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above: Anti-IWW cartoon, 1917

below: IWW syndicalism trial pamphlet, c. 1918

Zenith

At its zenith, the IWW was well known to many Americans and to workers around the world. The union was blessed with skillful orators, among them Big Bill Haywood, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Joseph Ettor. Successful strikes in the East and dramatic tragedies in the West, such as the Bisbee deportation in which 1200 men where forcibly transported out of Arizona for alleged organizing attempts, made the IWW a champion of the masses in the eyes of many unionists.

IWW organizers also faced physical danger and criminal prosecution. Many were beaten and some lost their lives. Martyrs to the cause, such as IWW members Frank Little and Joe Hill added a powerful mystique to the IWW. In the Utah murder case against Joe Hill, pleas for compassion came from Woodrow Wilson and the King of Sweden. Yet, many anti-union, anti-immigrant American citizens and elected officials believed the IWW was a menace to society.


above: IWW Trial Bulletin, 1918

below: Stamp used in organizing drive 1917.

above: Foreign language pamphlet about the IWW Centralia Tragedy, 1927

below:

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