User account menu

  • Log in
A Green Syndicalist's Soapbox
That Green Union Guy
A Green Syndicalist's Soapbox

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Texts
  • Archives
  • Reports
  • Reviews
  • Bibliography
  • Feeds
  • Links
  • Contact

Preamble to the IWW Constitution

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Archives
  • Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
  • Preamble to the IWW Constitution
By thatgreenunionguy | 10:56 PM UTC, Wed May 01, 1991

The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the good things of life.

Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers of the world organize as a class, take possession of the means of production, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the Earth.

We find that the centering of the management of industries into fewer and fewer hands makes the trade unions unable to cope with the ever growing power of the employing class. The trade unions foster a state of affairs which allows one set of workers to be pitted against another set of workers in the same industry, thereby helping defeat one another in wage wars. Moreover, the trade unions aid the employing class to mislead the workers into the belief that the working class have interests in common with their employers.

These conditions can be changed and the interest of the working class upheld only by an organization formed in such a way that all its members in any one industry, or in all industries if necessary, cease work whenever a strike or lockout is on in any department thereof, thus making an injury to one an injury to all.

Instead of the conservative motto, "A fair day's wage for a fair day's work," we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword, "Abolition of the wage system."

It is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism. The army of production must be organized, not only for everyday struggle with capitalists, but also to carry on production when capitalism shall have been overthrown. By organizing industrially we are forming the structure of the new society within the shell of the old.

Book traversal links for Archives

  • ‹ One Big Union (1911 edition)
  • Up
  • Sabotage ›

Fair Use Notice

Fair Use Notice: The material on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes. It may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of scientific, environmental, economic, social justice and human rights issues etc.

It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have an interest in using the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The information on this site does not constitute legal or technical advice.

This site is created and maintained by a dues paying member of the IWW, however it is not an official IWW site, nor should any content included here imply an endorsement of it by the Industrial Workers of the World. Furthermore, the IWW globe in the header logo is not an official seal, and does not imply IWW endorsement of this site or any of its contents. To visit the IWW, please go to iww.org.

Footer menu

  • Home
  • Contact
Powered by Drupal

Creative Commons