Quakertown blues: Philadelphia's longshoremen and the decline of the IWW

An essay by Peter Cole on the relationship between the IWW and Communism and how the collapse of the IWW had much to do with postwar events, including internal conflicts over centralization and Communism, rather than only wartime repression.

Originally appeared in Left History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Historical Inquiry and Debate Vol 8, No 2 (2003)

Attachments

Quakertown Blues.pdf (1.42 MB)

Comments

I enjoyed this read. I mean,

I enjoyed this read. I mean, not the decline of the IWW, but the history.

Philadelphia's lords of the docks: interracial unionism wobbly style - Peter Cole

A short paper written by Peter Cole for the Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (July 2007…

Review: Local 8 shows interracial unionism key to victory

A review by Matt White of Peter Cole's book, Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in…

War on the waterfront - Peter Cole

Chapter 4 of "Wobblies on the waterfront-interracial unionism in progressive-era Philadelphia" by Peter Cole, an excellent text about the…

A 100-year-old idea that could transform the labor movement

An article by Daniel Gross suggesting that the old Local 8 of the IWW has lessons to teach the labor…

Ben Fletcher, Local 8, and Me - Peter Cole

An article by author Peter Cole about his fascination with the historical IWW's storied 'Local 8'.

cartoon from IWW leaflet - "hold fast, buddie, we got 'em"

100 Years Ago: The Philadelphia dockers strike and Local 8 of the IWW - Mouvement Communiste and Kolektivně proti Kapitălu

A text published to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of an important strike…