bummery

From bum +‎ -ery and the idea that they were a collective of bums?

bummery (uncountable)

1. (originally derogatory, historical) The faction of the Industrial Workers of the World in the 20th century which favored direct action.
   • 1924, Proceedings of the National Convention of the Socialist Labor Party, page 36:

     When De Leon broke with the I. W. W. in 1908 there were again members of the Party who declaimed against his abandoning the I. W. W. - members who had no sympathy with the bummery element.

   • 2010, Todd DePastino, Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America, page 95:

     But the hour belonged to the bummery. Proclaiming a millennial vision of “One Big Union,” the hobo insurgents won the day, ousting the home-guard and dedicating the IWW to direct economic action exclusively.

Variant form.

bummery

1. Obsolete form of bottomry.
   • R. North

     There was a scrivener of Wapping brought to hearing for relief against a bummery bond.

• “bummery”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.