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Early in the last century, a new labor union began. They accepted everyone who was members of the working class: blacks, women, immigrants. They weren’t interested in working within the system like the AFL or the Teamsters. They wanted to change the world, and make it so the workers benefited from American prosperity, not the few heartless robber barons that ran the monopolies and the government that aided and abided them. Whether they were singing in solidarity or busting the heads of some strike busters, they were a force to be reckoned with. But while the organization bickered over the impact of the Russian Revolution, the authorities struck back and used patriotic sentiment and the sweeping powers generated by The Great War. The organization was mortally crippled, but their legacy lives on. They were the International Workers of the World, the I.W.W. They were The Wobblies.

"The Wobblies" is a history of the Industrial Workers of the World, researched lovingly and corroborated by the reminiscences of some of the union's former members, who are now in their 80's and 90's.Along with filming interviews with these stalwarts, the directors — Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer — have collected songs, posters, portraits and animated and live-action footage of the period. In assembling these ingredients, they divide their attention between actual and exaggerated images of the labor movement — between the facts of its history and the propaganda.

Directors: Stewart Bird, Deborah Shaffer
Country: USA
Genre: Documentary

DVD9 | NTSC 4:3 | 01:28:34 | 7.18 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: none

Extras:
-- Interview with Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer
-- Interview with Historian and Author Paul Buhle
-- Original Recordings of IWW Songs
-- Exclusive Photo Gallery
-- Filmmaker Biographies