Activist hoping to start new old union in Kokomo

Kokomo is well-acquainted with labor unions, More than 40 of them operate locally, representing workers in a variety of professions. But Chris Ryan is hoping there is room for one more.

Ryan intends to hold the first meeting of the Kokomo chapter of the Industrial Workers of the World this week, and membership is open to anyone in the working class.
“The IWW is a union based on solidarity unionism ... almost revolutionary unionism,” said Ryan. “It’s a different kind of unionism than the AFL-CIO unions. It started as an alternative to the business unionism of the AFL. They believe in uniting all workers into one big union, regardless of industry, to combat the exploitation of the capitalist system.”

The IWW is more than a century old, but it is only partly recognizable as a what most would consider a “traditional” union. It subscribes to the concept of job action rather than negotiation, and it rejects the idea that the employer deserves a greater share of the profit than the workers.

From the union’s official Web site comes this definition of the IWW philosophy:

• The IWW differs sharply from the position of other unions in that we believe the problems of the working class cannot be solved by begging crumbs from employers or praying to politicians for favors. While it fights for better conditions today, the IWW insists that working people are entitled to everything they produce, instead of a meager share.

• Other unions accept the power of the employing class. The IWW challenges that power.

• Other unions beg for crumbs from the loaf of bread that labor produces. The IWW demands the whole loaf.

• Other unions, servile to employers, attack strikes of other unions and parade through picket lines. The IWW, in words and practice, tries to build a working class unity so powerful that labor will be invincible.

These ideas appeal to Ryan, who also is a member of the United Auto Workers Local 685, which represents workers at Chrysler. He joined the IWW soon after Delphi filed for bankruptcy in 2005 as a member of Soldiers for Solidarity — an activist group that organized to oppose Delphi’s attempts to gain massive concessions for the workers. He said the IWW was “a novelty” to him at first, but now he thinks the union will have appeal to many workers in Kokomo.

“The rank and file are getting frustrated with how the unions are being run,” said Ryan. “Instead of putting people before profit, we see unions putting profit before people. As far as I’m concerned, it should not be that way. There should not be one cent put into profit at the expense of a worker.

“This is aimed at the disgruntled rank-and-file workers already in unions, but it is also aimed at the unorganized, low-wage workers to try to get them to join this union. It is a democratically-run union with no hierarchy or bureaucracy making decisions.”

Because anyone can join the IWW and it is likely that only a few workers at any one company would be members, large-scale demonstrations aren’t likely. And negotiations are equally difficult to start without numbers of workers to support the effort. That is why the IWW resorts to job actions to make gains in the workplace.

“Where the AFL-CIO believes in collective bargaining for its members, the IWW believes in direct action on the job to make gains for the workers,” said Ryan. “Basically that’s whatever you see fit on the job to take control of or handle the situation. Usually the members stop doing something or begin working to the rule. That is direct action.”

Direct action is not violence, however. The IWW supports only actions that are affirmed by law.

For those interested in learning more about the IWW and the new Kokomo chapter, Ryan will hold the first chapter meeting on July 25 at the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library’s south branch from 2-4 p.m.

http://www.kokomoperspective.com/arti...974020.txt