William Dudley Haywood
William Dudley Haywood (called Big Bill Haywood ; born February 4, 1869 in Salt Lake City , † May 18, 1928 in Moscow ) was a charismatic figure of the radical American trade union movement. As a functionary of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) and later as a founding member and organizer of the Industrial Workers of the World , he was involved in numerous, partly militant, workers' struggles and was repeatedly the object of state persecution.
Formative years
Haywood's father died of pneumonia when he was three years old. At the age of 9 he injured his right eye. The injury was so severe that he went blind in that eye. A little later he began to work as a miner. After brief episodes as a cowboy and farmer, he returned to his job as a mine worker. Dramatic events such as the Haymarket Riot (1886) and the Pullman Strike (1894), both in Chicago, increased his interest in the labor movement.
Experience in the Western Federation of Miners (WFM)
In 1896, Ed Boyce , president of the Western Federation of Miners, spoke near the silver mine where Haywood also worked. Inspired by his speech, he joined the WFM. This was the beginning of his activity as an organizer in the labor movement.
Haywood immediately became an active member of the WFM. In 1902, together with Charles Moyer , he took over the leadership of the WFM, which at the time was considered to be the most militant and radical professional union in the USA. In the same year, the WFM became involved in bitter labor disputes in the US state of Colorado . The WFM started a series of strikes to fight against the brutal working conditions and starvation wages. The subsequent clashes between mine workers and their supporters on the one hand and a conglomerate of entrepreneurs, angry citizens (including marauding lynch mobs) and state forces lasted for several years, claimed the lives of at least 33 workers and ended with a defeat for the WFM and the expulsion of most trade unionists and other class conscious workers from the region. These events strengthened Haywood's belief in the need for a great union representing all branches of industry and providing broader support for workers: the One Big Union .
Founding of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
In late 1904, Haywood and 30 other prominent labor activists met in Chicago to forge plans for a new revolutionary union. A manifesto was written and publicized across the country. Delegates and individuals who approved the manifesto were invited to a meeting to establish the new union ( Industrial Workers of the World ). On June 27, 1905, Haywood addressed the IWW inaugural meeting at Brand's Hall in Chicago. In the audience were 200 delegates from organizations around the country representing various regional and professional unions in the United States. Haywood opened the meeting by saying:
“Comrades, this is the working class continental congress. We are here to unite the workers of this country in a workers movement so that the purpose of equality of the working class with capitalism may be established. The aim and purpose of this organization is that the working class comes into possession of economic power and control over machines without taking the capitalists into account. "
Other speakers at the meeting included William E. Trautmann , US Brewers Union official, Eugene V. Debs , Socialist Party leader, and Mary Harris "Mother" Jones , an organizer of the United Mine Workers of America . After its founding, the IWW became a driving force in the US labor movement, which was able to anchor itself particularly with immigrants and (migrant) workers in unsecured employment.
Murder trial
On December 30, 1905, Frank Steunenberg was killed in an explosion at his home in Caldwell , Idaho . The former governor of Idaho had clashed with the WFM in previous strikes. Haywood, Charles Moyer, and George Pettibone were arrested following a 64-page confession from prime suspect, Harry Orchard . Haywood's trial began on May 9, 1907. Despite Orchard's confession that he claimed to have murdered Steunenberg on behalf of the WFM, the prosecution found no useful evidence to convict Haywood. In the team of lawyers who represented the WFM trade unionists, a. the well-known civil rights activist Clarence Darrow , who gave an eleven hour defense speech at a hearing. Haywood and Pettibone were eventually acquitted and the charges against Moyer dropped. After the trial, Haywood continued his work as a union organizer.
Imprisonment, conviction and escape
In 1918 Haywood was accused of breaking espionage and strike laws for calling for a wartime strike. He was sentenced to prison but was able to escape to the Soviet Union before execution , where he became an advisor to the Bolshevik leadership there. There he wrote his autobiography Among Cowboys and Pals. He died in Moscow in 1928 . Half of his ashes were buried in the Kremlin wall , the other half sent to Chicago and buried there.
Fonts
- Among cowboys and buddies. Memories of an American labor leader . 4th edition. Dietz, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-320-01148-0 .
literature
- Howard Zinn : A People's History of the Unites States. HarperCollins Publishers, New York 2001, ISBN 0-06-093731-9 .
Web links
- Literature by and about William Dudley Haywood in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Haywood, William Dudley |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Big Bill |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American trade unionist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 4, 1869 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Salt Lake City |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 18, 1928 |
| Place of death | Moscow |