The I. W. W.: A Study of American Syndicalism

by Paul F. Brissenden

NOTES TO TABLE A.

Here are assembled most of the available figures relating to I. W. W. membership and fluctuations in membership during the period 1905-1917. The figures are fragmentary and, for the most part, approximations; those in columns 1, 6, 7 and 11 being especially rough and fragmentary. For example, it will be observed, in comparing columns 7 and 9 with column 11 for the year 1914, that there must have been at least 1784 defunct locals at that time instead of 681 as the record shows.

The figures in italics were furnished by the secretary-treasurers, Vincent St. John for the Chicago I. W. W., and Hermann Richter for the Detroit I. W. W.

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[A] Average membership 1905-1906. Computed from record of receipts for the General Defense Fund (Proceedings Second Convention, p. 586.)

[B] Approximate. W. D. Haywood before U. S. Commission on Industrial Relations, Washington, D. C., May 12, 1915. (Final Report and Testimony, vol. xi, p. 10581.)

[C] Weekly People, Sept. 27, 1913; also testimony of Rudolph Katz before U. S. Commission on Industrial Relations (Final Report and Testimony, vol. iii, 2485).

[D] Only 2000 were "in good standing."

[E] No data available.

[F] St. John, The I. W. W.—Its History, Structure and Methods (1917 ed.), p. 23.

[G] The figures in column 3 are from Professor Geo. E. Barnett, "Membership of American Trade Unions," Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. xxx, p. 846 (August, 1916). His figures come, apparently, from I. W. W. headquarters in Chicago, but they do not agree entirely with those furnished the author by Secretary St. John.

[H] In this and some of the following columns more than one figure has been included in years for which varying estimates were found. The sources for column 4 are as follows: Proceedings 2nd I. W. W. Convention, p. 60; Report of the I. W. W. to the Stuttgart International Socialist Congress, Industrial Union Bulletin, Aug. 10, 1907, p. 4; Bulletin New York State Department of Labor, no. 67 ("International trade union statistics"), p. 3; Louis Levine, "The development of syndicalism in America," Political Science Quarterly, vol. xxviii, p. 478 (Sept., 1913); Vincent St. John's testimony before U. S. Commission on Industrial Relations (Final Report and Testimony, vol. ii, p. 1456; Weekly People, Dec. 9. 1916, p. 1, col. 3).

[I] Leo Wolman, "Extent of labor organization," Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. xxx, p. 603 (May, 1916). Wolman shows sex distribution as follows:

Chicago I. W. W.:	males	7137,	females	2000.
Detroit I. W. W.:	males	3130,	females	345.

[J] Number issued between February 1910, and October, 1911.

[K] For the Detroit I. W. W. Approximate number issued during the textile workers strikes.

[L] Accumulated number from 1905.

[M] For the Detroit I. W. W. Approximate. October 1, 1908, to February 1, 1915.

[N] Sources: Industrial Worker (I), August, 1906; Miners Magazine, Sept. 7, 1905, p. 15; Marot, American Labor Unions, p. 59; St. John, op. cit., p. 23.

[O] Sources: Proceedings 2nd I. W. W. Convention, p. 43; Third I. W. W. Convention, Official Report No. 1, p. 2; Report of the I. W. W. to the Stuttgart International Socialist Congress, Industrial Union Bulletin, August 10, 1907, p. 3, col. 3; Massachusetts Bureau of Labor and Industry, Annual Report on Labor Organizations, 2nd to 7th, inclusive (1909-1914); The Industrial Worker, May 14, 1910, p. 2, and Jan. 5, 1911, p. 2; Marot, op. cit., Appendix.

[P] Sources: Miners Magazine, issues from Oct. 1, 1906, to Feb. 1, 1907; Report of the secretary-treasurer to 3rd I. W. W. Convention, Industrial Union Bulletin, Sept. 14, 1907, p. 7, col. 1.

[Q] Number issued up to Feb. 1, 1906, including 185 charters issued to the Mining Department (W. F. of M.) (Miners Magazine, Feb. 22, 1906, p. 14).

[R] Solidarity, May 27, 1916, p. 3, col. 1. This figure is for the first five months of 1916.

[S] Figures in the Detroit column are from Oct. 1, 1908.

[T] W. F. M. (Mining Department) locals. Miners Magazine, Sept. 7, 1905, p. 15.

[U] Oct. 1, 1907, to Oct. 1, 1908 (Industrial Union Bulletin, Oct. 10, 1908, p. 2, col. 3).

TABLE B.—Comparative Membership Figures, 1910[727]

Industry.		Total number of persons in the industry.	Members of Labor Organizations.		Members of the I. W. W.
					Number.		Per cent. of all trade unionists.		Per cent. of total in industry.
			Number.	Per cent.	Chicago.	Detroit.	C.	D.	C.	D.
Mining[728]		834,456	254,779	30.5	200	...	0.1	...	0.0	...
Clothing industries[729]		608,892	102,972	16.9	...	300	...	0.3	...	0.0
Quarrying		85,919	6,309	7.3
Production of salt, oil and natural gas		37,476	...	...
Chemical and allied industries		73,585	268	0.4
Clay, glass and stone industries		309,341	63,416	20.5
Food and kindred products[730]		299,176	22,744	7.6	100	...	0.4	...	0.0	...
Iron and steel products		1,746,387	173,169	9.9	300	600	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.0
Leather industries		293,035	42,644	14.5
Liquor and beverage industries		73,475	49,665	67.6
Lumber and furniture		597,174	63,934	10.7	1300	200	2.0	0.3	0.2	0.0
Metal industries (except iron and steel)		320,041	15,013	4.7
Paper and pulp industries		101,797	2,683	2.6
Printing and bookbinding		249,456	85,479	34.3
Textile industries		800,251	29,862	3.7	4300	300	14.4	1.0	0.5	0.0
Miscellaneous industries:
	Button factories	12,879	32	0.2
	Broom & brush factories	12,922	897	6.9
	Charcoal and coke works	23,294	500	2.1
	Cigar and tobacco factories	170,904	46,742	27.3	100	200	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.1
	Electric light & power plants, electric supply factories, etc.	252,883	36,092	14.3
	Gas works	22,783	605	2.6
	Oil refineries and turpentine distilleries	22,551
	Rubber factories	45,864	50	0.1
	Straw factories	6,458	684	10.6
	Other miscellaneous and not specified industries	323,534
Transportation[731]		2,862,260	494,662	17.3	1000	...	0.2	...	0.0
Hand trades		713,659	4,346	0.6
Building trades		2,444,395	396,674	16.2	150	400	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0
Stationary engineers		215,053	9,990	4.6
Stationary firemen		84,685	8,100	9.5
Trade		3,411,677	17,676	0.5
Public service (not elsewhere classified)		441,180	11,843	2.6
Professional service		1,628,970	77,976	4.8
Domestic and personal service		3,691,493	65,579	1.8	150	...	0.2	...	0.0
Agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry		12,640,734	2,262	0.0
Proprietary, official and supervisory groups		980,012
Clerical groups		1,696,061	28,853	1.7
I. W. W. mixed locals		...	...	...	1437	1475
Total		38,134,712	2,116,500	5.5	9037	3475	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.0

TABLE C.—Membership of Certain Unions and Groups of Unions in the United States, 1897-1914[732] (00's omitted.)

Name of union and industrial group	97.	98.	99.	00.	01.	02.	03.	04.	05.	06.	07.	08.	09.	10.	11.	12.	13.	14.
Mining and Quarrying (8 organizations).
W. F. M.	80	100	120	140	177	196	283	241	263	286	442	305	353	371	502	492	495	369
U. M. W.	97	329	618	1155	1980	1753	2472	2510	2650	2307	2607	2520	2652	2314	2563	2893	3777	3390
Total in group	209	442	749	1307	2171	1964	2795	2789	2962	2653	3120	2897	3071	2749	3107	3429	4315	3802
United Metal Workers	...	...	...	10	21	43	87	96	[733]
Textile group (9 organizations)
Textile Workers	27	25	22	34	27	106	150	105	100	100	114	129	100	100	100	109	162	180
Total in group	81	85	69	80	70	147	195	151	145	147	161	176	148	214	217	230	295	303
Lumber and Wood Working group (8 organizations)	55	117	159	256	318	341	479	516	419	359	270	198	190	280	290	255	251	248
Bakery Workers	20	21	31	45	64	102	154	162	120	106	110	105	107	127	138	146	151	157
Brewery Workers	100	100	107	183	235	291	300	305	340	360	400	425	452	454	533	625	650	676
Restaurant and Trade group (6 organizations)	64	92	121	280	408	575	1144	1338	949	895	916	949	581	594	631	686	913	948
I. W. W. (Chicago)	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	143	104	67	132	107	91	138	183	143	120
I. W. W. (Detroit)	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	...	35	107	50	20
Total in all groups	4445	4971	6041	8654	11,236	13,743	19,129	20,726	19,450	19,063	20,776	20,904	20,031	21,380	23,365	24,408	27,010	26,744

TABLE D.—Membership of the I. W. W. (Chicago and Detroit) and of all Labor Organizations in the U. S., 1905-1917[734]

	Members of labor organizations in the U. S.	Members of the I. W. W.
		Chicago.		Detroit.
		(St. John)[735]	(Barnett)	(Barnett)
1905	1,945,000	23,219	14,300
1906	1,906,300	...	10,400
1907	2,077,600	5,931	6,700
1908	2,090,400	5,397	13,200
1909	2,003,100	3,719	10,700
1910	2,138,000	4,617	9,100	3,475[739]
1911	2,336,000	4,330	13,800	3,500
1912	2,440,800	18,387	18,300	10,700
1913	2,701,000	14,851	14,300	5,000
1914	2,674,400	11,365	12,000	2,000
1915	...	15,000[736]	...	2,000
1916	...	60,000[737]
1917	...	200,000[738]