Men-women-children of Lawrence, organize! Organize!

Men-women-children of Lawrence, organize! Organize!

Item Information

Title:
Men-women-children of Lawrence, organize! Organize!
Name on Item:
N.I.U. of T.W.I.W.W.
Date:
1912
Format:
Ephemera
Genre:
Broadsides
Location:
Lawrence Public Library
Special Collections
Collection (local):
Lawrence, Mass. Textile Strike of 1912
Subjects:
Strikes
Textile mill workers
Textile Workers' Strike, Lawrence, Mass., 1912
Places:
Massachusetts > Essex (county) > Lawrence
Extent:
1 sheet ; 17.5 x 26 cm
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/3j333t84f
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
Notes:
Title from item or accompanying material.
The broadside includes the seal of the Industrial Workers of the World at the top.
The content of this document is authored by the City Central Committee #20 I.W.W. Many public officials (Municipal Judge Frederick N. Chandler, Congressman William S. Knox, Fr. James T. O’Reilly, Charles E. Bradley, Mayor Scanlon, and Rev. Lovejoy) are quoted comparing the strikers to anarchists and worse. “These inflammatory and incendiary remarks were directed against the INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD, and the growth of socialism in Lawrence." The rest of the text refers to the conditions of the workers, low wages and long hours, the virtues of the IWW, and threats that if any member of the IWW were injured or killed, these people (members of the status quo listed above) would be held responsible.
Item reads: MEN-WOMEN-CHILDREN Of Lawrence Organize! Organize! FELLOW WORKERS: -Let our answer to the “protest against the I. W. W. its principles and methods” by a better feeling toward each other. A bigger, stronger union! ONE BIG UNION! Stand together, united in the I. W. W.; we gained a little for each other as a result of the general strike last winter. None were any the worse for a few weeks rest; we have a right to be lazy once in a while. The stockholders, the bosses, are lazy all the time. The extra pay we get for overtime is the wages of solidarity. The better conditions are result of class action. No one nationality could have successfully fought the premium system. All nationalities working together, improved the premium system, making it more easy for all to reach. The things gained were worth fighting for. To keep them from slipping away, we must hold our Union together. We must grow stronger. We must enlist every worker in the mills. Unionize Lawrence! Unionize the Textile Industry! Unionize all industries. Every member of the Industrial Workers of the World must be an organizer. The I. W. W. bars no worker, but invites all workers. If you have an extra dollar in your envelope the I. W. W. put it there. Are you going to fight with the organization that has helped you? Are you going to fight against the organization that gave you a little more of the good things of life? The few cents more you get each week, must burn your fingers unless you help those who helped you. There is no one so mean as an ingrate. Are you ungrateful for better pay, better conditions? Don’t you know that if it were possible to drive the I. W. W. from Lawrence, wages would be reduced? Could the corrupt politicians prevent the reduction? Could the Church prevent the reduction? Could the prominent citizens prevent the reduction? Could the business men prevent eh reduction? Did any of them assist in raising you wages? No! They were against then they are against us now. Let us not divide against ourselves, “United we stand---Divided we fall”. This organization in no way interferes with any duty you feel you owe to your God of your County. More bread is the vital issue! More wages! Less hours! Better conditions in the mills! City! Join the Union of you class, attend all its meetings at all times. N. I. U. of T. W. I. W. W.
Preferred Citation:
Courtesy Lawrence Public Library
Notes (date):
Date from item or accompanying material.
Accession #:
2004.2
Identifier:
organize