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IWW Strike Organizers: Ettor and Giovannitti

The IWW strike leaders responded brilliantly to the problems they faced during the strike.  The IWW strike leaders faced a difficult task when organizing the Lawrence mill workers. Their main effort was organizing 24 ethnic groups that spoke 22 different languages into a solid strike force; to observers, this seemed impossible. Ettor designed a structure to handle this diversity: each language had representation on a strike committee, which consisted of 250 to 300 members. The committee voted on all actions to be taken in the strike, and the IWW members acted only as advisors. In addition to structural organization, Ettor united the multitude of ethnicities by making them "brothers in misfortune."  He used strong language to convince them that their only enemies were the owners and managers of the mills. He also advocated a non-violent approach.
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Joe Ettor

One observer described Joe Ettor, an experienced strike organizer for the IWW, as "a man crafty in method, quick in action, and with much personal magnetism."

Arturo Giovannitti

Arturo Giovannitti was the Secretary of the Italian Socialist Federation and the editor of its journal, Il Proletario.

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