Our Work, Our Lives, Our Music - IWW Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent

A few of my favorite things collide on this flaming collaboration between Maddie Ruthless, Vic Ruggiero, and Jack Wright.  From the musicians:

"The IWW was, at one point, the world's largest and most radical union. In a time of institutionalized racism, members of the IWW organized side by side in solidarity with workers from many different ethnicities and backgrounds. They developed, and in some cases implemented, ideas of workplace democracy, wage slavery abolition, and the four hour work day. They developed the platform for what today we take for granted as workers' legal rights.
One way the IWW rallied together their wobbly members (a nick name for IWW union members) was to sing songs based on famous tunes of the day. Famous working class poets and authors, such as Joe Hill (who served as a legendary pen name as well as an actual figure), wrote new words inspiring revolutionary direct democracy, solidarity, and satire against the scabs, bulls, and scissorbills. For a small dictionary of IWW lingo visit here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wobbly_lingo.

As Reggae musicians, Vic and Maddie and Jack recognize the songs of the IWW as sisters of reggae music in their use of clever and powerful VERSION. By that we mean there are clear parallels between the wobblies and reggae artists. They both reinterpreted popular songs to make them applicable to the popular class.

We are asking only for a donation if you feel able to give one as we are union-less, and yet working, musicians."

Enjoy, share widely, and support these workers.  Though the IWW is a storied organization with a rich history, the union is very much alive and continues to do all the things mentioned in the bit above.  You don't have to work in a certain job or industry, carry around a contract or card, or be recognized by a state government to be part of a union.  Check out the IWW and learn more about making this world a little bit better place.

Support The Silent Room: A Worker's Musical

A quick shout out to all the cast, crew, and supporters of The Silent Room: A Worker's Musical.  From the production's website:

In this music-laced sendup of corporate exploitation, retail worker Ray's dreams of becoming a playwright are eclipsed by the double-shifts and tyrannical bosses of corporate America… until a ghostly visit from martyred union legend Joe Hill shows him that when workers unite, everything can change. Ray's coworkers begin talking union, and soon find themselves toe-to-toe with corporate unionbusters. As the fight heats up, Ray has to decide which side he is on.

Inspired by the torture of years of labor in corporate retail hellholes and the exhilaration of confronting the bosses in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union, THE SILENT ROOM is an original work of musical theater born of exploitation, struggle, and hope for a better future.

The Silent Room is set for its world premier as part of the renowned Minnesota Fringe festival line-up.  Do yourself a favor and check this show out during its festival run.  If you won't be in the area and/or can't make one of the performances, please consider donating funds towards the cost of production.  The show's themes and experiences - taken from the actual workplaces where people are organizing - deserve more attention in the arts community.  The scenes will surely resonate with most everyone, whatever your job might be.  The Silent Room will challenge you to consider your own employment situation and hopefully inspire you to take that first step.  Get a laugh from the new film Horrible Bosses, but get something lasting, something real from The Silent Room!

N.B. This production continues the long, rich tradition of dramatic arts in the Industrial Workers of the World labor union.  Though, I imagine Edith Koivisto and others from the historical Work People's College might dispute the claim that this is the first IWW musical since the 1913 Paterson Strike Pageant.  Not a musical per se, but take a look at the opening scene from The Majority - a one act play composed by another Minnesota IWW (and noted cartoonist), Ernest Riebe.

Riebe's play appeared in the May, 1921 issue of The Industrial Pioneer.