William D. "Big Bill" Haywood
1869 - - - - - 1928
Co-Founder and General Secretary-Treasurer,
International Workers of the World, 1905-1921
Secretary-Treasurer,
Western Federation of Miners, 1901-1906
Haywood’s visionary leadership as Secretary-Treasurer of the Western Federation of Miners laid the groundwork for his historic initiative, together with Eugene Debs and Mother Jones, to found the Industrial Workers of the World. Under his dynamic leadership, the IWW became a power to be reckoned with in American Industrial Relations during the early 20th Century.
As a celebrated radical, Haywood drew thousands to his lectures in major industrial cities. His organizing prowess helped to achieve significant victories for Western Loggers, Copper Miners and Migrant Farm Workers, as well as Textile Workers on strike in Lawrence, Mass. (1912) and Patterson, N. J. (1913).
Although his leadership effectively ended with his conviction on trumped-up charges under the Anti-worker Sedition Act, “Big Bill” will always be remembered as a colossus among North American Labor leaders and as a champion of justice for working people everywhere.
Marker can be reached from North 8th Street south of Spruce Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
