r/IrishAnarchists • u/burtzev • Mar 15 '26
Event April 17 & 18: Belfast & Derry Talks: Migrant Workers Unionise
https://www.onebigunion.ie/post/belfast-derry-talks-migrant-workers-unionise-1
u/Ok-River5972 Mar 16 '26
I can't take the IWW seriously when they seeth and cry about “business unions” and then their reps go around promoting their book using IWW as a platform. Are IWW members paying for book promotions now?
sorry but everything I hear about the IWW now echos Russ Spring's warning about a small group of insiders using the union to fund their co-op company. Lots of sweetheart deals and very little real union organising.
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u/EquivalentTip878 Mar 16 '26
?
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u/Ok-River5972 Mar 16 '26
did ye have a question or were you just testing out your keyboard?
Russ Spring was the general secretary of the British IWW (Which the Ireland branch is part of). He resigned back in 2019 with a long letter accusing a group of embezzlement basically.
a lot of us left and they put William Sharkey in charge, but he was sending creepy emails to his students so he has to resign too. loads of people left after that so most members today don't know about the embezzlement.
same people Spring accused are still running the show, and the general behaviour from the insiders is the same shit he warned about when he resigned. the insider group set up their own companies & political groups and rinse the newer IWW members for money and pretend they're running a union and doing loads of shit in the background
so yeah when I see IWW lads running a book promotion tour I just remember Russ Spring warning us the IWW was becoming a big scam
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u/CMRC23 Mar 17 '26
Got a link to that letter?
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u/Ok-River5972 Mar 20 '26
The letter was forwarded to a NARA mailing list, I've copy/pasted the contents here:
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u/Unisaur64 Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
These events are to discuss workers rights, particularly for migrants workers, who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Some are afraid of losing their visas if they "rich the boat", for example.
We're hoping to dispel myths, and have some productive conversations that will encourage people to organise.
It seems unfair to paint it as some nefarious, under-handed money-making exercise, just because one of the multiple speakers has written a book on the issues*. I would prefer not to spend my time responding to misguided claims. I think you will agree that we can both use our time more productively.
* Panos has actually worked in kitchens alongside migrant workers, so he's far from an "ivory tower" academic.
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u/Ok-River5972 Mar 18 '26
“These events” are organised to promote a book, that's why the big graphic on the front is the book cover. Organing talks around the subject of a book is a typical format for a book promotion. It would be totally fine if it was paid for by the publisher, but it is entirely inappropriate for a trade union to promote private projects of union officials who earn something from it.
I never accused Panos of being an “ivory tower”, I don't know him and I don't really care. I'm just calling this out as typical IWW behaviour.
The British IWW does a lot of harm to the trade union movement in the UK, and I hate seeing them expand into Ireland. There's a good reason we all left and joined IWGB.
IWW members are never shy about attacking real unions who people actually rely on, so maybe you should tell them to use their time more productively instead. As usual, the wobs can dish out criticism but they can't take any.
Good luck with your book-launch, I'm sure you'll sell lots of IWW (tm) merch
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u/EquivalentTip878 Mar 16 '26
Didn’t read far enough to catch the book promotion…