Delegates from radical unions and socialist groups met in Chicago to launch the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The new organization promoted industrial unionism—organizing all workers in an industry together, rather than by craft. This founding set the stage for a decade of highly visible organizing drives and confrontations over labor rights.
IWW activists in Spokane compiled and published the first edition of what became known as the Little Red Songbook. The songs helped spread the union’s message in a form that was easy to share at meetings, on the job, and in organizing campaigns. The songbook became part of the IWW’s long-term organizing culture and public identity.
After Spokane restricted street speaking, the IWW launched a civil-disobedience campaign by repeatedly holding outdoor speeches and accepting arrest. The effort tested whether workers could organize in public spaces without being shut down by local ordinances. The conflict helped make “free speech fights” a recognizable IWW tactic in North America.
After months of mass arrests and sustained pressure, Spokane revoked the speech-restricting ordinance and released remaining prisoners. The outcome encouraged the IWW to use similar tactics elsewhere when cities tried to block organizing through arrests for public speaking. It also showed how civil liberties and labor organizing were closely linked in this era.
Textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts struck after pay cuts linked to a shorter legal workweek for women and children. IWW organizers helped build a multiethnic strike committee and coordinated mass action across many languages and communities. The strike became one of the best-known IWW-led labor conflicts in the industrial Northeast.
The Lawrence strike ended after negotiations produced wage increases and other changes, while the conflict drew national attention to working conditions and immigrant labor. The IWW’s role demonstrated that large, diverse workforces could coordinate across language barriers. The aftermath also included continuing legal pressure on IWW leaders and supporters.
Silk workers in Paterson, New Jersey walked out after employers expanded a system that increased each weaver’s workload by assigning more looms per worker. The IWW was called in to help coordinate the strike and public campaigning for an eight-hour day. The dispute reflected growing tensions over productivity changes and control of work pace.
At a large meeting of hop pickers seeking better pay and sanitary conditions, violence broke out involving workers and law enforcement at Wheatland, California. The confrontation left four people dead and was widely blamed on the IWW, fueling political backlash against radical union organizing among agricultural workers. The episode became an early example of how farm-labor campaigns could trigger severe repression.
Iron ore miners on Minnesota’s Mesabi Range began a major strike for higher wages, an eight-hour day, and changes to the contract labor system. The IWW helped organize workers who were largely immigrants and faced strong resistance from companies and local authorities. Although the strike ultimately failed to win a formal settlement, it marked a high point of IWW influence in some extractive industries.
An armed confrontation in Everett, Washington broke out when IWW members arrived by boat to support local shingle workers and continue a free-speech fight. Shots were exchanged at the dock, leaving multiple people dead and many wounded. The violence intensified public fear of labor militancy and increased pressure on the IWW in the Pacific Northwest.
In Bisbee, Arizona, a mass roundup removed roughly 1,300 strikers and supporters—many tied to IWW organizing—from the town and sent them out by train. The event showed how employers and local authorities could use extralegal force to break strikes during World War I-era tensions. It became one of the most notorious anti-union actions of the period.
The U.S. Department of Justice conducted coordinated raids on IWW halls and offices across the country, seizing records and arresting leaders and organizers. The crackdown linked the union to wartime “disloyalty” claims and escalated federal pressure on radical labor groups. These raids severely disrupted IWW operations and organizing networks.
A large group of IWW leaders were tried in Chicago on federal charges tied to wartime laws, including accusations of interfering with the draft. The jury returned guilty verdicts for all defendants, and the court imposed long prison terms and heavy fines. The convictions weakened the IWW’s national leadership and helped push the union into a long period of decline.
On Armistice Day in Centralia, Washington, a conflict between American Legion members and IWW members around an IWW hall led to multiple deaths. In the aftermath, several IWW members were convicted and imprisoned, and one IWW member, Wesley Everest, was lynched. The event became a lasting symbol of the violence and political backlash surrounding IWW organizing during the First Red Scare.
By the early 1920s, arrests, raids, trials, and vigilante violence had disrupted many IWW locals and cut off resources and leadership. Employers and governments increasingly treated the IWW as a security threat rather than a bargaining partner, limiting its ability to run large public campaigns. This period closed the 1905–1924 era as the union’s North American campaigns shifted from mass strikes to survival under sustained repression.
Industrial Workers of the World campaigns in North America (1905–1924)