Wobblies Quotes

There had been a major labor strike in the textile mills of Lawrence. Ettor was one of the major strike leaders and strategists. The city authorities sided totally with the mill owners and used police and militia to try and break the strike. When one of the strikers was shot and killed (historians generally agree that the police had fired the shot), the authorities used the death to incapacitate the leadership of Ettor and two other “socialist” leaders who were professional strike organizers and leaders. The 3 were arrested and charged with murder, firing the shot that killed the striker. Ettor and the others were miles away at the time giving speeches to the strikers at another mill. None-the-less, they were arrested, jailed, and not even tried until after the strike was ended. The three were quickly acquitted. The jailing of the strike leaders backfired and made the strikers even more resolute. The laborers finally won the concessions, not to have their pay cut. The defendants went on to lead other strikes.

It was written from prison while he was awaiting execution.

Big Bill Haywood. Historically, the upper economic and business class, including currently, tend to view all labor organizations and unions as socialistic and or communistic and attach them for being such. However, in many industries in America today labor has a great deal of power and the industries are not socialistic or communist. The IWW however was one of the labor organizations that was based on socialism and contained many communists over the years. Haywood himself was a leader of the Socialist Party and campaigned for Eugene Debbs. Like Debbs he was convicted of an unconstitutional law of speaking against the WWI draft. Unlike Debbs who went to prison and was released later, Haywood skipped bail and lived in Russia for the rest of his life.

There had been a major labor strike in the textile mills of Lawrence. Ettor was one of the major strike leaders and strategists. The city authorities sided totally with the mill owners and used police and militia to try and break the strike. When one of the strikers was shot and killed (historians generally agree that the police had fired the shot), the authorities used the death to incapacitate the leadership of Ettor and two other “socialist” leaders who were professional strike organizers and leaders. The 3 were arrested and charged with murder, firing the shot that killed the striker. Ettor and the others were miles away at the time giving speeches to the strikers at another mill. None-the-less, they were arrested, jailed, and not even tried until after the strike was ended. The three were quickly acquitted. The jailing of the strike leaders backfired and made the strikers even more resolute. The laborers finally won the concessions, not to have their pay cut. The defendants went on to lead other strikes.