From the January 13, 2005 SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW comes a short history of the IWW and an account of the Wobblies' resurgence. As pointed out below, 2005 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World, a radical workers' organization that has educated and inspired working stiffs, defied attempts to snuff it out, and now seems to be enjoying renewed success organizing its traditional base. Immigrants and those laboring in low-skilled industries or jobs that the big business unions won't organize have always found an ally in the IWW.

Unable to get more than verbal support from the Teamsters, a group of Stockton, CA independent truck drivers last year defied federal law and joined the IWW during their wildcat strike over compensation for rising fuel costs. In the process they demonstrated the value of direct action in a transportation industry that has engineered itself into a corner with its logistics revolution of just-in-time delivery. The resulting choke points leave the industry's Goliaths vulnerable to the Wobbly-esque tactics of direct action Davids.