In our seventh podcast, Marianne Garneau interviews Peter Cole, author of Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly, now out in its second edition from PM Press. Fletcher organized the Philadelphia docks in the 1910s and 1920s into the IWW’s Local 8. He is a lesser-known historical figure but had major significance in his own time, in both the labor movement and black struggles. Local 8 is an example of powerful worker organizing because it never gave up the right to strike or take disruptive action on the job.
The Organizing Work podcast can be found on iTunes and Stitcher.