William E. Trautmann

William Ernst Trautmann (July 1, 1869 – November 18, 1940) was an American trade unionist and author. In 1904 he was one of six co-founders of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and was elected its first General Secretary-Treasurer.

Born to German parents in New Zealand, Trautmann moved to Europe as a young teenager. He worked his way up in the brewery industry in Germany, but was expelled from the country for radical labor activities. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1890 and became a key figure in the United Brewery Workers' Union before being banned for his IWW participation.

Between 1905 and 1912, he held various IWW posts and wrote key pamphlets expressing the union's vision. Following the 1912 Lawrence textile strike, he had a falling out with IWW leadership over the best organizational tactics to pursue. In 1913 he briefly joined the so-called "Yellow IWW" in the Socialist Labor Party. In 1922 he published a novel, Riot, drawing on his experiences as an IWW activist during the 1909 Pressed Steel Car Strike in McKees Rock, Pennsylvania.