Today in Labor History May 27, 1916: 3000 members of the Marine Transport Workers of the IWW marched along the Philadelphia waterfront, leading to strikes at three non-union docks. Black and white Wobblies fought together against scabs and police. One of the main organizers of the Philadelphia waterfront was African American Wobbly, Ben Fletcher, who co-founded the interracial Local 8 in 1913. By 1916, thanks in large part to Fletcher’s organizing skill, all but two of Philadelphia’s docks were controlled by the IWW. And the union maintained control of the Philly waterfront for about a decade.
You can read my complete biography of Fletcher here: https://www.michaeldunnauthor.com/2021/05/13/ben-fletcher-and-the-iww-dockers/
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