IWW Yearbook: 1922
This is a chronological database of campaigns, strikes, and IWW related events as reported in the Industrial Worker, the IWW's West Coast weekly, during 1922. It was researched by Cameron Molyneux. Start by reading the highlights report. Below that is the database.
Highlights 1922 by Cameron Molyneux
After four years of arrests, costly trials, the imprisonment of much of the top leadership, as well as internal struggles, the IWW began to recover in 1922, regaining membership and launching organizing campaigns. The organization’s flagship industrial unions would undertake (and win) numerous strikes. In addition to strike victories, three industrial unions-- Agricultural Workers Industrial Union 110 (AWIU no. 110), General Construction Workers Industrial Union 310 (GCWIU no. 310), and Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union 510 (MTWIU no. 510)--saw a marked uptick in membership due to successful organizing drives early in the year. The courts would also prove to be a key site of Wobbly victories in 1922 as momentum around criminal syndicalism statutes began to shift in the worker’s favor in the Northwest. These developments also emboldened local leadership to undertake multiple free speech fights throughout the year. Even with these good omens, the IWW still consistently struggled with police brutality and hostile citizens attacking both traveling organizers and unionized workers. The issues causing internal strife remained, but the year’s victories helped temper the divisions, at least for a time.
Strikes and Job Actions:
In terms of strikes and other job actions, 1922 proved to be a much more fruitful year than 1921. More strikes of all sizes and tactics found their way to the pages of the Worker that year. While the increased number of small strikes could be chalked up to better reporting and a change in editorial staff, the numerous large-scale strikes reported on throughout the year suggest that the IWW was more active on the job than the year before. Most of the larger industrial unions had a signature strike that year.
[read full report/close report]
Dates in most cases are the date of publication.
Date
Article title
City
State
Description
1/7/1922
Representative at Dusseldorf Lays Before European Toilers Industrial Workers' Position
Dusseldorf
DE
George Williams delivers speech to German syndicalists in Dusseldorf, promotes the IWW as an alternative to the RILU
1/7/1922
Moscow Delegate Report
Moscow
RU
Williams begins his series of official delegate reports from the RILU conference, decries less than friendly welcome from communists. Declares the hostility between communists and syndicalists is due to a fundamental incompatibility of theory
1/7/1922
Lumber Workers' Conventions Meet in Two Sections With Good Results
Portland
OR
Industrial Union no. 120 has convention, reaffirms commitment to decentralization over politics. Remembered as markedly more pleasant and inspiring than other conventions in recent years
1/14/1922
Convicted.
Woodland
CA
Frank Sherman convicted of Criminal Syndicalism
1/14/1922
no title (arrest report)
Bakersfield
CA
C.S. Sullivan arrested and charged with criminal syndicalism
1/14/1922
Picketers Stick Despite Constant Firing by Militia
Newport
KY
National guard fires at striking steel workers
1/14/1922
Beaten, Bloody, Organizer Lies at Point of Death
Shreveport
LA
Wobbly in oil fields beaten almost to death by cops. One friendly lawyer run out of town by conservative citizens.
1/14/1922
Strikers Jailed.
White Plains
NY
Striking hat makers in NYC suburbs arrested for scuffle with strikebreakers
1/14/1922
financial statements
bail and bond/Northwest Defense Comittee statements for December, 1921
1/14/1922
Moscow Delegate Report
Moscow
RU
Williams continues delegate reports, discusses controversy over membership numbers. Bolsheviks claim IWW has an active membership of ~16-20k, which Williams disputes. Notes protest from Spanish syndicalists regarding size of Amsterdam Yellow International being supposedly bigger than the RILU, complains that nations like Azerbaijan and India have been given votes. Accuses communist party of controlling the Russian trade unions
1/14/1922
Find Bleached Remains of Two Austrians in Canyon Where They Had Sat Down to Rest after Long Walk
Rock Springs
WY
Austrian immigrants sympathetic to the IWW found dead in high plains
1/14/1922
Defense Statement
Chicago
IL
General Defense Comittee reports that IWW owes $39k from 8 who left the country on bail. Resentment towards Bill Haywood and communists for leaving to Russia.
1/21/1922
Wobblies Win Big Victory
Wenatchee
WA
Wenatchee trial ends in acquittal for Wobblies arrested in 1921
1/21/1922
Governor Orders Militia to Homes
Pittsburg
KS
National guard withdrawn from Kansas miners' strike
1/21/1922
U.M.W.A. Betrays Striking Miners (bad scan)
Walsenberg
CO
Miners' strike in Colorado ends in defeat after UMW members are ordered back to work by John L. Lewis
1/21/1922
You Are a Coke Head!' Says the Cook to Boss and Big Strike Was On (bad scan)
Ogden?
UT
miners begin strike in Utah after incident ending in cook calling camp marshal "a coke-head!"
1/21/1922
Terror Used Against Men in Louisiana Oil Fields
Shreveport
LA
Previously mentioned IWW lawyer kidnapped, oil workers attacked and jailed in Louisiana
1/21/1922
Moscow Delegate Report
Moscow
RU
Syndicalists at RILU convention split on how to best oppose communist majority.
1/28/1922
Strikers Battle Cold and Hunger
South St. Paul
MN
Packers in Minnesota go on strike for higher wages
1/28/1922
Japs and Filipinos Launch Movement for One Big Union
Honolulu
HI
Hawaiian IWW local starts preliminary stages of forming
1/28/1922
Attorney Mulks Severely Injured
Dallas
TX
Lawyer kidnapped in Shreveport appears in Dallas after being whipped and left outside of the city
1/28/1922
Strikers Stick Despite Terror
East St. Louis
IL
Packers on strike in East St. Louis clash with private security and police
1/28/1922
Send Out Call for Amnesty Demonstration for Politicals
Chicago
IL
General Defense Comittee declares Feb. 12th to be Amnesty Day, request locals schedule meetings that day with funds to be donated to defense fund
1/28/1922
M.T.W. Hall Raided for Second Time by the Police
San Francisco
CA
Clash in San Francisco continues as police raid MTW meeting hall, arrest secretary and charge him with criminal syndicalism
1/28/1922
Denies Factional Conflict Within Industrial Workers' Body Is Disrupting Organization
Chicago
IL
Walter Smith, of GEB, disputes rumors that RILU debate has opened factional rift within IWW. States that GEB and general membership are against affiliation with RILU, but support workers of Russia, thus are not "anti-soviet"
1/28/1922
Stopped and Searched; Refuses to Tear Card; Hauled to Calaboose
Sacramento
CA
Wobbly Valentin Rodriguez stopped by police and arrested for refusing to destroy his red card.
1/28/1922
Moscow Delegate Report
Moscow
RU
Williams continues with part 4 of his delegate report, announces plan for Syndicalist International, debates theory.
2/4/1922
Deported But Not Defeated, Mulks Still Full of Fight
Chicago
IL
Harold Mulks, IWW attorney, reveals he was kidnapped and assaulted by Ku Klux Klan for being Jewish. Details his escape and informs paper that they continue to harass unions and lynch black people, especially because black workers have started to organize.
2/4/1922
Howat Ends Strike in Kansas District
Pittsburg
KS
Kansas miners' strike ends after UMW leadership orders them back to work.
2/4/1922
Decision Reversed
Olympia
WA
State supreme court overturns criminal syndicalism conviction for Ed Aspelin of Jefferson County.
2/4/1922
Economic Power of Workers Necessary to Open Prisons
Seattle
WA
Elmer Smith speaks to large meeting in Seattle about Centralia and the lumber industry
2/4/1922
Canadian Lumberjacks Vote Affiliation with Moscow International (bad scan)
Vancouver
BC
Lumber Workers' Industrial Union of Canada vote to affiliate with RILU despite some dissent.
2/4/1922
Omaha Woblies Raise Large Sum for Relief of Striking Packers
Omaha
NB
Packinghouse strike continues in Nebraska. Local Wobblies raise funds for striking workers
2/4/1922
Moscow Delegate Report
Moscow
RU
Williams concludes his delegate reports from Moscow. Discusses future conventions of RILU, provides evidence he believes shows that Russian communists have controlled the convention by fraud.
2/4/1922
Active Delegate Has Strange Experiences with Southern Juries
New Orleans
LA
Organizer goes through series of three trials for vagrancy that eventually end in acquittal.
2/4/1922
Plan Big Drive on Construction Jobs
Chicago
IL
Industrial Union no. 310 announces organizing drive for construction workers on west coast and in the Southwest.
2/18/1922
REMEMBER OUR PRISONERS: Great Publicity Campaign for Release of Centralia Victims Is in Fully Swing
Centralia
WA
Northwest Defense Comittee announces new amnesty drive for Centralia prisoners.
2/18/1922
Amnesty Day in Aberdeen, Wash.; Smith Arrested
Aberdeen
WA
Elmer Smith arrested for distributing IWW literature.
2/18/1922
Troops Use Rifles, Tanks and Machine Guns in Kentucky
Newport
KY
Strikers at Kentucky steel strike clash with militia members armed with clubs.
2/18/1922
Waterfront Workers of Philadelphia Are Doing Good Work in Education
Philadelphia
PA
Longshoremen in Philadelphia continue to organize and educate following departure of Local 8.
2/18/1922
Fourteen Nabbed Mugged and Then Finally 'Floated'
Denver
CO
IWW hall in Denver raided. 14 arrested and deported.
2/18/1922
financial statements
IW/Northwest Defense Comittee/Bail & bond financial statements
2/18/1922
Hawaiian Workers Form Close Union
Honolulu
HI
Hawaiian workers, supported by local Wobblies, form racially inclusive industrial union meant to rival AFL
2/25/1922
DENIED RIGHT TO SPEAK!: Elmer Smith Arrested on "Belt Warrant" and Denied Right to Address Meeting
Aberdeen
WA
Elmer Smith arrested without warrant prior to speech at amenesty meeting.
2/25/1922
Caged Like Beast in Hold of Liner
New York
NY
English Wobbly who did stint in Leavenworth is deported back to England.
3/4/1922
DECISION ON DEPORTATION: Circuit Court Judge Says Undesirables Not Deported in Four Months Are Freed
New York
NY
Circuit court decides on the case of McGregor Ross, an elderly Wobbly who has been imprisoned for four years and is facing deportation to Scotland. They rule that immigration authorities may only hold potential deportees for four months and that Ross is to be released.
3/4/1922
Loggers of Canada Strike to Re-Establish Eight-Hour Day
Kamloops? (bad scan)
BC
Loggers in British Columbia strike for higher wages and shorter hours following brutal winter. American branches of Industrial Union no. 120 pledge funds to help, but it's noted that they too are in bad shape due to mass unemployment on the west coast.
3/4/1922
Disorderly Conduct
Reno
NV
Frank Blackstone, organizer, arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for distributing IWW literature.
3/4/1922
Bounty on Wobblies Offered by C. of C. of Los Angeles, Cal.
Los Angeles
CA
Los Angeles chamber of commerce creates a $10k fund for the arrest of Wobblies and other radicals constituting the "red menace." Raids and arrests increase.
3/4/1922
Criminal Syndicalism Charge Is Dismissed; More Trials Pending
San Francisco
CA
IWW newsies in San Francisco are arrested and then most released after criminal syndicalism charges are dropped. Mentioned as a tactic used to get the newsies off the streets during inflammatory periods.
3/4/1922
Refuse to Surrender to Labor Fakers in Regard to R.T.U.I.
Edmonton
AB
Edmonton branch of Lumber Workers' Industrial Union of Canada splits with the British Columbia branch and sides with the GEB over their vote to affiliate with the RILU. They accuse the BC branch of running the union autocratically and claim they committed fraud during the referendum.
3/4/1922
Third International Is Willing to Unite with Two-and-a-Half
Moscow
RU
George Williams reports that ComIntern has flipped its position and expressed its willingness to ally with the Amsterdam anarcho-syndicalist international. Williams speculates that this is to provide a "very smoky screen" to obscure their switch to the NEP, but nevertheless prints portions of their letter for readers to decide on their own.
3/4/1922
Members of Denver Go Out on a Mission to Nearby Coal Camp
Louisville
CO
Local authorities try and fail to prevent IWW meeting from taking place in coalfields outside of Denver.
3/11/1922
Small Crew Strike; Boss Gets Scabs at First; Later Loses
Deep River
WA
Loggers go on strike for higher pay. Boss tries and fails to recruit scabs to replace them.
3/11/1922
Sawmill Workers on Strike Against Longer Work Day
Klamath Falls
OR
Sawmill workers strike to keep 8 hour day.
3/11/1922
Members Are Active in Wyoming District; Speakers are Wanted
Kleenburn
WY
Meetings for coal mine workers' Industrial Union 220 start in Wyoming, speakers requested to help radicalize unorganized workers.
3/11/1922
Tom Mooney Defense Asks for Assistance in Long-Drawn Fight
San Francisco
CA
Wobbly convicted during the first world war under the sedition act requests legal aid in upcoming appeal.
3/18/1922
Strike of Loggers Is Still Spreading
Klamath Falls
OR & CA
Loggers' strike that started in Klamath Falls spreads across Southern Oregon and Northern California, 3,000 loggers off work.
3/18/1922
Released From One Thrown in Another
Washington DC
DC
Prisoner from the Sacramento trials is released from prison and is set to be deported back to Australia.
3/18/1922
Reign of Terror in Southern Oil Fields Due to Ku Kluxers
Taft
CA
The Klan terrorizes the Taft area in California, allegedly killing a local driver. They also beat a local store owner and drive him out of town, as well as surrounding a WWI veteran's home at night, only to be repelled as he starts a gun fight with them. Reports also coming in that a rival, black hooded gang named the "black beauties," has started to clash with the Klan in attempts to protect the citizenry as tensions rise.
3/18/1922
Criminal Syndicalism Trial at Bakersfield Case of C.J. Sullivan
Bakersfield
CA
criminal syndicalism trial begins for worker arrested in December.
3/18/1922
Court Decision on Syndicalist Cases
San Francisco
CA
District court judge in San Francisco rules that IWW membership does not constitute criminal syndicalism. Newly appointed DA has not been prosecuting criminal syndicalism cases.
3/18/1922
New Orleans I.S.U. Meeting Provides Wobs Amusement and Proves 'Goat-Getting' Fest
New Orleans
LA
Conflict between the MTW and conservative elements of the ISU continues as MTW disrupt an ISU meeting in New Orleans and heckle speakers.
3/25/1922
B.C. Government Aids Unemployed
Vancouver
BC
The unemployed council in Vancouver that caused unrest in February secures a victory when the city starts to provide relief and work. They continue to organize and press their demands of "full time work and union scale of wages."
3/25/1922
Is Beaten by Bulls When He Refused to Burn His Union Card
Hornbrook
CA
Wobbly pulled off of box car by police and beaten for refusing to destroy his red card.
3/25/1922
Elmer Smith Speaks to California Crowd; Tells of Conspiracy
San Francisco
CA
Elmer Smith delivers a speech on criminal syndicalism and Centralia to a large meeting in San Francisco.
3/25/1922
Courts Less Severe on Arrested Wobbly in Golden Gate City
San Francisco
CA
Following the district court ruling in San Francisco, a judge dismisses criminal syndicalism charges against newsie Thomas O'Mara and releases him without bail.
3/25/1922
Again in Struggle, Roslyn Miners Cry 'Watch Our Smoke!'
Roslyn
WA
Industrial Union 220 delegates begin to organize progressive miners against the UMW.
3/25/1922
Construction Workers Are Prepared for Spring Drive
Chicago
IL
Industrial Union no. 310 starts its west coast/Midwest organizing drive. Start holding large organizing meetings in cities with lots of construction activity.
3/25/1922
Williams Answered Wire from Russia
Moscow
RU
George Williams contests wire from American communists, including Bill Haywood, in Russia. He says they are lying about conditions in the country and that they have misrepresented his arguments.
4/1/1922
LEGION MEMBERS RUSH TO DEFENSE OF CITY: 150 with Rifles and Booze Defend Eureka from Verbal Attack of Wobbly Speaker
Eureka
CA
Elmer Smith is prevented from speaking in Eureka by members of the American Legion. He is arrested and held by both the police and the Legion for various periods of the following day until he is put on a train and run out of town.
4/1/1922
Court Sets Aside Breen Conviction
KS
Harry T. Breen, an organizer from AWIndustrial Union no. 110 who was imprisoned in 1919, has his 30 year sentence for criminal syndicalism overturned and is released from prison.
4/1/1922
Appeal for Lawyer to Test Conviction
Shreveport
LA
Call from the ACLU for lawyers to defend Wobblies convicted of vagrancy in Lousiana after atty. Harold Mulks was beaten for defending prisoners.
4/1/1922
Strike of Workers in Rand School Café Accompanied by Customary Rough Stuff
New York
NY
Picketing food workers are beaten and arrested during strike of cafeteria.
4/1/1922
Labor Leader Says Seamen's Union Is Swallowed by I.W.W.
Baltimore
MD
Conservative labor leaders lament the growing prominence of the MTW within the ISU. Note that they are putting "tremendous pressure" on union leadership to shift left and are selling IWW literature during meetings.
4/8/1922
NONUNION COAL FIELDS JOIN GREAT STRIKE: 600,000 Finally Rebel; Leaders Forced to Fight; Transport Workers Help
east coast
UMW strike in Pennsylvania gains steam. Mining companies not hiring scabs, attempting to outlast locked-out workers.
4/8/1922
Port Ludlow Mills Struck.
Port Ludlow
WA
Mill workers walk out to protest ten hour day.
4/8/1922
Injunction in Frisco to Stop Raids on Hall
San Francisco
CA
ACLU unites with Cal. Defense Committee in filing an injunction to stop raids on the MTW hall in San Francisco
4/8/1922
Great Mill Strike Now Developing in Lawrence District
Lawrence
MA
Amalgamated Textile Workers go on strike at factories throughout New England against wage cuts.
4/8/1922
Mass Conference for No. 310
Ogden
UT
West coast mass conference of Industrial Union no. 310 held.
4/15/1922
Strong Defense in Sacramento
Sacramento
CA
Casdorf/Firey trial begins in Sacramento. Notes that criminal syndicalism convictions have decreased in California, but that C.J. Sullivan of Bakersfield was recently convicted.
4/15/1922
Our House' Cop Pinches Haley
Seattle
WA
Wobbly arrested in Seattle.
4/15/1922
Strike on the Job Miners' Tactics to Win in Nova Scotia
Glace Bay
NS
Miners in Nova Scotia strike while on the job, sit down to protest wage cuts from British Empire Steel.
4/15/1922
Help Needed in Eureka
Eureka
CA
Worker arrested for criminal syndicalism in Eureka.
4/15/1922
A Good Strike Spoiled Because Right Tactics Were Not First Used
Astoria
OR
Members of Industrial Union no. 120 try to strike in Astoria and quickly lose.
4/15/1922
Strike at Elm for Decent Conditions
Elm
WA
Industrial Union no. 120 loggers on strike for better conditions.
4/15/1922
Same Old Story in Yakima
Yakima
WA
Wobbly arrested for vagrancy in Yakima. Ranch worker shot by foreman.
4/15/1922
Dirt Movers Start Membership Drive
Chicago
IL
Industrial Union no. 310 continues its membership drive in the Northwest, targets specific construction camps to organize.
4/15/1922
Tacoma Branch Is Reorganized
Tacoma
WA
Tacoma general membership branch is restarted.
4/15/1922
Los Angeles Hall Open.
Los Angeles
CA
New local hall opened in Los Angeles.
4/15/1922
Worker Jailed in South.
Sacramento
CA
Valentin Rodriguez arrested for handing out literature in Sacramento. Quickly released after "he tries to help the other prisoners."
4/22/1922
Miners' Strike Spreading; Owners Hold Government
PA
Coal miners' strike in Pennsylvania continues to grow, starting to impact coal companies. Fears that radical labor elements will influence the striking miners.
4/22/1922
Class War Hot in Claifornia Courts
Sacramento
CA
Casdorf/Firey trial wraps up in Sacramento after the IWW's ill-advised defense of witnesses admit membership and testify to the IWW's values and aims results in Casdorf and Firey's convictions and all of the witnesses being arrested for criminal syndicalism.
4/22/1922
Six Industrial Workers Who Conducted Own Case in Oakland Are Released
Oakland
CA
The group of six Wobblies convicted in Oakland during 1921 are released after appeal results in their convictions being ruled a mistrial.
4/22/1922
Elmer Smith Will Defy Mob and Handle Eureka Defense
Eureka
CA
Elmer Smith returns to Eureka to conduct defense in the trial of O.J. Eaton, who is charged with criminal syndicalism.
4/22/1922
Work Will Start in Casper Oilfield
Casper
WY
Wobbly has room raided and is arrested in Wyoming. Calls for fellow oil workers to migrate to Wyoming and pitch in for his defense.
4/22/1922
Strike at Monahan
Monahan
WA
Lumber strike in Washington.
4/29/1922
Defense of Fellow Workers Is Winning Now in California
Oakland
CA
Pair of articles detailing the continuing shift in momentum regarding criminal syndicalism in California. In the Mooney case, the DA admits the defendant was framed, giving Wobblies hope for an early release. Oakland case moves forward with overturning the conviction, judge states prisoners have to remain in jail for 30 days while it is being processed.
4/29/1922
More Miners Join Strike; Thrid Year of Mingo Fight Sees Men Standing Firm
WV
Miners' strike continues to grow. Miners' uprising in West Virginia enters its third year as tensions continue to simmer.
4/29/1922
Strike Called at Wenatchee by 310
Wenatchee
WA
Construction workers call strike for higher wages and lower hours.
4/29/1922
Comstock Strike
Virginia City
NV
Mining strike in Nevada.
5/6/1922
Wenatchee Construction Workers Honor the Day by Striking in the Guthrie Camp Against Ten Hours
Wenatchee
WA
Wenatchee strike starts out strong with a walk out and lots notices to the surrounding area, making sure that no strikebreakers have been imported so far.
5/6/1922
Retrial for Wobbly
Everett
WA
Cantwell case from 1921 has been granted a retrial after being convicted of criminal syndicalism.
5/6/1922
Our House Is So Very Sensitive
Seattle
WA
Wobbly arrested on the streets of Seattle near Our House diner.
5/13/1922
Construction Workers Transfer Their Strike to Job at Wenatchee
Wenatchee
WA
Wenatchee strike continues to develop as construction camp ships in scabs. Wobblies have another victory, however, when two organizers sneak into the group of strikebreakers and convince them to walk off the job.
5/13/1922
Men Walk Out in Kerry Line Camp
Kerry
OR
Logging camp strike for higher pay. "He hired a machine for $10 to take him away because he thought he had found the leader. But everybody was a leader."
5/13/1922
Coal Company President Shoots; Miners of Nova Scotia Stop Strike; Coal Reserves in Illinois Run Low
Ottawa
NS
Coal miners' strike roundup. Coal company president in Pennsylvania shoots at (and misses) striking miners from his car. Miners' strike in Nova Scotia is called off as striking miners run out of money. Reports that Illinois coal reserves are almost depleted as a result of striking miners in Kentucky.
5/13/1922
Portland Strike Against Wage Cuts
Portland
OR
ILA in Portland go on strike against wage cuts and to protect their right to collective bargaining. MTW notes their critical support and declares that they will refuse to scab against the longshoremen.
5/13/1922
Harding Flouts Victims; 8 I.W.W. Out This Month; Teachers Demand Amnesty
Leavenworth
KS
Pres. Harding plans to release eight prisoners from Leavenworth, though the General Defense Comittee notes that there will probably be a deportation battle for over half of them following their release.
5/13/1922
New Hall in Everett.
Everett
WA
Industrial Union no. 120 opens a new hall.
5/20/1922
I.W.W. Win Strike in Pen to Get Better Treatment
San Quentin
CA
Imprisoned Wobblies go on strike for better conditions for new prisoner, win him a bed after 14 endure solitary confinement and still refuse to work.
5/20/1922
Wallace Falls Has Strike for Wages
Gold Bar
WA
Loggers in Washington camp go on strike for higher wages after other employees in the camp receive raises.
5/20/1922
Atanasoff Arrested
Yakima
WA
IWW delegate arrested for talking about unionism while hitchhiking after discovering his driver is a deputy sheriff.
5/20/1922
Release Four Men From Walla Walla
Walla Walla
WA
Four prisoners convicted of criminal syndicalism in Grays Harbor are released from Walla Walla due to overcrowding at the prison.
5/20/1922
Ed Aspelin Gets New Trial Ordered
Port Townsend
WA
Imprisoned IWW gets retrial under foggy circumstances.
5/20/1922
Mob in Oil Fields Tortures Wobblies
Casper
WY
Hostility to newly arrived wobs in Wyoming continues as two oil workers are attacked by a mob of citizens. Notes that organization of a local local is coming together.
5/20/1922
Miner in Jail for Carrying Flag; Guard Commits Rape, Gets Low Bail.
Somerset
PA
Miners' strike round up: striking miner arrested during demonstration, guard is reported to have raped a miner's wife during strike.
5/20/1922
Light Sentence for Syndicalism
Aberdeen
WA
Aho case from 1921 concludes with the defendant getting sentenced to 10 days in prison. IW celebrates it as a sign that long sentences are becoming less common.
5/20/1922
Comstock Strikers Win Consideration of Nevada Papers
Virginia City
NV
Comstock strike continues and begins to pick up considerable support from locals.
5/20/1922
Strike Would Fail Without I.W.W. Aid
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath Falls strike continues as IWW loggers refuse to go back to work until trade union mill workers also have their demands met.
5/27/1922
Fight Deportation Editor Finn Paper (bad scan)
Duluth
MN
The editor of Finnish IWW paper, Industrialisti, is arrested and faced with deportation by immigration authorities.
5/27/1922
New York Troopers Called in to Force Low Pay on Negroes
Haverstraw
NY
Striking bricklayers in New York are attacked by state militia in attempts to end their strike.
5/27/1922
Free Speech Fight in Grays Harbor
Grays Harbor
WA
Free speech fight is initiated in Grays Harbor and Aberdeen as two Wobblies are arrested and the local local calls for reinforcements to come participate.
5/27/1922
Sullivan Defeats Our House Patron
Seattle
WA
Case of newsie arrested in Seattle ends as charges are dismissed.
5/27/1922
Eaton Case Comes in Eureka Court
Eureka
CA
Eaton case continues as date is set for trial.
6/3/1922
Louis Davis Beaten and Held Without a Charge in Klamath
Klamath Falls
OR
Wobbly in Klamath Falls is beaten by police after an interaction with a local pool hall owner. He is held and his credentials are taken without being charged.
6/3/1922
M'Alpin, Johnson Held in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
WA
Grays Harbor/Aberdeen free speech fight continues as the original two defendants are released and almost immediately arrested again for criminal syndicalism.
6/3/1922
Strike Snohomish Camp
Snohomish
WA
Loggers in Snohomish go on strike for higher pay.
6/3/1922
Stoolpigeon Loses Fight in Spite of His Gun-Play
North Coast
Wobbly employed in soap factory dodges a conviction for beating an anti-labor provacateur in a pool hall.
6/3/1922
Strike for 8 Hours: Steel Gang Demands Living Wage; Knows How to Get It, Too
WA?
Steel mill workers go on strike for higher wage.
6/3/1922
Let's Go!
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath Falls strike erupts into a free speech fight following the arrest of Louis Davis. Loggers request 1000 members to come to the town to distribute literature
6/10/1922
TEN-HOUR CAMPS TIED UP: Guthrie and Grant Smith Construction Jobs on G.N. All Join I.W.W. Strike
Wenatchee
WA
Wenatchee construction strike continues as the strike spreads to camps all the way from Spokane to Seattle. Employers trying and mostly failing to import strikebreakers, small clashes between picketing workers and police.
6/10/1922
Corrupt Officers Give Wob to Mob
Tulsa
OK
MTW in Tulsa kidnapped from jail and beaten by mob of local citizens.
6/10/1922
Win Strike for Eight Hours
Kanasket
WA
Striking construction workers in Kanasket quickly win eight-hour day.
6/10/1922
Canteloupe Pickers Insist on More Pay in Impreial Valley
Calexico
CA
Agricultural workers in Southern California go on strike. Bosses blame it on "'Bolshevik activities' among the workers"
6/10/1922
Strike Lost in Box Factory.
Dorris
CA
Strike in box packing factory ends.
6/10/1922
Aberdeen Free Speech Fight in Full Swing- District Attorney Has Meeting Raided- Wobs Happy
Aberdeen
WA
Grays Harbor/Aberdeen free speech fight speeds up as many are arrested for protesting the Johnson and McAlpin arrests. Arrested Wobblies refuse to help the prosecution for more lenient sentences.
6/10/1922
Officers of Many Lumber Companies at I.W.W. Trial
Eureka
CA
Eaton case ends in hung jury. Elmer Smith is thrown out of court after advising the public defender assigned to Eaton. J. Kennedy, Cal. Defense Committee secretary, is arrested for asking the judge if Smith has been denied due to the judge's prejudice against the IWW. Local local secretary Arthur Ward is arrested for criminal syndicalism. Public defender who has been won over from this case will be taking both of their cases.
6/10/1922
Challenge Ku Klux to Stop M.T.W.
Port Arthur
TX
After Ku Klux Klan runs an MTW out of Port Arthur, the New Orleans local adopts a resolution to establish a branch there, no matter how much harassment comes their way.
6/10/1922
Not Many in Camp Allow Unfairness
Potlatch
WA
Loggers walk out after one is fired for accidental fire. He is reinstated after camp overseers weed out Wobblies and discover that unaffiliated loggers had signed their petition for reinstatement.
6/17/1922
PREACHERS AND GIRLS HOLD SCABS IN CAMP: Pray and Pinch- Guthrie's Plan; Eight-Hour Strike Begins to Win
Wenatchee
WA
Wenatchee construction strike shifts decidely towards the workers. Locals do good job of keeping scabs from going on the job, job performance begins to decline as more inexperienced scabs take over. Two local IWW delegates are arrested.
6/17/1922
Woodsmen Free Delegate Held in Calif. Jail
Crescent City
CA
Lumber Workers from no. 120 protest the arrest of active IWW delegate, secure his release from local jail.
6/17/1922
Solidarity Well Paid
Wickersham
WA
Loggers and steel workers demand raise, get it before returning to work after lunch.
6/17/1922
Beat, Poisoned, Sailors Strike
Hoquiam
WA
Captain abuses sailors on steamship, sailors strike, captain is arrested and awaits trial.
6/17/1922
Hold Four I.W.W. in Klamath Falls
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath Falls free speech fight continues as repeat offenders get arrested again.
6/17/1922
Gold Hill Miners Go Back to Work
Virginia City
NV
Comstock strike ends in a loss for workers as they run out of money and return to work.
6/17/1922
Wobs Stay With Free Speech Fight
Grays Harbor
WA
Grays Harbor/Aberdeen free speech fight continues. More workers arrested, American Legion refuses to come combat IWW.
6/17/1922
Technician Called a Vagrant; Thrown in Jail and Starved; Glad Is Member of I.W.W.
Taft
CA
Oil worker arrested and abused, eventually released.
6/24/1922
Stop Scabs Brought Half Way Across the Continent
Wenatchee
WA
Wenatchee construction strike continues, scabs continue to be shipped in. Railyards across the country act in solidarity, informing incoming scabs that they breaking a strike and advising them to reroute.
6/24/1922
Wobs Shut in Cell in Klamath Falls Jail, Others Not
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath Falls free speech fight/strike combo continues with IWWs being abused in jail. Town is at a standstill as American Legionnaires are on strike with lumber workers.
6/24/1922
Force of 65 Strikes
Centralia
WA
Small lumber camp shut down as loggers strike for better pay.
6/24/1922
Famous Lawrence Textile Mills Again Scene of an Organization Drive for I.W.W.- Must Fight
Lawrence
MA
Textile Workers' Industrial Union 410 starts organization drive in Lawrence to win over workers from craft unions and organize them into the OBU.
6/24/1922
Everett Stevedores More Than Half for No. 510 of the I.W.W.
Everett
WA
Progressive ILA members control the Everett local as more than half the branch votes to affiliate with the MTW
6/24/1922
Workers Out in the Distant Northwest Are Still Fighting
Port Angeles
WA
Lumber workers on strike in surrounding area of Port Angeles.
7/1/1922
Hung Jury in Case of Ten Witnesses Up in Sacramento
Sacramento
CA
Returning to the Casdorf/Firey saga in which every witness who testified to being part of the IWW was arrested, the new case results in a hung jury after a long day of deliberations.
7/1/1922
U.S. Assists Guthrie; Tries to Deport Picket
Wenatchee
WA
Immigration authorities trying to deport organizer in Wenatchee strike to Finland.
7/1/1922
Bitter Final Phase Comes in Wobbly 8-Hour Fight
Duluth & Minneapolis & Chicago
MN & IL
Wenatchee construction strike enters home stretch as Midwestern locals picket employment agencies to prevent strikebreakers from shipping out to Washington.
7/1/1922
Welinder Under Arrest
Astoria
OR
P.J. Welinder arrested on vagrancy in Astoria, has papers and literature confiscated.
7/1/1922
They Try Again to Frame Eaton
Eureka
CA
O.J. Eaton being tried again for criminal syndicalism after his first trial resulted in a hung jury.
7/1/1922
Win Eight-Hour Strike
The Dalles
OR
Lumber workers win strike over hours in Oregon.
7/1/1922
Arizona Strike Is Off.
AZ
Arizona construction strike fizzles out before much materializes. Infrastructure for a large strike does not yet exist in the territory.
7/1/1922
New Hall Opened
Superior
MN
Duluth and Superior locals open up a joint hall in Superior.
7/8/1922
EIGHT-HOUR STRIKE ON GREAT NORTHERN WON: Guthrie and Grant Smith Surrender; Great Victory for Industrial Workers
Wenatchee
WA
After one final attempt to break the strike, Wenatchee construction strike ends in massive victory as construction companies cave on all of Wobbly demands.
7/8/1922
Bullet Flies in Wobbly Boycott
Seattle
WA
Someone shoots at Wobbly newsie John Sullivan, who is advertising the organization's boycott on Seattle diner Our House.
7/8/1922
Welinder Given a Hundred Days
Astoria
OR
P.J. Welinder convicted of criminal syndicalism and forced to pay $200 fine or spend 100 days in jail. He pays the fine and is out.
7/8/1922
Klamath Strike Still On
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath/Oregon timber strike continues as employers ship in strike breakers. No mention of how concurrent free speech fight is going.
7/8/1922
Coal Owners Start Killing; Herrin Strikes Win Battle
Herrin
IL
Gunfight breaks out in coal miners' strike as strikebreakers reportedly fire into a picket. Two miners and 19 strikebreakers die in the ensuing crossfire.
7/8/1922
Courts Bully Elmer Smith; Cal. Disbars I.W.W. Lawyer
Sacramento
CA
Sacramento court case continues. Elmer Smith is disbarred in middle of trial, Walter Smith, one of the defendants, takes over defense for him. Jury remains hung, so judge dismisses them.
7/8/1922
Foreman Robs Mail; Takes Union Cards; Steals Newspapers
Disston
OR
Lumber camp foreman confiscates shipment of IWW literature and credentials. Fires Wobblies.
7/8/1922
I.W.W. Metal Workers Open Hall in Chicago
Chicago
IL
Metal Workers Industrial Union 440 opens a local in Chicago
7/15/1922
Tacoma Opens New Hall With Overflow Meeting
Tacoma
WA
New Tacoma local hall opens, is christened with big speaking engagement from Harry G. Clark.
7/22/1922
Dirt Movers Win Another Strike
Wenatchee
WA
Momentum from the victorious Wenatchee construction strike carries on as construction workers win another wage increase.
7/22/1922
Marine Transport Wobs Plan Strike
New Orleans
LA
MTW plan a strike in New Orleans after announcing that they now count a membership of 1/3 of the city's dock workers.
7/22/1922
Oil Field Workers of Taft, California Joining the I.W.W.
Taft
CA
Oil workers in Taft organize a local branch, open hall (p.4)
7/22/1922
Oil Workers' Delegate Kidnapped Near Tulsa
Tulsa
OK
Another oil organizer is kidnapped and beaten in Oklahoma.
7/29/1922
Strike in Aloha Camp; Quit to Improve Food
Aloha
WA
Lumber workers in Aloha strike for a "new and better cook."
7/29/1922
Firemen's Strike on English Ship Means All Scabs Overboard
Anacortes
WA
Progressive ILA on strike in Anacortes, Seattle MTW refuses to scab against them. British seamen strike in solidarity when they arrive at the port.
7/29/1922
Grading Camp on Strike
Kerriston
WA
Camp goes out on strike for higher wages and/or better conditions.
7/29/1922
Legal Defense in Free Speech Fight
Montesano
WA
Grays Harbor/Aberdeen free speech fight rolls on as prisoners shift course and decide to engage in a legal defense.
7/29/1922
RAIL STRIKES FEEL THE NEED OF SOLIDARITY: Surprising Vigor of Rank and File Aids Coal Miners; "Big Four" Still Scabbing
Seattle
WA
Rail and coal strikes continue. Little in the way of detail.
8/5/1922
BIG 4 BROTHERHOOD SCABS CURBING STRIKE: No Government Inspection; Repairs Between Stations, Scabs Pay Being Reduced
Seattle
WA
Rail strike loses ground as scabs start to replace striking workers.
8/5/1922
Aberdeen Free Speech Fight Still Going On
Aberdeen
WA
Grays Harbor/Aberdeen free speech fight continues. More fellow workers arrive in town, another Wobbly arrested.
8/5/1922
Strike Won on Skagit Project; I.W.W. Members Take Advantage of Graft and Low Pay to Agitate
Seattle
WA
Wobblies on Skagit tunnel construction project successfully strike for better conditions and higher wages.
8/5/1922
Another Strike in San Quentin; Fourteen Wobblies Go to 'Hole' Because Member Treated Badly
San Quentin
CA
After prisoner Jack Gaveel has his work change request denied, 13 Wobblies strike and are sent to 'the dungeon' in San Quentin. "Wobblies even in prison believe than an injury to one is an injury to all."
8/5/1922
New Cases in Cal.; C.S. Law Does Not Prevent Meetings
Taft
CA
Oil worker arrested, local still continues to meet.
8/12/1922
Ten Sacramento Defendants Come to Trial on August 14
Sacramento
CA
Second trial for the group of ten witnesses arrested in the Casdorf/Firey trial beigns. Round up of other California legal troubles- three go to trial in Los Angeles, Felix Thornton is arraigned for criminal syndicalism, one arrested in Sunnyvale.
8/12/1922
Street Car Strike Paralyzes Chicago
Chicago
IL
Street car operators go on strike (estimated 20k workers) after company refuses their offers in arbitration. Chicago at a near stand still.
8/12/1922
HESITATE OVER GENERAL STRIKE: Brotherhoods Threaten to Walk Out Because of Danger; Decide to Wait
WA
Railway workers consider general strike but do not act upon it. Mexican and Canadian railworkers' unions strike for the day in solidarity with their US counterparts.
8/19/1922
RANK AND FILE DRIFTING INTO RAIL STRIKE: Big Four Members Quitting, Union Heads Can't Prevent, Government Hints Arrests
Roseville
CA
National railway strike continues. Reported 1000 scabs quit in California, union men stay off the job.
8/19/1922
Judge to Line Up Members?
Wenatchee
WA
Wobbly arrested, literature confiscated.
8/19/1922
Is Gassed for Boss in France; Clubbed by Boss in America
Aberdeen
SD
Two ag. Workers kidnapped and beaten by mob in South Dakota.
8/26/1922
New Conference in Rail Strike
WA
Railway strike. Rumors abound that company and union leaders have returned to the bargaining table. Wobblies aid the strike by doing their best to block strikebreakers from being shipped in.
8/26/1922
No. 310 Members Call Strike on Highway Job
Elgin
OR
Industrial Union no. 310 continues its busy year by calling a strike at a small highway construction camp. Approximately 30 workers and local farmers go on strike (half Wobblies) for standardized wages.
8/26/1922
I.W.W. Strike on Hurley-Mason Job
Cazadero
OR
Construction workers call strike in large Oregon camp, estimate that around 70-75% of workers will walk off the job with them.
8/26/1922
Jailed Wobblies Eat Up Profits
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath Falls free speech fight causes problems for the county as the sheer number of imprisoned Wobblies begins to cost around $1,500.
9/2/1922
Trainmen Would Aid Strike But Union Leader Threatens
Chicago
IL
National railway strike fractures as train operators are ordered back to work while shopmen continue their strike.
9/2/1922
Construction Men Quit for 8 Hours
Hood River
OR
Construction workers in Hood River strike for eight-hour day
9/2/1922
Grays Harbor Free Speech Fight Still Going; Need Funds
Grays Harbor
WA
Grays Harbor/Aberdeen free speech continues. More arrested, local local calls for donations to help their legal defense.
9/9/1922
New Skagit Strikes to Get Old Rights
Seattle
WA
Skagit construction workers strike again after conditions revert to previous lower standards.
9/9/1922
Construction Men Win at Hood River
Hood River
OR
First in series of three articles about Oregon strikes. The Hood River construction strike ends as workers win higher pay, fewer hours, and better conditions.
9/9/1922
Scappoose Strike a Swift Victory
Scappoose
OR
Eight-hour strike in Scappoose ends in a victory for workers after four days.
9/9/1922
Cazadero Strike Going Stronger; Bosses Yielding
Cazadero
OR
Big strike in Cazadero continues (650 out of 785 workers on strike). Walk out and employment agency boycotts have forced the company to start bargaining with the IWW, but the strike committee calls upon workers to refuse to return until all demands are met. Tensions between strikers and guards hired by the camp are high. "WE MUST WIN THIS STRIKE. It is the most important strike the I.W.W. has been engaged in in this territory for years. We have already won much, but we will not compromise. We must win all."
9/9/1922
Fire Fighters Walk Out When Told to Hike Without Pay
Portland
OR
Firefighters at a lumber camp walk out on strike when informed they won't be paid for hiking while on the job.
9/16/1922
Cazadero Strike Goes on the Job; Come Out Again
Cazadero
OR
Wobblies change tactics as the Cazadero strike continues. Since more scabs are arriving, especially ones organized in trade unions, the IWW is going back on the job in order to organize the scabs and pull them out on strike. Tensions remain high.
9/16/1922
Capitalists Rage Over Herrin Fight
Marion
IL
Indictments come in for those involved in the Herrin gunfight that killed 19 strikebreakers. UMW promises to defend their members in court with all possible resources.
9/16/1922
I.W.W. in Leavenworth Pen Tell Harding of Solidarity
Leavenworth
KS
The 52 remaining IWW prisoners in Leavenworth inform Pres. Harding that they will not apply for clemency because it requires them to admit guilt and renounce the IWW. "Tried together, railroaded together, sentenced together, and will be freed together"
9/16/1922
Payne at Last Out of Walla Walla
Walla Walla
WA
C.E. Payne, future editor of the paper, is released from Walla Walla. 20 Wobblies remain imprisoned there.
9/23/1922
Longshoremen in Horrible Mess; Portland to Strike
Portland
OR
The "American plan" instituted by bosses causes long-standing anger to bubble up to the surface on the Portland waterfront. Despite having a favorable arrangement with the companies, the ILA is ready to go out on strike with the MTW. P.J. Welinder stresses the need for the IWW to lead the impending action to capitalize on the longshormen's newfound class solidarity.
9/23/1922
I.W.W. DEMANDS CREATE SENSATION IN BUTTE: Miners' Strike Hindered by Finks; Wobblies Out to Abolish Rustling Card
Butte
MT
The more recently organized Butte local of the miners' Industrial Union 210 makes themselves known to local authorities by calling a strike with a list of demands including "The release of all political prisoners…" and a six-hour day. Strike started as of 9/11/22, police, mining company, and local citizens consult on how to handle the strike.
9/23/1922
Strike Lasts Hour; 70 Grade Camp Men Bounce a Bad Cook
Farriday
WA
Quick strike in Washington gets rid of cook universally hated by workers.
9/23/1922
Strike at Cavona
Cavona
WA
Lumber workers walk out on boss who tries to dodge their demands for higher pay by hiring new workers.
9/30/1922
Rotten Conditions in Camps Rouse Workers Wrath; They STRIKE
Odell
OR
Lumber strike won swiftly in Oregon after entire camp walks out. Win raise, hour reduction, and conditions. Nearby camps take notice and start to agitate.
9/30/1922
Strike for a Clean-Up
Mount Hood Loop Highway
OR
Construction camp in Oregon goes on strike over unsanitary conditions in the camp.
9/30/1922
Strike at Kelso
Kelso
WA
Washington construction camp goes on strike.
9/30/1922
Win Strike at Knapton
Knapton
WA
Lumber workers successfully strike for raise and lower price for meals.
9/30/1922
Placerville Strike
Placerville
CA
Construction camp strikes in California.
9/30/1922
Seattle I.W.W.s Move for a General Strike to Break Jails
Seattle
WA
Seattle locals officially endorse the Butte miners' strike and advocate a general strike to help win the demand for the release of all political prisoners.
9/30/1922
New Hall in Duluth
Duluth
MN
New joint branches hall opens in Duluth.
9/30/1922
Strike at Simpson Camp
Shelton
WA
Workers walk out after IWW organizers are fired. Not many details.
10/7/1922
One More Chain for the Miner; Spies, Bosses, Cowards Are in Company Union Formed at Butte
Butte
MT
Mining companies respond in Butte by forming company sponsored "independent unions" to undermine both trade and industrial union presence in the town.
10/7/1922
Record for No. 310; Win Three Strikes All in Three Weeks
Hood River
OR
Construction workers have a chain of successful strikes in mid September. Mostly gain raises and hours reductions.
10/7/1922
Cal. Oil Operators Incite to Violence; Want I.W.W. Killed, Has No Effect on Organization
Taft
CA
Oil companies take official public stance against IWW organizing in oil fields. Oil workers Industrial Union requests funds to continue organizing.
10/14/1922
One Half Portland I.L.A. Vote to Support I.W.W.
Portland
OR
Around half of the Portland ILA votes to go out on strike. The union's conservative and older members block the move by 15 votes.
10/14/1922
Utah Miners Win Right of Meeting and Raise in Pay
Eureka
UT
Miners in Utah demand that the boss let them meet with IWW organizers. Under sufficient pressure, he relents and accepts their demands.
10/14/1922
Justice Lost in 4 Courthouses
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath Falls free speech fight continues, IWW fights court cases and mostly loses.
10/21/1922
Docks Tied Up in Portland, Wobs and I.L.A. on Strike
Portland
OR
MTW and ILA officially start strike in Portland. no. 1200 walk off the docks to fight the "Fink Hall" that dominates work selection system.
10/21/1922
Klamath Falls I.W.W. Bailed
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath Falls free speech fight. Jailed Wobblies get out on bail, promise to continue the fight.
10/21/1922
Montesano Trial Gets Under Way
Montesano
WA
Trial starts (and ends) for Grays Harbor/Aberdeen free speech fight victims. Elmer Smith wires message to IW right before publication that charges have been dismissed.
10/21/1922
Longshoremen, Sailors Win in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara
CA
MTW immediately wins a shrewdly planned strike in Santa Barbara.
10/21/1922
The I.W.W. and the Rails- How They Could Have Won
National rail strike ends in "a crushing defeat." Editorial on how industrial organization could have won the strike.
10/28/1922
Strike at Hetch Hetchy; Demands Include Amnesty
Yosemite
CA
Construction workers' strike begins at Hetch Hetchy reservoir. IWW lead strike, demand higher wages, better conditions, and the liberation of all class war prisoners.
10/28/1922
I.W.W. REINFORCEMENTS ENTER PORTLAND: Dock Strike 100% Perfect; Grain Handlers Walk Out; Police Deporting Picketers
Portland
OR
Portland dock strike scales up as it enters its second week. Hundreds of picketers arrested and scabs working. IWW sends small groups of 'reinforcements' into the job to organize scabs and pull them out. Surrounding ports strike in solidarity with Portland, grain loaders and port of Astoria 100% out. Tensions are high with police as the docks of Portland remain silent.
10/28/1922
Free Speech Fight Won, Syndicalist Law Ended
Montesano
WA
As per Elmer Smith's report the prior week, the criminal syndicalism cases in the Grays Harbor/Aberdeen free speech fight have been dropped, dealing a huge blow to the statute in Washington. Fourteen imprisoned Wobblies are released and all charges dismissed.
10/28/1922
Harding Releases 6 in Leavenworth
Leavenworth
KS
Pres. Harding releases six more class war prisoners from Leavenworth, including former leader of MTW local 8, Ben Fletcher. Three will be immediately deported to Sweden. The other three are free on conditional commutations.
10/28/1922
Strike at Monroe Shows Solidarity
Monroe
WA
Strike at Washington lumber camp. Both camp and mill walk out.
10/28/1922
Furuseth Union Scabs on Dock
Santa Barbara
CA
International Seamen's Union scabs against striking MTW and ILA in Santa Barbara. "It was a perfect example of craft union scabbery."
10/28/1922
Strike Campaign Raises Utah Pay
Salt Lake City
UT
Successful copper miners' strike in Utah results in a 15% pay raise. The paper urges miners to go to Utah and continue organizing.
10/28/1922
New Hall in Chicago
Chicago
IL
New hall for construction workers established in Chicago.
11/4/1922
No More Pickets Needed in Portland Dock Strike
Portland
OR
Portland MTW stops call for more members to come picket in town. They report that arrests have temporarily ceased and arrested members are being released. Strike continues as planned and meetings are being held at the local hall.
11/4/1922
Hetch Hetchy an I.W.W. Strike; 1800 Are Out
Yosemite
CA
IWW leads the Hetch Hetchy construction strike and pull 1800 workers out from the job. New demand of higher wages for camp cooks.
11/4/1922
Klamath Falls Welcomes Wobs
Klamath Falls
OR
Free speech fight and intermittent strikes drag on. IWW continues to focus on organizing the lumber camps and raising funds for the legal defense of imprisoned workers.
11/4/1922
N.Y. Longshoremen's Local Votes to Join the Wobs in a Body
New York
NY
New York ILA local votes to join MTW.
11/4/1922
Successful Strikes in Skamokawa Lumber Camps
Skamokawa
WA
Pair of logging strikes in Washington.
11/4/1922
Philadelphia Piers Tied Up by Wobblies
Philadelphia
PA
Longshoremen in Philadelphia strike in support of the 44-hour work week.
11/4/1922
Ten Witnesses On Trial, Judge Angry at Leaflet, Wismer Awaiting Retrial
Sacramento
CA
Sacramento trial continues. Defense hopes to win by impeaching the testimony of the prosecution's star witness.
11/4/1922
I.W.W. Wins Case; C.S. Law Failing
Spokane
WA
criminal syndicalism case in Spokane won, continuing momentum against the law in Washington.
11/4/1922
Barbarous California Sees Another Wob Strike
Oroville
CA
Lumber strike in California with usual list of demands.
11/11/1922
TWO BIG I.W.W. STRIKES GOING JUST RIGHT: Grain Grows in Portland; Rails Blocked With Cars; Scabs Can't Load Lumber
Portland
OR
Portland dock strike continues. Approximately 350 scabs struggle to keep the docks open as pickets largely stop them from unloading shipments and delivering them. Surrounding ports continue to pressure Portland by remaining on strike. Scabs drive car through crowd of pickets, injuring three. Police arrest driver. Outlook positive for the strike.
11/11/1922
Hughes Makes a Speech Here in Klamath Falls
Klamath Falls
OR
Assistant DA of Sacramento County gives speech in Klamath Falls indicting the IWW. The local branch immediately responds with their own meeting and written statement.
11/11/1922
Sunset Timber Co. Gave Men No Water, Sixty-Eight Hour Strike
Sutico
WA
Washington lumber strike gets 75% walkout for better conditions.
11/11/1922
Gunmen in Hetch Hetchy, But Strikers Police Town
Yosemite
CA
Hetch Hetchy strike continues. Pickets successfully keep most scabs out, construction companies have armed guards take control of some camps. Striking workers enforcing soberness to keep discipline.
11/11/1922
Nevada Mine Strike Wins All Demands; To Watch Manager
Las Vegas
NV
Miners in Las Vegas win better conditions and higher wages after a weeklong strike.
11/18/1922
Fight for Free Speech Started in Southern Cal.
San Pedro
CA
A free speech fight starts following arrests and raids of the MTW hall in San Pedro.
11/18/1922
Hetch Hetchy Strike Is Winning
Yosemite
CA
Hetch Hetchy strike continues. All but guards have left the camps. Pickets are keeping scabs out. Wobblies are also picketing in other cities where employment agencies are attempting to recruit strikebreakers. One group of AFL carpenters ignores the strike.
11/18/1922
EUROPE HELPS DOCK STRIKE: Freight Movements Only 20 per cent Normal; Two Companies Fail; Flour Mills Using Sprouted Grain; Ships Leave Port Late and Empty; Boss Despairs
Portland
OR
Portland dock strike continues in a favorable fashion for workers. Two shipping companies fold after not being able to ship their cargo internationally. Pickets in good morale, longshoremen around the world signal their support for the strike.
11/18/1922
Release Miller Uncondtionally
Leavenworth
KS
Former GEB member is released from Leavenworth on an unconditional pardon from Pres. Harding.
11/18/1922
Nevada Miners Strike for Pay
Goldfield
NV
All waged miners in Goldfield camps strike for a raise.
11/18/1922
Klamath Falls Cases Put Off
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath Falls free speech fight continues to drag on as criminal syndicalism trials are delayed until February of the next year. Leonard Bolton receives a threatening check from the KKK.
11/18/1922
More Arrests in Barbarous Cal.
Sacramento
CA
California arrest round up. Arrests and raids continue across the state
11/25/1922
4,500 in I.W.W. Big Creek Strike
Big Creek
CA
4,500 construction workers go out on strike in Southern California after a Wobbly is arrested for complaining about camp conditions. About 90% out, developing as a sort of sister strike to Hetch Hetchy.
11/25/1922
Bosses' Free Booze Fails to Get Hetch Hetchy Scabs
Yosemite
CA
Hetch Hetchy strike continues. Construction companies attempt to break the strike by giving alcohol to striking workers. Guards remain in camps despite protest of scabbing craft unions.
11/25/1922
MAYOR'S WATERFRONT POLICE ARE RIOTING!!: Deny Streets; Flourish Guns; Arrest Picket
Portland
OR
Portland dock strike continues largely in the same fashion as before, but with increased tensions between police and strikers. Workers report that police have been trying to provoke pickets into clashing with them in hopes that they will be able to arrest them en masse. Some pickets arrested, scabs largely unwelcome in the city.
11/25/1922
Hoboken Hall
Hoboken
NJ
New MTW hall opened in Hoboken.
11/25/1922
I.W.W. Convention Finds Membership Nearly Double What It Was Last Year
Chicago
IL
The 1922 general convention convenes in Chicago. Outgoing GEB claims that membership has doubled in the past year. Delegates elect a committee to audit the previous year's expenses from the national organization and significant local branches.
11/25/1922
Wobs to Break Pedro Gag Rule
San Pedro
CA
San Pedro free speech fight starts its intial phases as newly arrived Wobblies plan to start recruiting and speaking around town.
12/2/1922
REBEL WORKERS ATTACK ALONG PACIFIC COAST: No Scabs Yet for Edison Co.
Big Creek
CA
Approximately 6,000 construction workers are off the job in Big Creek. They've been welcomed into the Hetch Hetchy strike as a powerful duo of construction strikes. No scabs secured yet.
12/2/1922
REBEL WORKERS ATTACK ALONG PACIFIC COAST: Few Scabs for Hetch Hetchy
Yosemite
CA
Hetch Hetchy strike continues. Pickets on employment agencies throughout the state has succeeded in keeping most scabs out of the camps. Companies are trying to run one mineshaft in each camp to varying degrees of success. A handful of picketers arrested.
12/2/1922
Papers Admit Strikers Win on Portland Waterfront if Boss Can Not Divide Them
Portland
OR
Portland dock strike approaching its end. Grain production has fallen significantly, nearly crippling Portland and the rest of Oregon's shipping economy. Some attempts to provoke strikers into rioting. Scabs starting to fight each other. "'The wheat movement through Portland, which ought to be at its peak, is almost at a standstill.'"
12/2/1922
Police Desecrate Dead Body in Cal.
Sacramento
CA
Sacramento police mutilate and parade the body of a Wobbly killed in a train accident around the station.
12/2/1922
Hard Time in Scab Camp
High Point
WA
Lumber strike goes south for company when scabs are unable to work competently.
12/2/1922
Needed in Bend, Oregon.
Bend
OR
Wobbly arrested in Bend, call for a potential free speech fight.
12/9/1922
Edison Co. Workers Walk Out on Skis and Snowshoes
Big Creek
CA
The Big Creek and Hetch Hetchy strikes continue in good fashion. Workers in Big Creek dramatically leave camps on snowshoes.
12/9/1922
PORTLAND FINK HALL CANNOT PAY $7.25 BILL: Ruin Portland Commerce; Shippers Suing Dock Co.; Community Chest No Help
Portland
OR
Portland dock strike continues to approach its conclusion. Struggling shipping companies begin to try to undercut each other on prices and time, resulting in poorly loaded ships going out. A few more pickets arrested.
12/9/1922
Fail to Jail Free Speechers
San Pedro
CA
San Pedro free speech fight starts in earnest as MTW hold an uninterrupted street meeting with ten speakers over two hours.
12/9/1922
Strike at Pe Ell to Get Rid of Bed-Making
Pe Ell
WA
Lumber camp has 100% strike over better conditions, including that the men shouldn't have to make their own beds.
12/9/1922
I.W.W. Rises Up in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
WA
Lumber workers host a massive meeting to celebrate their recent free speech fight victory. Elmer Smith, among others, speaks.
12/9/1922
I.W.W. Convention Calls on Rival Red Unions to Unite
Chicago
IL
1922 General Convention continues. Delegates ok plan for MTW to host an international conference of longshoremen and seamen to expand organization. Taking note of efforts to organize miners and construction workers. AWIndustrial Union no. 110 calls for the RILU in Moscow and the Syndicalist International in Berlin to put aside their differences and unite against global capital. "Our affiliation with either, while disagreeing with both, would be worse than worthless. It would be harmful- a source of greater misunderstanding, irritation, and division."
12/9/1922
Delegates Endorse Amnesty
Chicago
IL
1922 General Convention- delegates endorse fully comitting to a nationwide amnesty campaign for remaining prisoners in Leavenworth and San Quentin.
12/9/1922
Spokane Is on the Wobbly Map Again
Spokane
WA
Potential small free speech fight? Some Wobblies have been arrested and subsequently had charges against them dismissed.
12/9/1922
Strike Lumber Camp to Teach the Boss a Lesson
Skykomish
WA
Lumber camp goes on strike after an IWW organizer is fired.
12/16/1922
Strike Complete in Brix Co. Camp
McIntosh
WA
Lumber workers go on strike for lower food prices. All but three workers off the job.
12/16/1922
Pedro Fight for Free Speech Won
San Pedro
CA
MTW in San Pedro declare the free speech fight a victory as very few workers are arrested during street meetings and the chief of police promises to work with the IWW. The defense committee, however, issues a statement warning that the fight is not over and could shift at any moment.
12/16/1922
American Legion Scabs in Calif.
Big Creek
CA
Big Creek strike continues to develop. Around 30 picketers arrested, some attempts to ship in scabs from San Francisco or Mexico, but nothing long lasting.
12/16/1922
Klamath Bosses Yield to I.W.W.
Klamath Falls
OR
Klamath Falls lumber companies cave to eight-hour day following pressure from LWIndustrial Union no. 120. Cite fear over ongoing free speech fight as a reason for change.
12/16/1922
Scabs Flee Docks, Publishing Names, Bosses Offer Peace
Portland
OR
Portland dock strike enters final phases as companies begin to negotiate with the ILA and IWW. Strikebreakers leaving the town in greater numbers.
12/16/1922
Scab Killed in Eureka Logging
Eureka
CA
Logging strike in Eureka as companies attempt to fire IWW organizers. A scab hired to replace a Wobbly is killed on the job.
12/16/1922
Let's Go!
Yosemite
CA
Hetch Hetchy strike is transferred back onto the job. The returning Wobblies plan to use their organize and pull tactic that has worked well over the past year.
12/16/1922
Right Back at Harding!
Chicago
IL
1922 General Convention continues. Delegates declare their support for a six-hour work day in response to Pres. Harding's 12-hour day proposal.
12/16/1922
Convention Is Finished
Chicago
IL
1922 General Convention wraps up with procedural work. Candidates for General Secretary-Treasurer of the GEB are announced. Expulsions upheld for three individual members.
12/23/1922
L.A. Arrests Wob Pickets
Los Angeles
CA
Wobblies picketing employment agencies in the Big Creek strike are arrested.
12/23/1922
I.W.W. General Defense Committee Announces Important Policy Change
Chicago
IL
The General Defense Comittee announces a policy change advocating that all industrial unions agitate for amnesty for all class war prisoners. "Let our slogan be: GENERAL AMNESTY OR GENERAL STRIKE- WHICH?"
12/23/1922
Intermittent Strike Is On
International Falls
MN
Lumber workers announce an intermittent strike and organizing campaign in Minnesota.
12/23/1922
Dock Bosses Quarreling
Portland
OR
Portland dock strike continues final stages. Bosses negotiate unsuccessfully. Japanese seamen rebuff scabs trying to load cargo onto their ships.
12/23/1922
Two I.W.W.s Held in Taft on Trial
Taft
CA
Two oil workers are arrested and tried in Taft. Last minute news wire reports they are acquitted.
12/30/1922
Edison Co. Secures 60 Arrests in Cal. 300 Scabs Off Job
San Pedro
CA
Police raid the MTW hall in San Pedro, arresting 60 members amidst free speech fight and ongoing Big Creek strike.
12/30/1922
Raiders Fail to Shut I.W.W. Hall
Port Angeles
WA
Police raid reading room, confiscating literature and arresting the operator. He is released and reopens the reading room the next day.
12/30/1922
Ten Witnesses Go on Trial Again; Defence Proves Townsend Degenerate
Sacramento
CA
The ten witnesses arrested during the Casdorf/Firey trial go on trial again.
12/30/1922
Acret Has Enough of I.W.W. Cases
Grays Harbor
WA
The prosecutor in Grays Harbor county refuses to litigate any more criminal syndicalism cases in fears that he might start another free speech fight.
12/30/1922
California Jury Acquits C.S. Case
Oakland
CA
An Oakland criminal syndicalism trial results in acquittal.