Trabajadores Industriales del Mundo | |
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| Abbreviation | IWW-C |
|---|---|
| Successor | General Confederation of Workers |
| Established | December 1919 |
| Dissolved | 1927 |
| Type | National trade union center |
| Purpose | Industrial unionism |
| Headquarters | Valparaiso |
| Location | |
Membership (1923) | 40,000 |
Secretary General | Juan Chamorro |
| Publication | La Protesta |
Parent organization | Industrial Workers of the World |
| Affiliations | International Workers' Association |
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| Syndicalism |
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The Industrial Workers of the World (Chile) (IWW-C), also known as the Chilean IWW or Chilean Wobblies, was a Chilean trade union center. Established in the late 1910s by dockworkers in Valparaíso, the tenets of industrial unionism were quickly adopted by maritime workers throughout the country. The IWW organised strike actions to demand of the eight-hour day and the implementation of workplace safety standards. Before long, its membership spread to industrial workers in Santiago, gaining particular strength among construction workers.
The Chilean government was alarmed by the rise of the IWW, which it believed to be a front for foreign agitators and violent terrorists, despite the organization being led by Chilean nationals and being staunchly nonviolent. In July 1920, the state launched a massive crackdown against the organisation, arresting hundreds of people on charges of sedition, without any substantial evidence. The arrested workers were crammed into overcrowded prisons, where disease spread quickly and abuse was rife. The death of the poet José Domingo Gómez Rojas in prison caused a public outcry, which by December 1920, led to the release of every arrested worker without charge.
The union quickly returned to organizing, affiliating itself with the International Workers' Association (IWA) and forming links with maritime workers throughout South America. By the late 1920s, the IWW was eclipsed by left-wing political parties, which had gained dominance within trade unions in the country. In 1927, the dictatorship of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo dissolved the IWW and deported its leadership. After the fall of the Ibáñez dictatorship, Chilean anarcho-syndicalists reorganised into the General Confederation of Workers (CGT), which abandoned the old model of industrial unionism in favor of a federalist organisation.