The big red songbook : 250+ IWW songs!

Solidarity Unionism Is Critical Reading For All Who Care About The Future Of Labor. Drawing Deeply On Staughton Lynd's Experiences As A Labor Lawyer And Activist In Youngstown, Oh, And On His Profound Understanding Of The History Of The Congress Of Industrial Organizations (cio), Solidarity Unionism Helps Us Begin To Put Not Only Movement But Also Vision Back Into The Labor Movement. While Many Lament The Decline Of Traditional Unions, Lynd Takes Succor In The Blossoming Of Rank-and-file Worker Organizations Throughout The World That Are Countering Rapacious Capitalists And Those Comfortable Labor Leaders That Think They Know More About Work And Struggle Than Their Own Members. If We Apply A New Measure Of Workers' Power That Is Deeply Rooted In Gatherings Of Workers And Communities, The Bleak And Static Perspective About The Sorry State Of Labor Today Becomes Bright And Dynamic. To Secure The Gains Of Solidarity Unions, Staughton Has Proposed Parallel Bodies Of Workers Who Share The Principles Of Rank-and-file Solidarity And Can Coordinate The Activities Of Local Workers' Assemblies. Detailed And Inspiring Examples Include Experiments In Workers' Self-organization Across Industries In Steel-producing Youngstown, As Well As Horizontal Networks Of Solidarity Formed In A Variety Of U.s. Cities And Successful Direct Actions Overseas. This Is A Tradition That Workers Understand But Labor Leaders Reject. After So Many Failures, It Is Time To Frankly Recognize That The Century-old System Of Recognition Of A Single Union As Exclusive Collective Bargaining Agent Was Fatally Flawed From The Beginning, And Doesn't Work For Most Workers. If We Are To Live With Dignity, We Must Collectively Resist. This Book Is Not A Prescription But Reveals The Lived Experience Of Working People Continuously Taking Risks For The Common Good.

In 1905, representatives from dozens of radical labor groups came together in Chicago to form One Big Union—the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), known as the Wobblies. The union was a big presence in the labor movement, leading strikes, walkouts, and rallies across the nation. And everywhere its members went, they sang.

Their songs were sung in mining camps and textile mills, hobo jungles and flop houses, and anywhere workers might be recruited to the Wobblies’ cause. The songs were published in a pocketsize tome called the Little Red Songbook, which was so successful that it’s been published continuously since 1909. In The Big Red Songbook, the editors have gathered songs from over three dozen editions, plus additional songs, rare artwork, personal recollections, discographies, and more into one big all-embracing book.

IWW poets/composers strove to nurture revolutionary consciousness. Each piece, whether topical, hortatory, elegiac, or comic served to educate, agitate, and emancipate workers. A handful of Wobbly numbers have become classics, still sung by labor groups and folk singers. They include Joe Hill’s sardonic “The Preacher and the Slave” (sometimes known by its famous phrase “Pie in the Sky”) and Ralph Chaplin’s “Solidarity Forever.” Songs lost or found, sacred or irreverent, touted or neglected, serious or zany, singable or not, are here. The Wobblies and their friends have been singing for a century. May this comprehensive gathering simultaneously celebrate past battles and chart future goals.

In addition to the 250+ songs, writings are included from Archie Green, Franklin Rosemont, David Roediger, Salvatore Salerno, Judy Branfman, Richard Brazier, James Connell, Carlos Cortez, Bill Friedland, Virginia Martin, Harry McClintock, Fred Thompson, Adam Machado, and many more.

In 1905, representatives from dozens of radical labor groups came together in Chicago to form One Big Union—the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), known as the Wobblies. The union was a big presence in the labor movement, leading strikes, walkouts, and rallies across the nation. And everywhere its members went, they sang. Their songs were sung in mining camps and textile mills, hobo jungles and flop houses, and anywhere workers might be recruited to the Wobblies' cause. The songs were published in a pocketsize tome called the Little Red Songbook, which was so successful that it's been published continuously since 1909. In The Big Red Songbook, the editors have gathered songs from over three dozen editions, plus additional songs, rare artwork, personal recollections, discographies, and more into one big all-embracing book. IWW poets/composers strove to nurture revolutionary consciousness. Each piece, whether topical, hortatory, elegiac, or comic served to educate, agitate, and emancipate workers. A handful of Wobbly numbers have become classics, still sung by labor groups and folk singers. They include Joe Hill's sardonic "The Preacher and the Slave" (sometimes known by its famous phrase "Pie in the Sky") and Ralph Chaplin's "Solidarity Forever." Songs lost or found, sacred or irreverent, touted or neglected, serious or zany, singable or not, are here. The Wobblies and their friends have been singing for a century. May this comprehensive gathering simultaneously celebrate past battles and chart future goals. In addition to the 250+ songs, writings are included from Archie Green, Franklin Rosemont, David Roediger, Salvatore Salerno, Judy Branfman, Richard Brazier, James Connell, Carlos Cortez, Bill Friedland, Virginia Martin, Harry McClintock, Fred Thompson, Adam Machado, and many more. Critical reading for all who care about the future of labor, Solidarity Unionism draws deeply on Staughton Lynd & rsquo;s experiences as a labor lawyer and activist in Youngstown, Ohio, and on his profound understanding of the history of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The book helps us begin to put not only movement, but also vision, back into the labor movement. There is a blossoming of rank-and-file worker organizations throughout the world that are countering rapacious capitalists and labor leaders who think they know more about work and struggle than their own members. To secure the gains of solidarity unions, Lynd has proposed parallel bodies of workers who share the principles of rank-and-file solidarity and can coordinate the activities of local workers & rsquo; assemblies. Detailed and inspiring examples include experiments in workers & rsquo; self-organization across industries in steel-producing Youngstown, as well as horizontal networks of solidarity formed in a variety of U.S. cities and successful direct actions overseas. This book is not a prescription but reveals the lived experience of working people continuously taking risks for the common good