SALERNO, Salvator " The Early Labor Radicalism of the Industrial Workers of the World : a Socio-Cultural Critique "

IWW (Industrial Workers of the World)culture* bibliographie

Ph. D. Thesis, Brandeis University, Jan. 1986. 229 p.
DAI, VOL. 47-07A, Page 2758

"…Wobblies replaced the institutional basis of unionism with a conception of culture and community that was primary and constitutive. Cultural expressions such as songs, cartoons and poetry became a critical form and means of communication between the I.W.W. and its members. While I.W.W. worker intellectuals had a major role in disseminating knowledge of the activities, principles, and tactics of industrial unionism, worker artists went beyond formal political expressions to create a language and symbolism that made the I.W.W.’s principles meaningful within the context of the workers’ cultural and social alienation.

Rank-and-file artists not only interpreted the contributions made by their European comrades to the revolutionary union movement but also gave form to the lived experience and felt meaning of the rank-and-file, helping to activate and structure worker initiatives. These forms not only enabled the I.W.W. to create a dynamic synthesis of political ideology but extended their critique of capitalism beyond the point of production enabling the I.W.W. to carry its message of industrial solidarity beyond the confines of the factory gate."