Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive-Era Philadelphia (Working Class in American History) [Hardcover]

Peter Cole (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0252031865 | ISBN-13: 978-0252031861 | Publication Date: July 27, 2007

 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Cole skillfully integrates material from IWW leaders, government documents, newspaper accounts, and oral histories with secondary literature to produce a superb case study, one that should appeal to anyone interested in the IWW, the intersection of work and race, waterfront work, or race relations in the United States during the World War I period."--H-Urban

"Cole's richly detailed book provides a glimpse at a topic too often ignored, the local IWW. . . . Wobblies on the Waterfront deserves to be read seriously by labor historians and historians interested in race and social justice movements. . . . This remarkable book provides a sense of what the Wobblies might have become if given a chance."--Journal of American History

"An invaluable resource to those interested broadly in the historiography of race and industrial unionism and more specifically in Local 8 itself. . . . A worthwhile contribution to the literature and an inspiration to those of us who hold out hope for a unified labor movement."--Labor History

From the Back Cover

"By demonstrating how interracial solidarity prevailed on the Philadelphia waterfront for the better part of a momentous and critically important decade, Peter Cole kindles the flames of the `class-race' debate. As he also demonstrates, Local 8's achievements in this regard were all the more remarkable because the larger context--in Philadelphia and in the nation--was one of racial polarization and virulent white racism." --Bruce Nelson, Professor of History, Dartmouth College and author of Divided We Stand: American Workers and the Struggle for Black Equality

"Wobblies on the Waterfront offers a fascinating and engaging look at the Philadelphia longshoremen in Local 8 of the IWW. Offering a fresh perspective on an important organization that charted its own, independent course in the 1910s and '20s, this study considerably adds to our knowledge of waterfront unionism, Philadelphia labor, the IWW, and race and labor. Local 8 deserves the in-depth treatment that Peter Cole gives it, for it stood out as a rather unique example of militant, interracial unionism in an age in which exclusion or segregation was the rule in the labor movement." --Eric Arnesen, Professor of History and African American Studies, University of Illinois-Chicago and editor of The Black Worker: Race, Labor, and Civil Rights since Emancipation

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (July 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252031865
• ISBN-13: 978-0252031861
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,738,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Read, August 16, 2007

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D. Finestone - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive-Era Philadelphia (Working Class in American History) (Hardcover)

This book was very well written and informative. This was an interesting time in our history and the author did a great job bringing out the many issues that were prevalent in society then and that still exists today.