Who can join the IWW?
As long as you are a worker — not an employer — you can join the IWW. Members of other unions (except police officers), students, retirees, the unemployed, the self-employed, those in informal professions, and those unable to work may also join. You can choose an Industrial Union based on your current job, and you can read about how the IWW is structured in One Big Union.
Dues
You select your dues level based on your self-reported current monthly income. Your first month as a member will include an initiation fee that is the equivalent of your dues rate, so for your first month as a member you will pay twice your normal dues rate. (If you select an $11 dues rate, your first month’s payment will be $22, with each subsequent month being $11.) A breakdown of our current dues rate can be found below, as well as on page twenty-six of the IWW’s constitution.
$6 — if you are financially burdened by unemployment, underemployment, being a student, or other circumstances
$11 — if you make less than $2,000 per month
$22 — if you make between $2,000 and $3,500 per month
$33 — if you make more than $3,500 per month
How do you become an IWW member?
1. If you are close to a General Membership Branch that is part of the Canadian Regional Organizing Committee (CanROC), you can get in touch with the branch directly. They will put you in touch with a union delegate who can sign you up and will provide you with information about the branch and how to get involved.
2. If you are further than 80km from any of our GMBs, you can join the IWW as a member-at-large. To do so, you can meet up with a delegate-at-large to sign up in your area. To find a delegate near you, please email our Regional Organizing Department Liaison (RODL) or our Regional Secretary (RS).
or
3. You can sign up online through Red Card, the online forum for all members of the North American Regional Administration (NARA). You will be able to participate in discussions online and get a better sense of what’s going on where. You will also pay your dues online. [Please note, NARA is currently still in the process of adapting the dues payment system to Canadian debit cards; this will be set up, hopefully, by autumn 2020.]