What To Do

A sane world run by producers for the common good is an aim that should be achieved and can be achieved. The I.W.W. can build the sort of labor movement to achieve this. There is really only one big problem in the world: a working class too disorganized to act for its own good. The I.W.W. has the solution to that problem. It is a disgrace to be part of the problem; it is an honor to be part of the solution. It is up to you to do your part.

If your job is unorganized, get in touch with the I.W.W. and we will help you and your fellow workers of all genders to organize. While you are fighting for shorter hours, higher wages, better working conditions, and democratic grievance procedures, you will also have the satisfaction of helping to build the good world and solve the problem of labor.

If you are already a member of another union you can still take your place in the One Big Union movement. Many members of the I.W.W. belong to other unions also. They belong to the I.W.W. because otherwise they would add to the problems of the working class and not to the solution, and they know that only by making the solution bigger than the problem can the problem be solved. And they are among the most militant members of their other unions. The I.W.W.'s concern for solidarity and union democracy is satisfactory guarantee against any fear that their preference for the I.W.W. would lead them to seek control of other unions or otherwise seek to disrupt them.

Of its members the I.W.W. asks that they continue their membership no matter to what job they may go. It asks that they make themselves fully acquainted with its ideas and policies so that they can be even more useful members. It asks that they be able and willing to explain these ideas to other workers, and that they watch for every possible opportunity for this union to grow and to be of more service to their fellow workers on their own and other jobs.

Some Final Notes:

• The job is the only place where you can win your demands.
• Organization does not just happen; it is made to happen. Do your part.
• The person next to you should be in the union. Have you tried?
• The I.W.W. is practical. Let people know about it.
• Union literature in your pocket is lying idle. Take it out and put it to work.
• If every Wobbly gets a new Wobbly every month, we would have a 4 hour day in a year.
• If meetings aren't being held in your locality, you can arrange them.
• The activity of the rank and file, and not the "leaders," will advance the cause of labor.
• Don't send for a delegate when you can do it yourself.
• One who fears is enslaved. To understand the I.W.W. is to know that industrial unionism will guarantee your protection.
• Even on a job that can't be unionized for now there is always something that can be improved, and collective action can lay the ground work for later organizing.
• The strength of workers lies in solidarity.

Related page: IWW Industrial Departments and Industrial Unions