Wobblies?

June 21, 2013 11:46 AM

Why is the IWW known as the Wobblies?
posted by the man of twists and turns to Society & Culture (3 answers total)

Best answer: Even the IWW doesn't know for sure.
posted by jessamyn at 11:47 AM on June 21, 2013 [5 favorites]

According to "Work Song," a fiction book set in Butte, Montana and centered around the Anaconda Copper Mine, they are called Wobblies "due to certain members' foreign accents that turned the double u sound of "IWW" into wobble-u." Written by Ivan Doig. So I guess Doig goes with Theory #1 at Jessamyn's link.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 11:56 AM on June 21, 2013 [1 favorite]

I think this just has to be labeled 'origin obscure', unless new textual information shows up. I think the mispronunciation theory has some merit due to the prevelance of immigrants among the early labor movement; and the theory that it was a pejorative seems discounted by the enthusiasm with which the organization seized the nickname for itself.
posted by dhartung at 6:35 PM on June 21, 2013