Class War News Much like his music, Joe Hill often used art and cartoons as a means of explaining his views on labor and working conditions. This rough 1915 drawing for an off-shoot of the I.W.W. newspaper, Solidarity, encourages workers to engage in sabotage against the businesses of employers who refuse to treat workers in a fair fashion. "Direct action" and "sabot" were I.W.W. nicknames for attacking employers from within by damaging equipment, thereby diminishing profits. The well-fed character "Mr. Plute" is Hill's sneering depiction of the "plutocrats" who control the economy and government, leaving the worker to starve without protection. (Courtesy: Library of Congress)                 About the Program || Joe Hill Home || PBS Home