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Industrial Worker—The Voice of the IWW

Download the Summer 2017 issue of Industrial Worker here.

 
Industrial Worker is the official (English language) magazine of the Industrial Workers of the World. It is published four times a year and printed by union labor. Articles not so designated do not reflect the official position of the IWW. Our editor is elected by the membership via a rank-and-file vote for a two-year term of office.

Contact Information:

  • Editor—Roberta McNair
  • Mail, Submissions, and Subscriptions—Industrial Workers of the World, PO Box 180195, Chicago, IL 60618 USA
  • Email—iw [at] iww.org
  • Social Media—Find the IW on Facebook, Twitter, and Scribd
  • Subscribe/donate to Industrial Worker through store.iww.org. You can also email store [at] iww.org or mail a check or money order to Industrial Workers of the World, PO Box 180195, Chicago, IL 60618 USA.
     

Submit Articles to Industrial Worker


Industrial Worker encourages submissions of articles about IWW organizing drives, direct action at the point of production, rank-and-file struggles within mainstream labor unions, workers' issues, strikes, pickets, boycotts, labor news, labor history, and reviews of current and historical literature about the IWW, the labor movement, or labor history.

Before you write your article or simply repost an email message, please download this PDF file explaining how to write effectively so your article will have a better chance of being published. Raw, unedited text is far less likely to be published.

Articles will be checked for accuracy and are subject to editing for length and clarity. Submissions will not be returned. You may send articles through the mail at the address listed above or to this email address: iw [at] iww.org

Do not send email not immediately relevant to the Industrial Worker (spam).

Placing Industrial Worker in Stores and on Newsstands:


Why distribute Industrial Worker to stores and newsstands?

  • Industrial Worker is a potential organizing and outreach tool;
  • The magazine carries labor and union news and opinion available nowhere else; and
  • It can be used to raise funds for your local IWW branch or organizing committee.

How to place Industrial Worker in local stores:

  • Many bookstores and newsstands will take periodicals on consignment. This is an arrangement where the store pays only for copies sold, returning the unsold copies and paying for each issue as the new issue is delivered. Although it is possible to mail copies directly from GHQ, for billing and collecting purposes it is usually better to send the papers to you.

Who will take Industrial Worker on consignment?

  • If the store carries alternative or radical periodicals, they are probably getting at least some of them on consignment and will be glad to take 5 or 10 IWs. But even if they aren't, there's no reason not to ask: The worst they can do is say no. Sometimes a store will say they only deal with distributors, in which case you should ask for the name and contact information for the local distributor(s) they deal with so they can be approached.

Whom do you approach?

  • Generally a manager or periodicals buyer is in charge of making decisions about what titles to carry. The easiest way is to ask a clerk whom you should see about placing a periodical on consignment.

What terms should you offer?

  • Most bookstores are accustomed to getting between 30 and 40 percent of the cover price on periodicals, so offering a 60/40 split (you get $3.00 for each $5.00 copy sold, the store gets $2.00) will seem reasonable to them. (Since we make copies available to IWW branches and groups for $3.00 each, when subscribing to a bundle of five copies four times a year for $60 a year, you'll break even on those sold. Those not sold can be used for your branch's events and general agitation.) Five copies is usually a good number to start; adjust the number up or down depending on how they're selling.

Regular maintenance is necessary:

  • It's important to keep up with your consignment accounts. You need to get them new issues on time (don't let them sit around for a couple of weeks), to keep clear records of how many copies you dropped off and when (a spiral notebook with a page for each store can be useful), and when you were last paid (sometimes when you drop new magazines off there will be a new clerk on duty and you'll need to collect the funds you're owed later, when someone who knows what to do is there). It's also a good idea to take a look at the news rack from time to time to make sure the magazines are orderly, and in stock.

Download a PDF Version of these instructions. An Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in is required; you may download by clicking on the button above and to the left.