(14) Epilogue, by Mark Damron, added 2001

Since its founding in 1905, the IWW continued to work and strive towards real, participatory democracy and the replacement of bosses and employees by worker ownership and control. It has survived attacks by the government, the press, and the bosses because the ideals that it stands for are universally acknowledged. Although nearly destroyed through government intervention or internal dissension on myriad occasions, the IWW rises each time from these setbacks to grow stronger and more alive with the revolutionary from which it was first conceived.

Today the IWW is still very much alive and growing. It continues to be dedicated to helping working people organize themselves into autonomous local affiliates of one big union with the purpose of eliminating employer/employee relationships and labor and consumer exploitation. We recognize that owner/employer classes and current systems of government steal the Earth's limited natural resources and the product of our labor.

The IWW is a different sort of labor union. Believing in the strengths and abilities of average working people, the IWW is controlled its members. By understanding how the work places are run and where our power lies as workers, we can develop the tactics to get everything workers deserve.