The International Workers of the World (IWW), also known as the Wobblies, were established in 1905 as an international labour union based in global solidarity. Different from other unions at the time, the IWW recruited both “unskilled” and “skilled” labourers, and accepted both recent immigrants and Black Americans. This diversity in membership contributed to the growth of the labour song tradition within the IWW. The IWW would reiterate to their members, “Right was the tyrant king who once said, ‘Beware of a movement that sings… Whenever and wherever the oppressed challenge the old order, songs are on their lips.’”  

In 1912, the IWW distributed the The Little Red Songbook to their workers: a pamphlet with a collection of labour songs, many of which were already being sung by union members. While The Little Red Songbook was not the first labour song collection published, it quickly became the most widely distributed and the most popular. The Songbook marked a turning point in the tradition, allowing the labour movement to share songs and lyrics more widely. These songs have been translated into several different languages, and are sung across all workplace sectors, all over the world.