International Workers Order

International Workers Order (IWO)

Original IWO logo (1930–1939)
Predecessor	The Workers Circle
Formation	1930
Founded at	New York City
Dissolved	1954
Type	fraternal organization, mutual aid society
Headquarters	New York City
Services	insurance, mutual benefit
Membership	3,000–5,000 members (1930), 67,000 (1935), 141,000 (1938), 155,000 (1941)
Secretary General	Max Bedacht
President	William Weiner
General Secretary (1930-1935)	Rubin Saltzman
General Secretary (1935-1954)	Max Bedacht
Affiliations	Communist Party USA

The International Workers Order (IWO) was an insurance, mutual benefit and fraternal organization founded in 1930 and disbanded in 1954 as the result of legal action undertaken by the state of New York in 1951 on the grounds that the organization was too closely linked to the Communist Party. At its height in the years immediately following World War II, the IWO reached nearly 200,000 members and provided low-cost health and life insurance, medical and dental clinics, and supported foreign-language newspapers, cultural and educational activities. The organization also operated a summer camp and cemeteries for its members.^[1]