Wobblies on the waterfront : interracial unionism in progressive-era Philadelphia / Peter Cole.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cole, Peter, 1969-

Series:

Working class in American history.

Working class in American history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Stevedores--Labor unions--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--History.

Stevedores.

Labor unions--Social aspects--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--History.

Labor unions.

Philadelphia (Pa.)--Race relations--History.

Philadelphia (Pa.).

Industrial Workers of the World--History.

Industrial Workers of the World.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (255 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The rise and fall of America's first truly interracial labor union For almost a decade during the 1910s and 1920s, the Philadelphia waterfront was home to the most durable interracial, multiethnic union seen in the United States prior to the CIO era. For much of its time, Local 8 was majority black, always with a cadre of black leaders. The union also claimed immigrants from Eastern Europe, as well as many Irish Americans, who had a notorious reputation for racism. This important study is the first book-length examination of how Local 8, affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World, accomplished what no other did at the time. Peter Cole outlines the factors that were instrumental in Local 8's success, both ideological (the IWW's commitment to working-class solidarity) and pragmatic (racial divisions helped solidify employer dominance). He also shows how race was central not only to the rise but also to the decline of Local 8, as increasing racial tensions were manipulated by employers and federal agents bent on the union's destruction.

Contents:

Introduction : in search of Local 8

Philadelphia : "the workship of the world"

Wobblies take the docks

There is power in a union

War on the waterfront

Onward one big union?

Riding the wave of postwar militancy : the 1920 strike

The Philadelphia controversy

Quakertown blues : the lockout of 1922

Conclusion : towards radical egalitarianism.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-221) and index.

ISBN:

9786613155740

9781283155748

1283155745

9780252090851

0252090853

OCLC:

785781247