Lines of Work

Stories of Jobs and Resistance

by Recomposition collective

Starting around 1999, renewed experimentation and organizing took off in the IWW. Called minority unionism, solidarity unionism, or direct unionism (by different people at different times), IWW members fought back at workplaces across the US and Canada using collective direct action without relying on the booby-trapped legalistic process of the National Labor Relations Board or other government structures. In the process, IWW members clashed around what a union is, what it means to organize, and the role of revolutionaries.

Lines of Work is a collection of shared workplace and organizing stories and lessons derived from them that are interweaved with these discussions. Taken from the Recomposition blog project from 2009-2011, these stories are organized into three sections: "Resistance," "Time," and "Sleep." In the stories, the writers are grappling with resisting at work, why we fight, and what the grievances are. "Resistance" gives accounts of trying to correct problems at work, and collective lessons that came out of those struggles. "Time" covers the world of work, in all that it demands and takes from us. The last section, "Sleep and Dreams," is about the invasion of work into our lives that chases us all the way into our dreams.

Book information
Publisher: Recomposition (Various cities across the USA)
Printer: Black Cat Press
Stock number: TCI-043
Publication Date: Aug 28, 2013
trade paperback, 215 pp., 5.5" x 8.5"