known as the Wobblies
Radical labour organization founded in Chicago in 1905.
The founders, who opposed the moderate policies of the AFL (see AFL-CIO ), included William Haywood of the Western Federation of Miners, Daniel De Leon of the Socialist Labor Party, and Eugene V. Debs . In 1908 the IWW split, and a militant group led by Haywood prevailed. To reach its goal of worker control of the means of production, it advocated general strikes, boycotts, and sabotage. Its tactics led to arrests and adverse publicity, though it made gains through strikes in the mining and lumber industries. It opposed U.S. participation in World War I, and some of its leaders were prosecuted. By the 1920s membership had dwindled greatly.