John Clince I.W.W. Membership Card, or "red card
- Ephemera
- Industrial Workers of the World, 1907
Industrial Workers of the World, 1907. Ephemera. Very Good. 8pp. [10.5cm]. 1/4 black cloth over brown card stock. The I.W.W. logo is stamped in black ink on the cover. The four pages (one sheet) marked "Dues" are detached but present. John Clince was an Irish American blacksmith in Tacoma, Washington. Clince belonged to union no. 545 (Smelting). He was admitted on transfer from a defunct Smelter's union. His membership card was issued on July 5, 1907, in the very early years of the I.W.W. and during the 1907 Tacoma Smeltermen's Strike. The strike began on March 30 and ended on August 12, with the goal of a 50¢ pay increase. Clince's membership is recorded, by due stamp and ink stamp, until June 19, 1908.
On July 23, 1908, a strikebreaker named John Clince stabbed Melburn Lewis, a member of the Tacoma longshoreman's union Local 23, after a reported altercation with several union members. Clince was arrested and jailed, with the Alaska-Pacific steamship company providing bail and legal defense. Though no definitive link was found, the records show only one John Clince in Washington State around this time.
On July 23, 1908, a strikebreaker named John Clince stabbed Melburn Lewis, a member of the Tacoma longshoreman's union Local 23, after a reported altercation with several union members. Clince was arrested and jailed, with the Alaska-Pacific steamship company providing bail and legal defense. Though no definitive link was found, the records show only one John Clince in Washington State around this time.