Wobblies on the Waterfront

Peter Cole is a professor of history at Western Illinois University.

"Cole skillfully integrates material from IWW leaders, government documents, newspaper accounts, and oral histories with secondary literature to produce a superb case study, one that should appeal to anyone interested in the IWW, the intersection of work and race, waterfront work, or race relations in the United States during the World War I period."--H-Urban "This book is a powerful reminder of what a militant and democratic union can accomplish, but also serves as a warning that only a far more powerful labor movement than we have at present can avoid the kind of tragedy depicted here." --Solidarity  "One of the best and most important histories of the Industrial Workers of the World."--American Historical Review"Cole's richly detailed book provides a glimpse at a topic too often ignored, the local IWW. . . . Wobblies on the Waterfront deserves to be read seriously by labor historians and historians interested in race and social justice movements. . . . This remarkable book provides a sense of what the Wobblies might have become if given a chance."--Journal of American History "An invaluable resource to those interested broadly in the historiography of race and industrial unionism and more specifically in Local 8 itself. . . . A worthwhile contribution to the literature and an inspiration to those of us who hold out hope for a unified labor movement."--Labor History "Cole's book amply demonstrates the value of interracial solidarity to successful organizing and shows that is was possible even under relatively inhospitable conditions. Wobblies on the Waterfront is a valuable addition to the debate about the intersections of race and class in labor history and will be of interest to scholars and advanced students of labor history."--Labor Studies Journal "The story of Philadelphia's Local 8, a motley and international crew of longshoremen who worked together against the rising tide of racial intolerance [is] one worth telling and one well told in Peter Cole's Wobblies on the Waterfront."--Labour/Le Travail