We are the Industrial Workers of the World because we organize industrially.

This means we organize all workers in the same workplace and industry into one union, rather than dividing workers by skill or trade, so we can pool our strength to win our demands together.

Since the IWW was founded in 1905, we have been proud to organize across gender, ethnic and racial lines and regardless of immigration status — a tradition begun long before that approach became popular.

We are a democratic, member-run union. That doesn’t only mean directly electing our officers. It also means campaigns are run by workers in the workplace, who decide what issues to address, when to address them, and which tactics to use.

We invite you to become a member whether you have a union where you work or are hoping to build one. We organize the worker, not the job, which means that we do not depend on government certification or employer recognition. We help together to address common concerns and fix them with the leverage they have: disruption of the flow of production in the workplace.

This might look like workers going on strike. Or it might look like collectively efusing to work with dangerous equipment and chemicals. Or it might look like demanding a fix to a particular issue through a petition or a “march on the boss.” These tactics have proven effective for workers across all kinds of workplaces and industries, because they represent the most powerful tool workers have: direct action on our own terms.

Why wait? Join the IWW and organize for a better future.

The Preamble to the IWW Constitution – This is the IWW’s mission statement and call to action.

Official IWW Literature – These are other written statements on the IWW’s approach and vision.

Solidarity Unionism – This is athe term oftenwe used for the guiding strategic principles of the IWW, as opposed to “’Business Unionism.’” or mainstream unionism. We strive to build unions based on the direct solidarity and leverage of workers on the job, without regard to government or employer “’recognition.”’ We also don’t rely on signed contracts as our end goal. Instead we seek to win gains and build power through direct action, rejecting the prevalent “’no-strike”’ and “’management rights”’ clauses that most traditional unions accept as part of an overall contract.

How the IWW Differs from “Business” Unions – Mainstream unions depend on paid staff bargaining contracts away from the workplace. They also often organize by trade, which weakens overall solidarity and organizing, and at worst allows one set of workers to be pitted against another set of workers in the same industry, thereby helping defeat one another in strikes and wage wars.