IWW Yearbook: 1912

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This is a chronological database of campaigns, strikes, and labor related events as recorded in the Industrial Worker. It was researched by Michael Hanley. Start by reading his highlights report. Below that is the database.

Highlights 1912 by Michael Hanley

This was the year that began to reveal the potential of the IWW to reach workers that the AFL unions could not or would not organize. The textile workers strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts would last for months and prove to be one of the IWW’s greatest successes, yielding higher wages, new members, and world-wide attention. The Industrial Worker followed the strike closely as well as the subsequent trials of IWW leaders Joseph Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti. The year also saw new free speech fights in the West, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory verdict, and many strikes, including a walkout by black and white timber workers in Louisiana.

This was a banner year for free speech movements instigated by the IWW. Extended confrontations occurred in Aberdeen, WA, New Bedford, MA, San Francisco, San Diego, and Oakland. Most of these events began when the IWW members attempted to hold public meetings on street corners. The assumption was that the First Amendment would protect their assembly rights, but increasingly strict local ordinances and police presence made having those meetings more and more difficult. According to the Industrial Worker, the IWW would try to follow the rules by acquiring the necessary permits and contacting authorities to warn them well in advance of their meetings, but they still met with resistance. In all of the cities where free speech became a serious issue in the Industrial Worker, peaceful demonstrations would often turn into riots or mass arrest situations. Many articles in the Industrial Worker detailed eyewitness accounts of unsanitary conditions in the jails and prisons where demonstrators were locked up. Some city officials such as in Manchester, NH, gave up the fight and allowed the IWW to have their space within a matter of days. Other cities, such as San Diego, had free speech conflicts that lasted for over a year. In addition to its length, San Diego’s free speech conflicts were also notable for the authorities’ use of vigilantes against IWW demonstrators.

[read full report/close report]

The event dominating headlines in the Industrial Worker in 1912 was the big textile worker strike that occurred in Lawrence, MA. Laborers in the mills were fed up with their working conditions and wages. Specifically, they took issue with a new law that shortened the workweek. Mill owners found a loophole in the law and made sure that they could pay the workers less because the employees worked fewer hours. This did not sit well with the workers or the IWW, so they began to strike. This movement grew and grew until in included thousands of workers throughout New England by the end of February. As the Industrial Worker noted week after week, multiple violent clashes between police, laborers, and average citizens occurred on a very regular basis. Lawrence was quickly becoming an unsafe place to live, so many families decided that it would be best to send their children out of town to stay with relatives and friends until the furor died down. This resulted in multiple chaotic confrontations between mobs of mothers and police officers at the railroad stations when children were dropped off.

A notable conflict arose between the American Federation of Labor (A.F.L.) and the IWW during the Lawrence strike. The A.F.L. wanted to be the organization that officially spoke for the strike as a whole. However, the IWW had a significantly larger membership base within the strike, which, the Industrial Worker pointed out, would mean that putting the A.F.L. in charge would make no sense. These two organizations wished to see the strike become successful, but their differences lead to conflict.

Contempt on the part of the Industrial Worker for the A.F.L. also showed up in the publication’s coverage of the Los Angeles building trades’ strike. The Industrial Worker contended that the strike was not really called to improve the lives of workers and win better pay or reduced hours, but instead was an AFL ploy to undermine the IWW. A similar issue was raised in the cotton industry strike in New Bedford, MA.

In any case, the Lawrence strike had significant implications and influences. For instance, in nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, mill owners were so terrified that their employees would be inspired by the Lawrence strikers that they preemptively called police in order to force laborers to attend work and break up any meetings like those conducted by the IWW. The strike’s influence reached all the way across the nation. Numerous IWW meetings were conducted all over the country in cities such as Oakland and Seattle, in order to show solidarity and collect funds to support the strikers. Mill workers in Grays Harbor, Hoquiam, and Tacoma, WA, were inspired by the Lawrence strikes and decided to stage a series of strikes of their own.

An interesting case that the Industrial Worker was diligent in reporting on was the incident involving Joseph Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti. Ettor and Giovannitti were key organizers of the Lawrence strike. This made them targets of the mill owners, who had institutional power and influence and used said powers to their advantage. The mill owners’ opportunity came when an IWW striker, Anna LoPizzo, was shot and killed. Ettor and Giovannitti were arrested, questioned, and charged as accomplices to murder, despite the fact that no substantial evidence had been gathered against them and that defense witnesses claimed that both men were giving speeches several miles away from the scene of the crime when the murder took place. The event inspired national outrage from IWW members and spurred numerous meetings and protests, including one in Seattle. Their trial began in September of 1912, and it lasted for two months. During closing comments, Giovannitti delivered a speech that the Industrial Worker hailed as brilliant. In late November, the jury acquitted them of all the charges.

With any major event, such as the Lawrence strike, the Industrial Worker would have loads of written commentary on each topic. In general, most of the second page of every issue was reserved for brief opinion pieces about each recent major event. In a similar vein, one notable feature of most of the articles about strikes and incidences involving strikes was a short paragraph consisting of a plea for funds. It would include a request for money and would list an address to which one could send the money. In addition, articles about strike meetings would mention that a collection had been taken up, and it would even list the exact amount collected, down to the last cent. It displayed a value for communal and collective action and aid, as well as a desire for the IWW to remain accountable and honest with the people it served.

The infamous Triangle Shirtwaist factory trial verdict was delivered early in 1912. The situation involved a fire that burned down a factory, killing 146 garment workers, mostly young women. During the workday, supervisors locked the front doors in order to prevent unauthorized breaks. On March 11, 1911, a fire started and spread throughout the entire building. The workers tried to leave the building, but couldn’t because the doors were locked. Nobody was present to unlock the doors, and the emergency escape facilities were poorly crafted. Those in charge at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory were put on trial, and in early 1912, a jury found them not guilty. As an advocate for workers’ rights, the Industrial Worker was infuriated by all of this. This publication does not hesitate to label any deaths “on the job” as “murder,” and this case was no exception.

Many small-scale conflicts between laborers and authorities exploded during 1912. 2,500 longshoremen in Boston struck for better wages. Firefighters and coal workers at the University of Michigan went on strike for more pay, while the university attempted to replace them with student “scabs.” As usual, the Industrial Worker demonized these “scabs” and anyone else who tried to replace striking laborers. Coal miners in Colorado went on strike, but ended up successfully negotiating with the owners of struck mines. Workers in Brawley, CA, ran into trouble when authorities accused them of stealing a pig. In that case, arrests were made twice, but no charges were ever filed and the cases were all dropped. Construction workers in Kansas City, MO, Bismarck, ND, Milwaukee, WI, and Tacoma, WA, all simultaneously went on strike. Construction workers in White Salmon, WA, who were working on the Northwestern Electric Company’s power dam, went on strike under the IWW’s leadership. Lumber workers at the Lumber Company in Bovill, ID, struck in pursuit of higher pay. All of the piano and organ workers in New York City joined the IWW and subsequently went on strike. Freight handlers and receiving clerks in Chicago all went on strike for a 10 cents-per-day pay increase.

In Louisiana, workers from timber companies represented by the Southern Lumber Operators’ Association went on strike, only to be confronted by guns and arrests from their employer and the police; three died and twenty were wounded in that particular incident. The Industrial Worker claimed that other media outlets labeled that event as a riot, even though the strikers didn’t expect an attack like that to happen at all. This is a prime example of the Industrial Worker’s general contempt for mainstream media that promoted capitalistic values and qualities, a theme that came up in most of the stories about strikes, protests, meetings, and other events.

One particularly notable event happened when streetcar workers, mostly racial minorities, in Portland, OR, went on strike for many of the “usual” reasons (i.e. low pay, long hours), as well as the fact that the companies would frequently fire their workers in order to collect application fees from unemployed workers wanting to work for them. This particular strike event stood out to the Industrial Worker because the strikers specifically sought out the IWW’s help in managing the strike, as opposed to it happening the other way around.

The articles referenced in the database can be found in the online copies of Industrial Worker digitized by Marty Goodman of the Riazanov Library Project at marxists.org.

Date	Title	Place	State	Description
1/5/1912	Longshoremen Strike	Boston	MA	2,500 Boston longshoremen began a general strike to demand a wage increase.
1/11/1912	Thugs Made to Back Up	Brawley	CA	Three workers in Brawley, CA, were arrested because of suspicions that they had stolen a pig. They were later released because the local sheriff was unable to find substantial evidence.
1/11/1912	Protest Against Aberdeen Thugs	Oakland	CA	I.W.W. members in Oakland, CA, planned a protest in solidarity with members participating in the free speech fight in Aberdeen, WA.
1/15/1912	Workers Are Persecuted	Brawley	CA	Almost everyone involved in the pig-stealing situation in Brawley was arrested again.
1/17/1912	Victory for I.W.W. in Aberdeen!	Aberdeen	WA	After a long struggle for free speech rights in Aberdeen, WA, the I.W.W. was able to successfully obtain the right to assemble and publicly speak.
1/18/1912	Police Fight Frisco I.W.W.	San Francisco	CA	An attempt to hold an I.W.W. meeting on the streets of San Francisco was thwarted by a series of police arrests.
1/18/1912	Assistance Is Needed	Holtville	CA	An I.W.W. man was kidnapped near Holtville, CA, and taken to Mexico by two Mexican and two American officials without warrants or any other papers.
1/25/1912	The Textile Strike	Lawrence	MA	The textile strike in Lawrence, MA, continued with a parade that was free from conflict.
1/25/1912	Big Strike in New England	Lawrence	MA	The strike in Lawrence, MA, caused a group of riots in woolen mills that caused several workers, police officers, and citizens to sustain minor injuries.
1/25/1912	"Not Guilty"	New York City	NY	A jury found the defendants involved in the Triangle Shirt Waist factory fire not guilty.
1/30/1912	Rah-Rah Scabs	University of Michigan	MI	Firefighters and coal wheelers at the University of Michigan went on strike. They were replaced by students.
2/8/1912	Unemployed Invade San Diego	San Diego	CA	Members of the I.W.W. and the Socialist party publicly demonstrated in San Diego in order to push back against a new city ordinance limiting free speech.
2/8/1912	Militia Used On Strikers	Lawrence	MA	The strikers and mill owners in Lawrence have not come close to reaching an agreement.
2/8/1912	San Francisco Justice	San Francisco	CA	Those arrested in San Francisco free speech demonstrations were sentenced to a $10 fine or 10 days in prison.
2/15/1912	Class War Rages In Lawrence	Lawrence	MA	The American Federation of Labor expressed interest in taking over as the representative organization for the strike in Lawrence.
2/17/1912	New Hampshire Jails Speakers	Manchester	NH	Fearing an impending strike similar to Lawrence, mill owners in New Hampshire sent police to arrest free speech demonstrators in the Hampshire district.
2/18/1912	Oakland Meeting	Oakland	CA	A meeting was held at Hamilton Auditorium in Oakland, CA among members of the I.W.W. and the Socialist party to discuss issues surrounding the Lawrence strike.
2/19/1912	Strike Meeting in Seattle	Seattle	WA	To show solidarity with the Lawrence strikers, workers conducted a meeting in Seattle in order to strategize and take up collections to fund the strike.
2/21/1912	Ettor Bount Over to Grand Jury	Salem	MA	A judge ruled that Ettor and Giovannitti would be bound over to a grand jury on a charge of accessory to murder.
2/22/1912	Silly San Diego Fights I.W.W.	San Diego	CA	Ninety men and women were jailed in San Diego after demonstrating against the new free speech ordinance, which took effect on February 8, 1912.
2/23/1912	Was Easy to Whip Manchester	Manchester	NH	A public meeting of over 5,000 went uninterrupted by authorities in Manchester, NH, signaling a victory for the I.W.W. and free speech activists.
2/26/1912	Change Tactics In San Diego	San Diego	CA	A large parade was held by radicals in San Diego to protest free speech suppression as well as unsanitary conditions in the jails for incarcerated demonstrators.
2/29/1912	Report of Lumber Workers' Convention			This article delivers a summary of the topics and resolutions at the lumber workers' convention.
3/3/1912	Workers Outraged In Oakland!	Oakland	CA	Riots broke out in Oakland, CA, after the I.W.W. attempted to stage public protests of police regulation. It resulted in several injuries and six arrests.
3/3/1912	Minneapolis Meeting	Minneapolis	MN	Two Lawrence strike meetings were held in Minneapolis, MN.
3/4/1912	Organizer Thompson Murderously Assaulted	Lawrence	MA	An attempt on the life of the General Organizer of the I.W.W. was made in connection with the Lawrence strikes. He was critically injured and there were very few initial clues left behind.
3/7/1912	Lawrence Fight Stirs Nation	Lawrence	MA	The textile worker strike in Lawrence continued. The mill owners offered a wage increase of 5 to 8 percent, but the I.W.W. stood by its demand for 15 percent.
3/9/1912	Solidarity Shown in Parade	New York City	NY	A parade was held in New York City to show solidarity with the strikers in Lawrence.
3/10/1912	Every Little Bit Helps	Spokane	WA	I.W.W. members in Spokane, WA, held a Lawrence strike protest meeting.
3/14/1912	Strike On At Hoquiam, Wash.	Hoquiam	WA	Mill workers in Hoquiam, WA, began a strike and picketing for increased wages
3/14/1912	Oakland Thugs Active	Oakland	CA	Several attempts to use legally allowed public meeting space to protest free speech violations were disrupted by police presence. This came to a head when police broke up a regular Socialist meeting which occurred indoors.
3/14/1912	Extra Police in San Diego	San Diego	CA	More police officers and more arrests have been added in connection with the free speech demonstrations occurring in San Diego.
3/21/1912	Strike Still On At Lawrence	Lawrence	MA	The textile strike in Lawrence, MA, continued. More children were being sent to other parts of the country, more small demonstrations occurred, and more unsuccessful negotiations were offered and examined.
3/25/1912	Raymond Mob Raids Hall and Deports Strikers	Raymond	WA	Several hundred men in Raymond, WA, went on strike in solidarity with movements in Hoquiam and Aberdeen. In response, a mob invaded their indoor headquarters and arrested many of the strikers.
3/28/1912	Lumber Workers Strike Spreads	Grays Harbor	WA	The I.W.W. lumber strike slowly spread throughout Grays Harbor, resulting in more arrests and increased membership within the I.W.W.
3/28/1912	What Frisco Is Doing	San Francisco	CA	Multiple meetings have been held in San Francisco to show solidarity with the Lawrence strikers.
3/31/1912	Police Commit Murder in San Diego	San Diego	CA	A free speech demonstrator died due to injuries inflicted upon him by police officers in San Diego,
4/11/1912	Strike Spreads To Tacoma	Seattle	WA	Mill workers in Tacoma, WA, walked out of work in solidarity with the Grays Harbor strikers.
4/11/1912	Colorado Coal Miners		CO	Coal miners in northern Colorado won their strike.
4/15/1912	Strike at Bovill, Idaho	Bovill	ID	All of the workers at Potlatch Lumber Company in Boville, ID, went on strike seeking better food and a pay increase of 25 cents.
4/21/1912	Construction Strike at Salem	Salem	OR	Oregon Electric Railway workers went on strike, with the I.W.W. at the helm, to negotiate wages, hours, and food.
5/1/1912	Monster May Day Parade in Lawrence	Lawrence	MA	Five thousand I.W.W. members in Lawrence, MA, marched in a large May Day parade.
5/23/1912	Chicago Freight Handlers Strike	Chicago	IL	Freight handlers, checkers, and receiving clerks in Chicago went on strike for better wages and a small increase in holiday time.
6/20/1912	Construction Strike at White Salmon, Wash.	White Salmon	WA	Employees at the Northwestern Electric, Co.'s damn began a strike under the leadership of the I.W.W.
6/23/1912	Hoodlums Interrupt Covington Hall	Carson	LA	A mass meeting on a public road in Carson, LA, was interrupted by a gang of "hoodlums" who used loud noisemakers to make sure that I.W.W. speakers could not be heard.
6/28/1912	Street Speaking Stopped In New Bedford	New Bedford	MA	An I.W.W. organizer speaking to a crowd of 1,500 on the streets was interrupted and forced to disperse by police officers.
7/15/1912	Big Textile Strike in New Bedford, Massachusetts	New Bedford	MA	The I.W.W. teamed up with the United Textile Workers to help textile workers in New Bedford, MA, to go on strike to protest an unfair wage deduction rule.
7/18/1912	Kirby's Thug's Shed Worker's Blood!	Grabow	LA	Employees of the Southern Lumber Operators' Association who chose to strike were suddenly attacked by "thugs" who were allegedly sent by their employer.
7/18/1912	The I.W.W. and the Los Angeles Building Trades' Strike	Los Angeles	CA	The I.W.W. and the American Federation of Labor are in conflict regarding how to deal with the exclusivity of craft unions.
7/25/1912	Seattle Protests	Seattle	WA	Members of the I.W.W. and the Socialist party held a protest and distributed pamphlets in protest of the imprisonment of Ettor and Giovannitti.
8/22/1912	Pittsburg Police Thugs Brutally Club Workers	Pittsburg	PA	Five thousand Socialists clashed with police after they tried to break up an open air meeting.
8/24/1912	Loggers Strike For Better Grub	Deep River	WA	Loggers in Deep River, WA, went on strike in protest of poor food.
8/28/1912	Cleveland Declines With Thanks	Cleveland	OH	Police arrested four I.W.W. members on August 28th in Cleveland, OH, for publicly preaching anarchy.
9/7/1912	War in Minneapolis	Minneapolis	MN	Twenty I.W.W. members were arrested in Minneapolis, MN, for speaking publicly on the streets.
9/15/1912	Big Demonstration in Boston	Boston	MA	At least forty thousand people held a large protest in Boston, MA, to demonstrate against the Ettor and Giovannitti trial.
9/17/1912	A Great Convention	Chicago	IL	The seventh annual I.W.W. convention was held. It was the organization's largest single gathering since 1904.
9/26/1912	The Duluth Street Car Strike	Duluth	MN	Craftsmen who work on street cars in Duluth, MN, went on strike in order to protest the firing of employees who were instrumental in the attempted formation of their union.
10/5/1912	One Big Parade	San Francisco	CA	The I.W.W. held a 5,000-person parade in San Francisco, CA, that managed to completely block traffic on Market street.
10/6/1912	Portland Again	Portland	OR	An Ettor-Giovannitti demonstration was held in Portland, OR, using the combined forces of the Socialist party and the I.W.W.
10/17/1912	Strike of Piano Workers	New York City	NY	Piano workers in New York City went on strike, bringing the local piano industry to a halt.
10/31/1912	On To Little Falls, New York	Little Falls	NY	Textile workers in Little Falls, NY, have gone on strike in solidarity against wage cuts and the passage of a 54-hour workweek law.
11/11/1912	A Steel Trust Lock-Out			Algoma Iron Works locked employees out after they requested a time and a half rate for overtime and Sundays off.
11/18/1912	Thirteen Hundred Timber Workers Out On Strike	Merryville	LA	1,300 timber workers in Merryville, LA, went on strike against the American Lumber Company's decision to fire anyone who served as a witness for the defense in the Grabow Riot trial.
11/21/1912	I.W.W. Tailors Strike at Frost & Co. Seattle	Seattle	WA	Tailors at Frost & Co. in Seattle, WA, went on strike to protest employer discrimination against I.W.W. members.
11/21/1912	Riot In Butte, Mont.	Butte	MT	A small crowd of socialists in Butte, MT, was attacked by an angry mob, which caused a riot.
11/21/1912	Buffalo Hotel Workers Strike	Buffalo	NY	Hotel workers in Buffalo, NY, went on strike.
11/24/1912	Ettor and Giovannitti's Closing Words to the Jury	Salem	MA	Ettor and Giovannitti were allowed to speak their final words to the jury during their trial.
12/1/1912	Men Strike On Oregon Road		OR	125 railroad workers went on strike in Portland and Eugene in protest against a proposed wage cut of 50 cents.
12/5/1912	Another Craft Victory	Minneapolis	MN	Waitresses working at the Eureka restaurant in Minneapolis, MN, went on strike against poor food and in favor of a $1 per week wage increase.
12/12/1912	Free! By the Mighty Power of United Labor!	Salem	MA	The Ettor and Giovannitti ended in an acquittal.