About

Joe Hill Organizing Committee is creating events in Salt Lake City, Utah, to celebrate the life of Joe Hill on the 100th anniversary of his death. The Organizing Committee’s big project is an all-day concert over Labor Day weekend.

Joe Hill was a Swedish immigrant, a songwriter, a worker and a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, the Wobblies. He was a prolific songwriter for his union, which contributed to the IWW’s growth in the early 20th century AS a singing union. While working in Utah, he was accused of a double homicide, which he likely did not commit. Despite an international campaign to save him, which included the Swedish ambassador, Helen Keller and President Wilson, he was executed for those murders. The State of Utah easily condemned Joe Hill and his union as troublemakers.

Joe Hill died a labor martyr in 1915. The prison site where Joe Hill was shot is now a public park, where we will hold the Labor Day concert. The Organizing Committee held a concert on that same spot in 1990 for the 75th anniversary. This year, we will honor his memory and sing Joe Hill’s songs, but the concert isn’t just about Joe Hill.

Don’t waste any time in mourning—organize!
Joe Hill to Big Bill Haywood, November 1915

The Joe Hill Organizing Committee: organizing for the 21st century.

The Joe Hill Organizing Committee is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charity dedicated to celebrating the life and legacy of Wobbly activist and songwriter Joe Hill. All donations go to fund projects and events during 2015, the 100th anniversary of Joe Hill’s death.