2018 has been a huge year for IWW members across the globe. We’ve smashed records, won big victories and organised in areas no union has ever organised in.
In the US, the IWW Burgerville Workers’ Union has become the largest recognised fast food union in American history, and waged strikes, improved conditions and forced the reinstatement of unfairly fired workers in a high-turnover industry that’s considered impossible to organise.
In the UK, the IWW Couriers’ Network organised thousands of couriers into a mass national strike against UberEats and Deliveroo for improved pay rates, while Couriers’ Network branches have been established across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom which have run successful local campaigns for improved wages, better safety conditions, and the abolition of unpaid trial shifts.
IWW members played an instrumental part in kicking off a huge wildcat strike involving tens of thousands of teachers across West Virginia, and took on a similarly critical role in a wave of strikes at Canada Post. Meanwhile, IWW members have established workers’ power on the floor of restaurants in New York, won wage increases at rock-climbing centres, organised subtitle-writing workers, charity workers and university workers, and succeeded in case after case after case of battles against wage theft.
Not only is it possible to organise like this in Australia – with wages going backwards while profits surge ahead and mainstream unions stagnate, it’s urgently necessary. If you want to be part of this in 2019, then join the IWW today!