Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive-Era Philadelphia

Description

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 Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) era. For much of its time, Local 8's majority was African American and included immigrants from Eastern Europe as well as many Irish Americans. In this important study, Peter Cole examines how Local 8, affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), accomplished what no other did at the time. 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. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Abbreviations Acknowledgments Introduction: In Search of Local 8 1. Philadelphia: "The Workshop of the World" 2. Wobblies Take the Docks 3. There Is Power in a Union 4. War on the Waterfront 5. Onward One Big Union? 6. Riding the Wave of Postwar Militancy: The 1920 Strike 7. The Philadelphia Controversy 8. Quakertown Blues: The Lockout of 1922 Conclusion: Toward Radical Egalitarianism Notes Bibliography Index Illustrations follow page 92