The I. W. W.: A Study of American SyndicalismBrissenden, Paul F. (Paul Frederick)
History
The I. W. W.: A Study of American Syndicalism
Brissenden, Paul F. (Paul Frederick)
Industrial Workers of the World; Syndicalism
They [the decentralizers] claim they will never submit to the
rule of a minority of four or five men.... They do not want to
submit to the rule of the G. E. B. composed of four or five,
but they will submit to the authority of the General Secretary
and the General Organizer whom they want to function in the
place of the G. E. B. The authority of the minority of five or
seven men is something terrible, but the authority and rule of
the minority of two is not so terrible.[611]
The locals of Calgary [Canada], Portland, Oregon, Seattle and
Spokane, Washington, and Phoenix, Arizona, presented a resolution
asking that "the function of the headquarters [_i. e._, the general
administration] be reduced to a mere correspondence agency." No action
was taken.[612] "We ... are working ... to overthrow this [wages]
system," said a decentralist fellow-worker, "and we claim ... that
the rank and file of the proletariat will have to do this themselves."
The General Executive Board members, according to this delegate,
"place themselves in exactly the same position over these people [the
workers] and put themselves in the same [position of] unique power
over them as the capitalist class."[613] Said another: "The minority
in this organization is ... ruling ... today, namely, the G. E. B. I
am certainly in favor of abolishing the G. E. B. I don't see any use
for it. I don't see what they can do for the rank and file."[614]
According to the majority report of the constitution committee (which
was lost) all authority was, in the absence of the G. E. B., to be
vested in the General Secretary-Treasurer and the General Organizer,
both responsible to the rank and file.[615] In line with the foregoing
was a resolution providing for a reduction in the per-capita tax of
"mixed" locals from fifteen to five cents per month. The proponents of
this resolution insisted that the "mixed" locals bore more than their
share of the financial burden--that they practically supported the
national organization.[616] The proposition was given extended debate
and finally killed. Naturally it was opposed by the General Executive
Board.[617]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account