Page:The I. W. W.; Its History, Structure, and Methods.pdf/14

12 make with the employing class—COMPLETE SURRENDER OF ALL CONTROL OF INDUSTRY TO THE ORGANIZED WORKERS.

The experience of the past has proven the mass form of organization, such as that of the Knights of Labor, to be as powerless and unwieldy as a mob.

The craft form of union, with its principle of trade autonomy, and harmony of interest with the boss, has also been proven a failure. It has not furnished an effective weapon to the working class. True, it has been able to get for the skilled mechanics improved conditions but due to the narrow structure of the craft organization, class interest has long since been lost sight of, and craft interest alone governs the actions of its membership. In the last analysis the craft union has only been able to get advantages for its membership at the expense of the great mass of the working class: the unskilled workers, by entering into a contract with the employing class to stand aloof from the balance of the working class in its struggles. They have become allies of the employers to keep in subjection the vast majority of the workers. The I. W. W. denies that the craft union movement is a labor movement. We deny that it can or will become a labor movement.

Today in the United States in all of the basic (large) industries, whenever any portion of the workers strive for better conditions, they enter into a conflict with the employing class as a whole. The expense of a strike is borne by the organized employers who have reached the point that, regardless of what competition may still remain, they unite to keep the workers in subjection, because of the common interest all have in securing cheap labor power.

To meet this condition the Industrial Workers of the World proposes:

1. The unit of organization is the Local Industrial