The INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD


St. Louis GMB

Reading John J. Dumphy's Jan. 2 commentary about Joe Hill's ashes being scattered here brought back memories of my graduate studies in 1947 at Teachers College, Columbia University, N.Y.

While browsing in the student bookstore, I heard and then bought the 45 rpm records of Joe Hill's songs. A popular one at that time was the ditty encouraging workers to form a union. It went something like this:

If you want higher wages
Let me tell you what to do.
You gotta talk to the boys in the shop with you.
You gotta build you a union.
You gotta make it strong.
If you all stick together
It won't be long.

Then he listed the benefits of higher wages, vacation with pay, etc.

Little did I realize that a future date, I would participate as a school counselor with the teachers in a strike against the St. Louis Board of Education. We won.

Joe Hill's unjustified execution was a sad tribute to this worker.

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