The Wobblies

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1:43

The Wobblies

1981

1h 29m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Founded in Chicago in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) took to organizing unskilled workers into one big union and changed the course of American history. This compelling documentary of the IWW (or "The Wobblies" as they were known) tells the story of workers in factories, sawmills, wheat fields, forests, mines and on the docks as they organize and demand better wages, healthcare, overtime pay and safer working conditions. In some respects, men and women, Black and white, skilled and unskilled workers joining a union and speaking their minds seems so long ago, but in other ways, the film mirrors today's headlines, depicting a nation torn by corporate greed. Filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Stewart Bird weave history, archival film footage, interviews with former workers (now in their 80s and 90s), cartoons, original art, and classic Wobbly songs (many written by Joe Hill) to pay tribute to the legacy of these rebels who paved the way and risked their lives for the many of the rights that we still have today.

Susannah Gruder

IndieWire

04/29/2022

An astounding and essential portrait of American subversion as seen through the eyes of those who lived it.

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David Harris

Boston Phoenix

07/14/2022

The Wobblies is a brilliant example of the "new documentary." Produced and directed by Stewart Bird and Deborah Shaffer, the film grew out of five years of painstaking and sometimes dangerous research, and the thoroughness shows.

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Martha K. Baker

KDHX (St. Louis)

06/23/2022

The Wobblies vigorously rehearses the fight for workers' rights. The fight continues, and here is its history.

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

05/06/2022

Bird and Shaffer’s approach is perfectly appropriate to their material, and can be seen as a reflection of the lives of the people whose voices are heard within it. Of course, it may also be reflective of a small production budget, but that’s fine also.

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Matthew Roe

Film Threat

05/06/2022

5/10

Watching it will seem more of a slog through tedium than a journey through heartache and social revolution.

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Dan Schindel

Hyperallergic

05/05/2022

The 1979 documentary, recently restored and now returning to theaters, is a vital record of the early years of the Industrial Workers of the World.

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12/26/2012

A entertaining and informative introduction to the IWW.

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05/25/2008

excellent archival documents woven into some wonderful interviews from a series of talking heads affiliated with the IWW.... be forewarned the sound is pretty muddled which is a shame with all those great Wobbly songs.

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10/08/2007

An excellent introduction to the IWW, both its history and its working philosophy. I would say this is fair and unbiased in its presentation, but I know that anti-IWW folks would probably disagree. Possibly the greatest point of disagreement would be that the IWW is presented as a group who did not participate in as many violent actions as they are often accused of. Now because I wasn't personally on hand for every single event in which the IWW participated, it would be hard to verify this as truth, but my stateside grandfather, who was an original Wobblie and a member of the IBEW, often talked about how claims of IWW violence were exaggerated by management and government for political purposes. Me? I believe my grandfather.

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Stewart Bird

Director

Deborah Shaffer

Director

Roger Baldwin

Narrator

Stewart Bird

Producer

Deborah Shaffer

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The Wobblies: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Founded in Chicago in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) took to organizing unskilled workers into one big union and changed the course of American history. This compelling documentary of the IWW (or "The Wobblies" as they were known) tells the story of workers in factories, sawmills, wheat fields, forests, mines and on the docks as they organize and demand better wages, healthcare, overtime pay and safer working conditions. In some respects, men and women, Black and white, skilled and unskilled workers joining a union and speaking their minds seems so long ago, but in other ways, the film mirrors today's headlines, depicting a nation torn by corporate greed. Filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Stewart Bird weave history, archival film footage, interviews with former workers (now in their 80s and 90s), cartoons, original art, and classic Wobbly songs (many written by Joe Hill) to pay tribute to the legacy of these rebels who paved the way and risked their lives for the many of the rights that we still have today.

Director: Stewart Bird, Deborah Shaffer
Producer: Stewart Bird, Deborah Shaffer
Production Co: Artisan Entertainment
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 18, 1981, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Apr 29, 2022
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 24, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.2K
Runtime: 1h 29m