IWW Yearbook 1908 - IWW History Project

This is a chronological database of campaigns, strikes, and IWW related events as recorded in the pages of the Industrial Union Bulletin, the weekly IWW newspaper. It was researched and compiled by Michael Kirkman.

Highlights by Michael Kirkman

Just three years after its founding convention, the IWW endured its second fractious split in 1908. This followed the contentious withdrawal of the Western Federation of Miners the previous year. The controversy surrounding the tactics and the political goals of the IWW continued as a rift opened between Daniel DeLeon of the Socialist Labor Party and the direct-actionists led by Vincent St. John, William Trautmann, and William “Big Bill” Haywood. The latter believed in direct action as a means to further the cause of labor, utilizing strikes, propaganda, and boycotts, while eschewing electoral politics as a lost cause.

The clash came to a head during the IWW’s fourth annual convention held in Chicago in late September, when DeLeon was challenged on technical grounds regarding his credentials as a union member. In the first issue following the convention, the Industrial Union Bulletin filled its front page with two competing articles. The first, entitled “The Intellectual Against the Worker”, was a transcription of DeLeon’s statement to the convention, including a diatribe against the anarchist tactics which he viewed as dishonorable and leading to “disruption and chaotic conditions” (IUB, Oct. 25,1908). In the second article, conversely titled “The Worker Against the Intellectual”, Vincent St. John repudiates DeLeon and accuses him of placing “the life of workingmen below the dignified law of property rights, and capitalist class rules and ethics.”

[read full report/close report]

Ultimately, St. John’s faction prevailed, and DeLeon left, later founding a competing IWW in Detroit. In the wake of the feud, the preamble to the organization’s constitution was altered by the convention to reflect the IWW’s turn away from the Socialist Party and Socialist Labor Party, with references to politics being removed and in its place a clear advocacy for the “Abolition of the wages system”. Claiming “it is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism”, the modified preamble signaled the beginning of a new era of radicalism for the IWW.

Following the Panic of 1907, the economic climate hurt IWW organizational efforts. High unemployment meant that many workers could not afford initiation fees or dues, and any action against employers could be disarmed by a ready supply of strikebreakers. Strikes were few this year, but the IWW organized large demonstrations of unemployed workers in Detroit and claimed credit for winning public works jobs in Youngstown. While many were unemployed, the organization claimed increasing support among timber workers in the Northwest. One report said there were 700 members in Spokane. Another said 203 members in Portland. At the time of the convention, IWW leaders reported 164 active union locals, 63 of them launched in the previous year, while 76 had been disbanded.

Despite the economy, national organizer J.H. Walsh declared in a June editorial “there has never been a time to do the effective educational work as at the present time” (IUN, Jun. 27, 1908). Indeed, Walsh took that effort quite seriously, leading a contingent of twenty fellow Wobblies known as the “Overalls Brigade” on a cross country tour from Portland, OR, on their way to the IWW national convention in Chicago. Dressed alike in matching overalls and bandanas while proudly displaying IWW pins, they travelled from town to town staging meetings and speeches. The “Overalls Brigade” found common ground with the anti-political sentiment of St. John, Haywood and Trautmann, as the denim clad cavalcade represented the largely migrant workers from the northwest who rarely stayed in one place long enough to be registered to vote. These itinerant lumberman, farmhands, and miners represented the “bummers” whose crudeness and direct action tactics had disgusted the erudite DeLeon.

In contrast to the rough and ready westerners who made their presence known at the convention, the IWW also had success in 1908 organizing textile workers. In Germantown, Hobokenen, Dracut, and Astoria, organizers were received well. In prelude to the 1912 strike in Lawrence, MA, the IWW supported a short lived and ill-documented strike in the industrial town during the summer.

Another organizational tactic endorsed by the convention was the Propaganda League. The leagues served two purposes in furthering the mission and recruiting efforts of the IWW. First, they could admit those who as members of industrial unions could not be members of a mixed local. Second, the wives of wage workers could participate in Propaganda Leagues while they were excluded from industrial union membership, becoming “a powerful force for upbuilding the economic organization” (IUB Dec. 12, 1908). Indeed, the IWW had success with a Propaganda League founded in New York on April 21st. As a result of open air meetings thousands of pamphlets and bulletins were sold, and a group of silk workers were organized.

The articles referenced in the database can be found in the online copies of Industrial Union Bulletin digitized by Marty Goodman of the Riazanov Library Project at marxists.org. Dates are either the reported date of the incident or the date the article appeared in the newspaper.

Date	Article title	Place	State	Event description
12/23/1907	Goldfield Miners United	Goldfield	Nevada	President Roosevelt ordered the recall of the federal troops he sent in December, saying that the request by Governor Sparks was based on a misrepresentation of the conditions in Goldfield. Fifty-three strike breakers were brought in from California.
1/4/1908	The Latest From Goldfield	Goldfield	Nevada	As a result of the strike, the mines are in poor condition and many strike breakers are leaving. The strikers are quietly awaiting developments.
12/17/1907	Appeal for Preston and Smith	Carson City	Nevada	An attorney for the Western Federation of Miners asked the Supreme Court of Nevada for a new trial for Preston and Smith, saying their trial was prejudiced because of a the labor dispute that they were involved in. Preston shot and killed a restaurant owner, but he claims it was in self defense.
1/4/1908	Address to Hotel and Restaurant Workers	New York	New York	Hotel And Restaurant Workers Local 130, IWW, called on workers employed in any capacity in hotels and restaurants to join together in one organization. They announced publication of a new trade paper, Hotel Worker.
1/4/1908	Mine Owners Are Responsible	Goldfield	Nevada	The conditions are peaceful but President Roosevelt is allowing the troops to remain until Governor Sparks can raise a state militia. An attorney for the Western Federation of Miners has announced a plan to remove trouble makers, saying that Goldfield will be a union camp "only of good well-intending miners." The IWW declares that it is the mine owners who are responsible for all the problems at Goldfield.
1/4/1908	Joint Meeting at Phoenix	Phoenix	Arizona	Five hundred men attended a meeting to protest federal troops being used by the mine owners in Goldfield.
1/11/1908	The Work in New England	Providence	Rhode Island	An IWW organizer reported good meetings in December with textile workers, shoe workers, and ship builders in Massachusetts.
1/11/1908	Goldfield Miners Are Firm	Goldfield	Nevada	The miners are standing together and many strike breakers have quit. Small businessmen and stockholders are in trouble and there are rumors that leasers and mine owners may "start up with the miners at the old basis."
1/18/1908	No Truth in Mine Owners Reports	Goldfield	Nevada	All IWW locals are urged to support the striking miners. The report of President Roosevelt's Commission confirms the contention that the mine owners had the troops sent into the camp in order to enforce a reduction in wages and break up the union.
1/18/1908	Ettor's Reply to an Editor	Salt Lake City	Utah	A Goldfield VP hired 120 strike breakers, but IWW members met them at the train depot and were able to get a majority of them to desert.
1/18/1908	Organization Work in Seattle	Seattle	Washington	A national organizer reported success in recruiting new members, chartering two local unions and holding numerous meetings in Seattle and Bellingham. He predicted that the shingle weavers would choose the IWW over the AFL, which had disappointed them last year.
1/17/1908	Special Announcement	New York	New York	William Haywood spoke to a meeting of six thousand men and women.
1/19/1908	Special Announcement	New York	New York	General Secretary Trautmann spoke before a large and successful meeting under the auspices of Local Union Number 500 of Pullman. Great interest was created and the local will arrange a series of meetings to meet the demand for discussion of Industrial Unionism.
1/25/1908	Textile Workers	Chicago	Illinois	The IWW issued a call for the first convention of textile workers to be held May 1 in Paterson, NJ. Over 5000 workers have already joined the IWW and thousands more are ready.
2/1/1908	Notes from Meeting of General Executive Board	New York	New York	Considering themselves betrayed by the AFL in a strike in 1907 a committee representing 12,000 waterfront workers in New York City wants to join the IWW
2/1/1908	Notes from Meeting of General Executive Board	New Orleans	Louisiana	Telegraph and telephone workers in New Orleans and coal miners show interest in IWW.
2/1/1908	From the Mexican Defense Committee	Los Angeles	California	An appeal is made for financial help for four Mexican revolutionists who have been unjustly held in prison for six months.
1/21/1908	New Britain Workers in Big Demonstration	New Britain	Connecticut	IWW Organizer Thompson was well received at a large, peaceful multi-ethnic demonstration of unemployed workers. They are facing starvation and asking the mayor to furnish them with employment. Thompson spoke of the difference between organizing on craft lines, like the AFL, and industry lines, like the IWW.
1/27/1908	Unemployed March in Detroit	Detroit	Michigan	Under the auspices of the IWW between 3000 and 4000 unemployed workers demonstrated and received assurances from the mayor that he would expedite public works jobs.
1/26/1908	New England News	Providence	Rhode Island	Thompson reported successful meetings with textile workers in RI, MA and CT.
2/8/1908	Some Notes From Goldfield	Goldfield	Nevada	Mine owners are organizing a scab union, called the Nevada Miners Union, with the intention of competing with and defeating the socialist Western Federation of Miners.
2/15/1908	Two Loom System Established	Dracut	Massachusetts	After striking and temporarily stopping a new system in which they are required to operate two looms instead of one, woolen weavers have admitted defeat.
2/15/1908	Good Work at Canton	Canton	Ohio	IWW reps had a successful meeting with striking iron molders who denounced their old parties and are now leaning strongly toward socialism.
1/9/1908	Propaganda in Philadelphia	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	Elizabeth Gurley Flynn spoke to a full hall about "Socialism from a Woman's Standpoint." There are now eight locals in Philadelphia.
2/22/1908	From the Seattle District	Seattle	Washington	The Public Service Workers Union has been chartered. IWW delegates from every union from Portland to Vancouver met to organize a district council. Volunteer organizers were well received in the logging camps.
2/29/1908	Through IWW Efforts	Youngstown	Ohio	Through IWW efforts a large number of men are being given work on public improvements.
2/1/1908	Free Speech Denied	Los Angeles	California	Several IWW, Socialist and AFL speakers have been arrested for speaking on the streets.
3/7/1908	St. John's Illinois Tour		Illinois	Assistant General Secretary Vincent St. John will talk to miners about the aims and means of the IWW in March and April.
3/7/1908	Progress in Alaska	Nome	Alaska	At a large meeting of Mixed Local No.264, IWW steady growth and hearty support from the Western Federation of Miners was reported.
3/7/1908	Principle Should Not Stand in the Way	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	A group of sheet metal workers who broke away from an AFL local and got a charter from the IWW refuse to go back.
3/14/1908	High Prices in Nevada	Beatty	Nevada	IWW and WFM members went out on strike when the railroads announced a reduction in wages. More than 300 foreigners brought in by the companies refused to scab and left, but native born Americans are filling the strikers places.
3/14/1908	Activity in Yukon Territory	Dawson	Yukon	The IWW held a mass meeting for the purpose of organizing an Industrial Council of the entire district.
3/14/1908	Tailors Attention!	Los Angeles	California	Two hundred Journeyman Tailors have been locked out for five months because of their union membership. Strike breakers from the East found only a little low paying work when they arrived.
3/21/1908	(No title)	Goldfield	Nevada	The strike has been called off. The district is overrun with idle men and the large body of revolutionary unionists are seeking other fields.
3/21/1908	Notes From the Front	New England		Progress is being made in Hartford, Stafford Springs and Lowell, with numerous meetings and new members of almost every nationality, especially Italians, Poles and Belgians.
3/21/1908	Chaotic Conditions Among Railroad Workers	Chicago area	Illinois	Three separate unions representing railroad workers attempted to negotiate contracts with the newly created Chicago, Indiana and Southern. The company required everyone to reapply and submit to a physical exam so that the most militant men could be thrown out.
3/28/1908	The Flynn Lectures	Providence	Rhode Island	Elizabeth Gurley Flynn spoke about industrial unionism to a large crowd, one of a series of very lively weekly meetings run by Textile Union 530, IWW. She is now starting an extensive lecture tour of the western and Pacific states under the auspices of the IWW.
3/28/1908	St. John Among the Miners		Illinois	Vincent St. John's trip through Illinois is drawing large crowds of miners enthusiastic about industrial unionism.
3/28/1908	Take Notice	Spokane	Washington	Workers in Spokane are making a desperate effort to build an organization and are setting up lecture routes in WA, ID and MT to educate workers. Socialists and members of the IWW and WFM are invited to participate.
4/4/1908	Beautiful Butte	Butte	Idaho	After being enticed to travel to Butte by news of five to twenty thousand jobs, five to ten thousand people have instead found themselves unemployed, cold, hungry and living in squalid conditions. In spite of being called the Gibraltar of Unionism, the Butte No.1 Local is considered the most corrupt in the WFM. The IWW has made a start but "will have to wage an incessant battle against the enemies without as well as the traitors from within."
4/4/1908	Obstructionists Beaten	New York	New York	The Central Federated Union tried and failed to prevent the IWW from obtaining a demonstration permit.
4/4/1908	Developments at Spokane	Spokane	Washington	Membership is growing, especially among the hundreds of unemployed men.
4/11/1908	The Stuff is Off	Chicago	Illinois	The Western Federation of Miners' attempt to launch an alternative organization to the IWW has failed. The proposed unity conference has not taken place.
4/11/1908	Japanese and Chinese Exclusion or Industrial Organization, Which?	Chicago	Illinois	A pamphlet will be printed outlining the IWW's solidarity with all working class people of the world, regardless of race, creed or color, and its opposition to attempts to exclude Asian workers.
4/13/1908	The Future of Labor	New York	New York	At a meeting, James Connolly cited economic history to support the IWW view that the working class must first gain economic power before it can exercise political power.
4/18/1908	French Weavers Strike	Germantown	Pennsylvania	A strike at Dobson Badford is still on and donations are requested.
4/18/1908	Propaganda League	New York	New York	A Propaganda League held a successful inaugural meeting at IWW headquarters.
4/25/1908	(no title)	Hoboken	New Jersey	Silk workers have been on strike for a small wage increase since March 20. Assistance is requested.
4/28/1908	Women of Greater New York	New York	New York	Women who wish to work in conjunction with the men to build up the IWW are called to a meeting.
5/2/1908	A Victory	Marble	Colorado	A strike organized by the IWW and International Union has been won.
5/2/1908	Persecution--What Next?	Syracuse	New York	L. Caminata, who was to speak to Italian workers interested in joining the IWW, was escorted out of town by police.
5/9/1908	An IWW National Industrial Union of Textile Workers Organized	Paterson	New Jersey	Twenty two delegates of textile unions and a delegation of the United Brotherhood of Tailors (representing 3000 workers) attended the first convention.
5/9/1908	Among the Workers in the Field, Mine and Factories	Spokane	Washington	Organizer Jack Walsh reports organizing one union and two branches (300 members) and plans two lecture routes in Washington, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia
5/9/1908	From Organizer Thompson	Lowell, Lawrence, Quincy, Worcester. Boston	Massachusetts	Thompson reports packed halls and new members, with meetings conducted in English, Polish, Flemish, Italian, Finnish and Swedish. A group of metal and machinery workers were able to prevent a wage reduction when members of all crafts stood together.
4/25/1908	From the Windy city on Lake Michigan	Chicago	Illinois	General Secretary Trautmann spoke before a meeting of Italian Building Constructors; 500 joined the IWW.
5/16/1908	What the Workers Should Not Do	Lowell	Massachusetts	The textile workers of Lowell are joining the IWW in large numbers.
5/16/1908	From the Windy City on Lake Michigan	Chicago	Illinois	Sec. Trautmann and General Organizer St. John addressed a meeting of Bakery Workers who want to join the IWW. They also addressed a meeting of striking cigar makers and advised them not to give up if their first strike fails.
6/6/1908	From Capitalism to the Industrial Commonwealth			Socialist Party candidate for president Eugene Debs spoke, under the auspices of the IWW, about the superiority of industrial unionism over craft unionism.
5/24/1908	Progress Measured By "Actions"	Portland	Oregon	A resolution was adopted by a meeting of the Scandinavian Discussion Club, attended by 400 men and women, that the industrial organization is both indispensable and superior to the craft union.
5/31/1908	Convention of French IWW Workers	Lawrence	Massachusetts	The second annual convention of French workers was a success. Membership is growing. Delegates came from Philadelphia, New Bedford, Woonsocket, Providence, Lowell and Lawrence. Issues discussed were work hours for men and women (who should be enlisted in the fight) and child labor.
6/13/1908	Industrial Unionism in Flathead County, Montana	Somers and Kalispell	Montana	Organizers have succeeded in convincing 300 workers (from ship captains to sawyers) to join the IWW instead of a rival union of "schemers and traitors." Recruiting workers in remote logging camps is challenging but rewarding.
6/13/1908	Propaganda Notes from New York	New York	New York	Large crowds and sales of literature on the West Side and in Little Italy.
5/30/1908	The "Fighting Temper"	Kalispell	Montana	A resolution was adopted to protest against a contractor who refused to pay union scale wages. Support from other IWW and craft unions is requested.
6/20/1908	For Women			Women IWW members are called to organize and educate their sisters, as women can be more easily reached by women.
6/27/1908	Propaganda League of New York City, N.Y.	New York	New York	Multiple open air meetings are being held in June.
6/27/1908	Workers Conditions in Portland and the Northwest	Portland and Spokane	Oregon	Thousands are unemployed, logging camps are closing, businesses are failing, making it a poor time to organize but a good time to do educational work. The movement is growing in Spokane, with big agitation meetings and hundreds of Bulletins sold. In Portland: a Buildings Constructors Local has been formed, 23 meetings held, dozens of new members have joined, hundreds of Bulletins sold, and an open headquarters and reading room maintained.
7/4/1908	The Thermometer of Progress	Imperial Valley	California	The local newspaper claims that IWW organizers are visiting all the towns in the area, spreading a plan to bring about a general strike
7/4/1908	Strike in Alaska	Seattle	Washington	IWW members are working with WFM representatives to prevent Seattle employment agents from recruiting strike breakers to go to the Treadwell gold mine in Alaska.
7/11/1908	Report of the Propaganda League	New York	New York	Several successful outdoor meetings have been held, drawing attentive audiences. A local of 41 silk workers was formed in Astoria and plans were made to hold outdoor meetings to expand membership.
7/25/1908	IWW in the Northwest	Spokane	Washington	There are 700 IWW members in Spokane, the majority of whom are spreading the word out in the camps. A local of lumbermen has been organized in Newport and more locals are underway in surrounding towns and lumber camps. Requests for organizers come in every day but the work is slow due to lack of money. Hundreds of copies the Bulletin are being sold.
7/25/1908	New York City, NY	New York	New York	The Propaganda League will hold six open air meetings the week of July 26.
7/25/1908	Attention! Woodworkers of New York	New York	New York	Speakers in many languages will address a mass meeting at IWW headquarters in Cooper Square.
7/25/1908	San Pedro	San Pedro	California	Joseph Ettor has enrolled 22 new members and is getting a good response from sailors and marine workers. He recommends establishing a central organization to make membership easier for traveling sailors.
8/8/1908	Organization--Education--Emancipation	Kalispell	Montana	IWW Local 421 will open a permanent reading and rest room for workingmen
8/22/1908	Propaganda Notes	Old Forge	Pennsylvania	Several new locals have been organized in the past few weeks, including a big coal miners local with 200 charter members
8/22/1908	We Told You So	Chicago	Illinois	The essay "From Craft Unionism to the Industrial Commonwealth," which has been published in the Bulletin, will be printed in booklet form
8/22/1908	Preston and Smith Must be Liberated	Chicago	Illinois	A campaign is announced to educate hundreds of thousands of workers and petition the Nevada Supreme Court to hear the appeal of Preston and Smith.
8/22/1908	Will Start an IWW Paper in Spanish	Phoenix	Arizona	The Mexican Branch of the phoenix Local of the IWW will publish a weekly paper devoted to the interests of Mexican workers.
8/22/1908	Assist the Striking Fellow Workers	Lawrence	Massachusetts	The French Branch of the IWW Textile Workers Union of Lawrence went on strike two weeks ago, protesting cuts in wages. Assistance is requested.
9/5/1908	In the West	Portland	Oregon	Organizer JH Walsh reports 91 meetings and 203 new members in three and a half months. The meetings have been large but because thousands are unemployed, few have the $1 for membership. He plans a five week speaking tour on his way to the IWW convention in Chicago.
9/5/1908	The Vampires at Work	Boston and Philadelphia	Massachusetts and Pennsylvania	IWW efforts with bakery workers are being made difficult by conflict with AFL.
9/5/1908	Notice to Literary Agents	Chicago	Illinois	The Handbook of Industrial Unionism by William Trautmann is now available in Finnish.
9/5/1908	Propaganda Notes			A big longshore union on the Great Lakes is showing interest in the IWW. A local branch in Boston is adding 50 members at a time at their meetings. The IWW is gaining in prestige among the lumber workers in Montana.
9/19/1908	I.W.W. "Red Special" Overall Brigade	Centralia	Washington	National Organizer JH Walsh's group of nineteen overall-clad men leaves Portland on its freight-car journey to the IWW convention in Chicago. Meetings are held along the way, literature and song cards are sold and collections are taken.
9/19/1908	I.W.W. "Red Special" Overall Brigade	Tacoma	Washington	A great meeting was held to a packed street.
9/19/1908	I.W.W. "Red Special" Overall Brigade	Seattle	Washington	Several good meetings held. The group was arrested for riding the train, then held another street meeting after spending the night in jail.
9/19/1908	I.W.W. "Red Special" Overall Brigade	Spokane	Washington	Several good meetings held.
9/19/1908	I.W.W. "Red Special" Overall Brigade	Missoula	Montana	Some of the best meetings of the trip, with streets packed from side to side. Good collections and sales of literature and songs.
9/19/1908	Propaganda Notes	Fall River	Massachusetts	A branch of Portuguese textile workers has been organized.
9/19/1908	On the Advance	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	Elizabeth Gurley Flynn spent two weeks in Philadelphia, holding numerous meetings. The IWW has grown from a few scattered members a year before to a thriving movement with an established headquarters.
9/19/1908	Good Hints for Propaganda Work	Cincinnati	Ohio	A campaign to reach street car workers used a clever tactic: leaflets were distributed simultaneously in sealed envelopes to every motorman and conductor throughout the city.
10/1/1908	Convention Notes	Chicago	Illinois	The Fourth Annual Convention was a success. There are now 164 local unions; 76 were organized since the last convention and 63 have been disbanded. The West was well represented for the first time; the textile organization in the East is soon to be an important factor. The wives of wage earners will now be allowed to work in the Propaganda Leagues. It will now be possible for foreign nationality clubs and associations to be chartered.
10/10/1908	The New Preamble	Chicago	Illinois	At the convention, language emphasizing the mission of the working class to do away with capitalism and abolish the wage system is added to the preamble.
10/24/1908	Preston and Smith Denied Rehearing	Carson City	Nevada	The Nevada Supreme Court has denied Preston and Smith's appeal for the second time. Socialists and labor men say they will eventually have a new trial as a result of the agitation being carried on in their behalf.
10/24/1908	Abroad the Nation	Missoula	Montana	JH Walsh continues his rail journey to the convention in Chicago. Lots of Bulletins, literature and song cards were sold and collections taken. There were three meetings in Missoula and it looks like the lumbermen's union will be leaving the WFM and joining the IWW.
10/24/1908	Abroad the Nation	Bozeman	Montana	One meeting in this farmer town.
10/24/1908	Abroad the Nation	Livingston	Montana	One successful meeting in this railroad town.
10/24/1908	Abroad the Nation	Billings	Montana	Five big meetings
10/24/1908	Abroad the Nation	Glendive	Montana	Good turnout, in spite of the small size of the town.
10/24/1908	Abroad the Nation	Minneapolis	Minnesota	Several big meetings, some interrupted by police and a trip to the police station. This is a good field for future work.
10/24/1908	Notes From the Field, Or What's Doing	Chicago	Illinois	Street meetings were held during the convention and great interest has been aroused.
10/24/1908	Notes From the Field, Or What's Doing	Chicago	Illinois	Since the convention five charters have been issued to painters in Los Angeles, public service workers in Globe AZ, and lumber workers in Darby, Potomac and St. Regis, MT.
11/7/1908	Hail the Militants	Somers	Montana	Local unions have invited Fred Heselwood to come to western Montana to organize. They have raised the money for his travel expenses.
11/7/1908	Hell Popping in Montana	Missoula	Montana	Fred Heslewood, working with lumber workers, reports on conflict with rival unions, including the Western Federation of Miners.
12/12/1908	Notes From the Field		Montana	A lumber workers local has switched from the Montana State Union into the IWW. The companies have discharged quite a number of men for joining the IWW but that only makes them more determined to keep out of the company union.
11/8/1908	St. John in Providence	Providence	Rhode Island	Vincent St. John spoke to a crowded mass meeting of textile workers about the superiority of industrial unionism to trade unionism. This is the second meeting he has addressed this week.
11/8/1908	National Textile Union	Providence	Rhode Island	At a meeting of the National Industrial Union of Textile Workers, St. John was charged with reorganizing the silk workers in Paterson, NJ. $10 balance due will be sent to strikers in Lawrence. There are more than 1350 members.
12/12/1908	Propaganda Leagues	New York	New York	General Executive Board Member BH Williams advocates for the establishment of Propaganda Leagues in large industrial centers. After the Propaganda Leagues do the preparatory educational and recruiting work, the local unions would then do the organizing. Foreign nationality clubs and wives of workers could participate. The New York Propaganda League has reached 20,000 people in its meetings between April and September this year. They helped form a local of silk workers and agitated alongside machinists, longshoremen and railroad workers. An Italian Propaganda League has also been formed.

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IWW Yearbook 1909

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Highlights by Michael Kirkman