Industrial Workers of the World: Preamble to Constitution

From: John Roca <tribe@primenet.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 1995 21:08:36 -0700 (MST)

The attached, as well as what follows, were obtained from links from the 
home page of the Industrial Workers of the World ( www.iww.org).

John

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PREAMBLE AND CONSTITUTION
of the
INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD


PREAMBLE

     The working class and the employing class have nothing in common.
There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions
of the working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all
the good things of life.
     Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers of
the world organize as a class, take possession of the means of production,
abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the Earth.
     We find that the centering of the management of industries into fewer
and fewer hands makes the trade unions unable to cope with the ever-
growing power of the employing class. The trade unions foster a state of
affairs which allows one set of workers to be pitted against another set
of workers in the same industry, thereby helping defeat one another in wage
wars. Moreover, the trade unions aid the employing class to mislead the
workers into the belief that the working class have interests in common with
their employers.
     These conditions can be changed and the interest of the working class
upheld only by an organization formed in such a way that all its members in
any one industry, or in all industries if necessary, cease work whenever a
strike or lockout is on in any department thereof, thus making an injury to
one an injury to all.
     Instead of the conservative motto, "A fair day's wage for a fair day's
work," we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword,
"Abolition of the wage system."
     It is the historic mission of the working class to do away with
capitalism. The army of production must be organized, not only for everyday
struggle with capitalists, but also to carry on production when capitalism
shall have been overthrown. By organizing industrially we are forming the
structure of the new society within the shell of the old.
     Knowing, therefore, that such an organization is absolutely necessary
for emancipation, we unite under the following constitution:

ARTICLE I
Name and Structure

     Section 1.  This organization shall be known as THE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
OF THE WORLD.
     Sec. 2.  The Industrial Workers of the World shall be composed of
actual wage workers brought together in an organization embodying Job
Branches, Industrial Union Branches, General Membership Branches,
Industrial Unions, and Industrial Departments.

[Read the rest at http://www.iww.org/iww_constitution]