In Praise of the Proletariat

The union hall is empty, the labor camps tore down.
And everthing we worked for lies broken on the ground.
And I'll bet old Cesaer Chavez,'d roll over in his grave.
If he could see the working man, how he's become a slave
~ Larry GardnerMarina, del Rey, California

Factory Workers 1907

In ancient Rome the proletariat (literally meaning “producers of offspring” because their only “wealth” was their children) consisted of the poor, landless freemen, artisans, and small tradesmen. In the theory of Karl Marx, the term proletariat designated the class of wage workers whose chief source of income was derived from the sale of their labor power. In the modern world the proletariat can be defined as all of those wage earners who work for someone else. There is also a sub-proletariat (Lumpenproletariat), disenfranchised and oppressed, who we call the unemployed; their plight must await a future blog post.

On this Labor Day 2006, I can think of no better way to recognize the proletariat than the songs that were written and sung as they fought for their rights. Much of what these working men and women won during the first three-fourths of the Twentieth Century—the 40 hour work week, health insurance, and retirement income—has been lost in the last thirty or so years under successive Republican administrations in the United States. However, their music continues and may some day re-awaken the labor movement

Below are the lyrics of two songs, one by Joe Hill, an early 20th Century labor organizer, song writer, and martyr, and one about Joe Hill:

Everybody’s Joining It (Joe Hill)

Fellow workers, can't you hear,

There is something in the air.

Everywhere you walk everybody talks'

Bout the I. W. W.

They have got a way to strike

That the master doesn't like --

Everybody sticks,

That's the only trick,

All are joining now.

CHORUS:

Everybody's joining it, joining what?

Joining it!

Everybody's joining it, joining what?

Joining it!

One Big Union, that's the workers' choice,

One Big Union, that's the only choice,

One Big Union, that's the only noise,

One Big Union, shout with all your voice;

Make a noise, make a noise, make a noise, boys,

Everybody's joining it, joining what?

Joining it!

Everybody's joining it, joining what?

Joining it!

Joining in this union grand,

Boys and girls in every land;

All the workers hand in hand --

Everybody's joining it now.

The' Boss is feeling mighty blue,

He don't know just what to do.

We have got his goat, got him by the throat,

Soon he'll work or go starving.

Join I. W. W.

Don't let bosses trouble you,

Come and join with us --

Everybody does --

You've got nothing to lose.

I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night (Alfred Hayes/Earl Robinson—1936 )

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night

Alive as you and me

Says I, "But Joe, you're ten years dead,"

"I never died," says he,

"I never died," says he.

"In Salt Lake, Joe, by God," says I

Him standing by my bed,

"They framed you on a murder charge.

"Says Joe, "But I ain't dead," says Joe,

"But I ain't dead."

"The copper bosses shot you, Joe,

They killed you, Joe," says I.

"Takes more than guns to kill a man,"

Says Joe, "I didn't die," says Joe, "I didn't die."

And standing there as big as life

And smiling with his eyes

Joe says, "What they forgot to kill

Went on to organize, went on to organize."

"Joe Hill ain't dead," he says to me,

"Joe Hill ain't never died.

Where workingmen are out on strike

Joe Hill is at their side,

Joe Hill is at their side."

"From San Diego up to Maine

In every mine and mill

Where workers strike and organize,"

Says he, "You'll find Joe Hill," says he, "You'll find Joe Hill."

Don't Mourn - Organize!: Songs Of Labor Songwriter Joe Hill