWW in 1908
Industrial Workers of the World organizational evolution
The Industrial Workers of the World is a union of wage workers which was formed in Chicago in 1905. The IWW experienced a number of divisions and splits during its early history....
, primarily over the IWW's rejection of political action as a means, when coupled with economic organization, to emancipate the working class from wage slavery.
The WIIU was founded in Detroit in 1908 by unions who broke with the original IWW over the question of political action. This group also adopted the name Industrial Workers of the World, but it changed its name to Workers' International Industrial Union in 1915.
History
Unions that broke with the IWW over the question of political action formed their own industrial union organization, calling it by the same name, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The original, Chicago IWW began to refer to itself as the Red IWW, and to the group advocating political action coupled with economic organization (the Detroit IWW) as the Yellow IWW. The Detroit IWW renamed itself the Workers' International Industrial Union (WIIU) in 1915, a year after De Leon's death.The Detroit IWW (which became the WIIU) created an industrial union structure that was similar to that of the IWW. The split between the Chicago IWW and the Detroit IWW was replicated in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.
Unlike the IWW, which from 1908 onwards constitutionally restricted itself from political alliances, the WIIU advocated political associations, and maintained a close association with the SLP, although (as of 1922) it declined to openly affirm this association. Robert Hoxie, author of Trade Unionism in the United States, referred to the Detroit IWW as socialistic, and the Chicago IWW as quasi anarchistic. Unlike the IWW, WIIU tactics called for a general lockout of the capitalist class. Instead of leaving the means of production to the capitalists and their scabs, the WIIU calls for workers to take possession of the means of production and begin operating them in the interests of society.
The WIIU was criticized for focusing more on propaganda than on organizing workers. From 1908 to 1922, the relationship between the IWW and the WIIU was characterized as "bitter".
The WIIU gained the affiliation of DeLeon's Socialist Labor Party (SLP) and the British Advocates of Industrial Unionism - although a small group remaining aligned to the original IWW left to form the Industrialist League - and a small section of former Wobblies in Australia which included James Arthur Dawson.
The WIIU shared much of its membership with the SLP, and struggled after DeLeon's death in 1914. It was invited to attend the first conference of the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
in 1919, but did not affiliate. The WIIU never did conduct a strike of any importance. In 1916, the WIIU claimed a membership of 2,500, while its rival, the Industrial Workers of the World, claimed a total membership of 70,000. By the 1920s the WIIU was practically - and kindly - overlooked; where it was noticed it was criticized sharply, a ghost from a much more hazy past. The organization was finally disbanded in 1925.