Direct Action & Sabotage: Three Classic IWW Pamphlets From The 1910S

Description

The pamphlets reprinted in this collection were first published in the

1910s amidst great controversy; the significant works included are “Direct

Action and Sabotage” by William E. Trautmann, “Sabotage: Its History,

Philosophy and Function” by Walker C. Smith, and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn''s

“Sabotage: The Conscious Withdrawal of the Workers'' Industrial Efficiency.”

Even then, the tactics of direct action and sabotage were often associated

with the clandestine activity of a militant minority or the desperate acts

of the unorganized. The activist authors of the texts in this collection

challenged the prevailing stereotypes. As they point out, the practice of

direct action, and of sabotage, have been an integral part of the everyday

work life of wage-earners in all times and places; direct action is

recognized as a valuable and effective tactic by many movements around the

globe, and remains a cutting edge tool for social change.