Today's Topics:
1. France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #312 -
Comprehensive
security law: the government in complete insecurity
security law: the government in complete insecurity
(ca, de, it,
fr, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
fr, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. alas barricadas: "If they tell you that I fell in Rojava":
International volunteers against the Islamic
International volunteers against the Islamic
State by Gavroche
(ca, it, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
(ca, it, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. Cuba, Statement from the Alfredo López Libertarian Workshop
in Havana (ca, de, it, pt)[machine translation]
in Havana (ca, de, it, pt)[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL - Struggles for a
beautiful year! (ca, de, it, fr, pt)[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
beautiful year! (ca, de, it, fr, pt)[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. korankejora: Anarchism and the Liberation of West Papua -
Morning Newspaper (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
Morning Newspaper (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. UK, anarchist communist group ACG: How many deaths does it
take? (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
take? (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
7. US, black rose fed: "The Rank and File Strategy": A
Syndicalist View By Tom Wetzel (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
In a context of political crisis and increasingly virulent questioning of the
legitimacy of the police, the authorities are giving an additional security screw
with the help of the law known as "global security". By even renouncing the
democratic veneer - parliamentary debate and respect for fundamental freedoms -
the government is taking risks, facing a front that is nevertheless crossed by
divisions. ---- While it was possible to hope that this health crisis would
trigger at least an investment of resources in the health system, the bourgeoisie
is still working to plunder the meager conquests of the proletariat, with for
example the pension reform. In order to prevent any resistance, the ruling class
is building up its weapons, expanding its possibilities for surveillance and
information gathering [1], as well as through laws on " separatism ", on
programming for research, and and finally on " global security ". By also taking
up the lexical field of the far right in her business, it is one of its most
sinister forms that she now threatens to display.
The cup is full
Since the five-year term in Holland, power is no longer even encumbered with
democratic formalities. Today, the so-called " global security " law can
therefore benefit from an accelerated procedure and was adopted by the National
Assembly on 24 November. The element of language then used to defend this law,
and more particularly the controversial article 24 which prohibits the
dissemination of images allowing the identification of the cops, is appalling: it
would be a question of " protecting those who protect us ". This propaganda falls
flat: the unbearable video of the beating of Michel Zecler, as well as the
shocking images of the brutal evacuation of the tents and of more than 400
migrants on the Place de la République in Paris [2], come to prove the need to
film the police in order to make visible their violence.
Beyond article 24, it is the entirety of this bill, the logic in which it fits,
and finally all the repressive organs of the State which are here to denounce: or
, spirits have already taken the lead. The mutilations and the volleys of
beatings inflicted on the yellow vests during almost all of their gatherings,
adding to the zealous attitude of the cops, have finished proving the
dangerousness of the police to those and those who could have doubted it. .
In June, the assassination of George Floyd in the United States moved even in
Europe. It is both against racism and police violence that in France the
mobilization has united front organizations of relatives of victims of police
violence, their supporters, as well as many young people. It is indeed the
courage and tenacity of these organizations that have succeeded in making it a
subject of society.
On November 28, a veritable tide of people marched against the global security
law, in Paris and throughout France.
Convergences and collisions
Finally, the unions are not left out and do not hesitate to make the link between
the grabbing of wealth by the bourgeoisie and repressive laws. Thus, all the
numerous demonstrations and gatherings since November 17 claim a wide diversity
of aspirations for more economic equality and more democracy. In Toulouse for
example, the call for the demonstration of December 12 by the CGT of the CHU
[3]headlines " An emergency plan for our health not for profits!" More social
security, less overall security ". On the same day, in some cities, this approach
was even to be associated with the struggles against the Islamophobia of the law
on " separatism". ". The ground is therefore entirely favorable to the
formulation and dissemination of the radical ideas of our camp.
However, it is not without divisions and hiccups. " Public freedoms and
democratic life in our country (sic) are very seriously threatened " concludes an
appeal to the Toulouse rally on November 17 [4]launched by Alternatiba. " The
people of freedom marched everywhere in France against the Global Security law "
[5]headlines a terrible press release from the StopLoiS SécuritéGlobale
coordination denouncing the " degradation and violence " ... not of the police,
but of the demonstrators ! The bourgeoisie no longer needs to divide us; those
who tolerate violence only when it is the act of the bourgeois take care of it.
At the same time, the love of posture and division making us really hit rock
bottom, Solidaires and the CGT were physically targeted from inside the
procession on Saturday, December 5 in Paris ; the following week, fearing a
delusional police crackdown on one side and stabbing in the back on the other,
several organizations withdrew their calls to demonstrate.
December 12, when the same security logic, the same authoritarianism are at work
in the law of " global security " and in the law against " separatism ", and that
therefore to stand united against these two laws seemed obvious [6], on
unioncommunistelibertaire.org., The failed convergence of the December 12
demonstration left a bitter taste to organizations fighting against racism. As
rallies and parades against Securitarism were canceled, protests against the
Islamophobic offensive were isolated, in very small gatherings.
Finally, faced with a bourgeoisie which does not want to let go and which is
preparing to put down any opposition, and while a large part of the population is
ready to question the established order, it seems that the revolutionary
solutions, taking the root problem are ready to be heard. In addition, there is
still work to be done to overcome the divisions that undermine the movement even
though there are no shortage of opportunities to stand up: point out the limits
of complaints that always respect the established order, enforce the diversity of
tactics: mass demonstrations and direct confrontations, the panoply must be
complementary. A common enemy: power.
Géro (UCL Toulouse), with Austin
Validate
[1] "Return of the filing of political opinions and union membership", on
reportsdeforce.fr.
[2] "Place de la République: the visible face of police violence against
migrants", on rapportdeforce.fr.
[3] "November 21 for an emergency plan for health, not for profits", on
cgtchutoulouse.fr.
[4] "National call for gatherings November 17 at 6 p.m. against the global
security law", on universitepopulairetoulouse.fr.
[5] "The people of freedom marched everywhere in France against the" global
security "law", on snjcgt.fr.
[6] "Against Islamophobia and the law on separatism: let's unite on December 12"
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Loi-de-securite-globale-le-gouvernement-en-pleine-insecurite
------------------------------
Message: 2
We accompany this note with a link to the documentary, with the request that they
disseminate it as they deem appropriate. ---- "IF THEY TELL YOU I FELL IN
ROJAVA": ---- International volunteers against the Islamic State ---- Starting in
2015, thousands of Western volunteers traveled to Rojava and Sinyar (in Syria and
Iraq) to fight the Islamic State on the side of the Kurdish YPG and YBS militias.
And among them, a hundred long Spaniards. This scene often brought together
anarchists, communists, crusaders and militants of the Alt-Right. What the Civil
War and ideology separated, Daesh united. ---- Most of them returned to Europe
after serving six months in the guerrillas. Others returned to the Syro-Iraqi
battle board intermittently and some stayed and are still fighting. In Sinyar,
the Yazidi area of Iraq, there has been a stable presence of Spaniards since the
YBS international unit was created.
This work is a unique document that describes the difficulties these volunteers
had to face both in Iraqi Kurdistan or Syria, as well as upon their return to
Europe, where they suffered and still face judicial investigations and social
discredit. It was an unusual situation because, on the one hand, the atrocities
of Daesh were denounced and, on the other, those who decided to go to fight
jihadism were persecuted. The National Court, for example, tried to impute more
than sixty homicides to the Galician sniper Arges Artiaga. Two Communist
Reconstruction volunteers were even prosecuted.
In reality, the Spanish authorities did not know very well how to deal with or
what treatment to give to the volunteers of these militias. Not even public
opinion was very clear about what kind of drives led them there, and even less
so, the legitimacy of the reasons that pushed them to risk their lives. If
something was evident, it was that they were not mercenaries because they did not
sell their weapons. The solidarity movement that aroused the irruption of ISIS
and the people who came to fight from all corners of the world was inevitably
compared to that of the internationalists of the Civil War. Three Spanish
militiamen died fighting and one took his own life on his return . Several more
were injured. A long dozen more YPG and YBS fighters have been imprisoned upon
their return to Spain in the Kurdish Asayish prison, in Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan).
During their stay in the penitentiary, the majority suffered torture. They were
accused of having traveled to the Iraqi region of Sinyar or northern Syria
(Rojava) to fight Daesh and Turkey in the Rojava militias. Ankara does not
differentiate between the PKK and the rest of the units that fought under the
wing of the US Army (YBS and YPG). In their eyes, volunteers are and should be
treated like terrorists.
Among those deprived of liberty is the director of the documentary (journalist
Ferran Barber), imprisoned by the Barzani peshmerga for more than a month, in the
summer of 2019, after visiting an Iraqi Christian valley occupied by the PKK and
known as Nahla , when he was working with a German television team from Tele
Sieben in the production of a documentary for a German channel. The reporter
starts from his own experience - narrated in various written media - to put
together the events that affect all the Spanish displaced to that area.
From 2014 to 2019, Barber spent nearly three years on the ground exclusively
covering singular events such as the Battle of Mosul or the fall of the
Caliphate. The Aragonese was the last reporter to leave Raqqa and one of the
first to make his surrender known. Much of the time he spent at the front, he did
it together with the volunteers who star in the documentary. Ferran had already
covered the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and spent about three months in Iraq
during the North American invasion of the country.
For the first time, this work interviews some of the best-known militiamen, of
all ideologies, from anarchists to communists and crusaders, who have taken part
in the combat or the ins and outs surrounding their activity in Raqqa, Sinyar
City or other iconic cities in the conflict. The team also talks with the
families and friends of some of the fallen, and analyzes the deep psychological
reasons that gave fuel to the Spaniards who have taken part in the conflict.
About the director
Ferran Barber is an Aragonese investigative journalist with more than 30 years of
experience covering social issues and conflicts. He has collaborated or worked
with practically all the Spanish reference media in the last decades. His work
has been developed in more than sixty countries. Among them, he has covered
conflicts and social issues in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia,
Iran, Japan, Scandinavia, Lithuania, Latvia, Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Ukraine,
Western Sahara, Equatorial Guinea, Turkey and Syria. In Iraq, he covered the fall
of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and returned in 2014 to echo events related to the rise
of ISIS. Barber specializes in minorities and is the author of a novel and the
first journalistic book in Spanish about the non-Muslim peoples of the Middle
East, and more particularly, Assyrian and Yazidi. He has also directed several
documentaries on Middle East issues.
About the documentary
This documentary is the first in a series produced by Freedom & Worms, in
collaboration with CGT's Rojo y Negro. A new work on the heritage of the
anarchist Nestor Makhno in modern Ukraine is scheduled to be released next
spring. The Freedom & Worms team spent about two months touring Ukraine for this
purpose, from the conflict areas and the Donbass fronts to the Azov Sea, Odessa
and Chernobyl. The series financed by Rojo y Negro is called "audiovisual, direct."
If they tell you that I fell in Rojava
Persecuted for fighting the Islamic State
Series "audiovisual, direct"
Produced by Freedom & Worms and Rojo y Negro / CGT.
Written and directed by Ferran Barber.
Duration, 57 minutes.
For more information, you can contact the person in charge of the documentary,
for any additional clarification through the email ferranbarber@yahoo.com or by
phone 600 654280.
Documentary link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5r3LwraPW4&feature=youtu.be
-
Macarena Amores García
Press office of the Confederal Committee of the CGT
General Confederation of Labor - CGT
C / Sagunto 15, 1º
28010 Madrid
Tel. 91 447 57 69
Mobile 690 640 826
gabineteprensa@cgt.org.es
http://alasbarricadas.org/noticias/node/45258
------------------------------
Message: 3
We do not accept masters over us or servers under us. We work for a society where
all public affairs are resolved through the self-organization of those of us who
live, work, create and love, in Cuba and on the planet. We bear witness, however,
that the move to such a way of managing our lives in common can only be the
product of the most profound social revolution. But being radical in our
conception of socialism and human liberation does not make us strict or extremist
people, nor does it oppose us to those who sincerely seek ways of dignity. The
struggle for social guarantees is legitimate, even when its germinative root does
not reach the ideal immediately - as long as such a root exists-, many of which
contain living and growing germs of the common society that for now we only dare
to dream. Defending such germs and sowing the seeds of freedom even if we know
that it can take millennia to become trees as robust as the kapok trees in our
fields, is our duty and choice of life.
And for all this:
1. We repudiate any blockade on the Cuban people, imposed either from abroad or
from within by the United States, United States or not. We radically support the
full deployment of the creative capacities of our people, their
self-organization, self-support and self-liberation, in a world that must be more
supportive and cooperative.
2. We do not support provocations aimed at social explosion. This would be tragic
in the current circumstances of organizational deterioration of the working
classes and the most precarious segments of society.
3. We support all forms of self-organization of those who work, live and believe
in Cuba. By social self-organization we understand undertakings, projects,
networks, collectives and other endeavors where there is no wage labor, the
imposition of authority, the cult of personality, the various direct, structural
or symbolic violence, hyper-competitiveness, bureaucracy, decisions in the hands
of an elite, the concentration of wealth and the unequal appropriation of
knowledge. We demand that the country's institutional framework give priority to
self-organized entities, such as promoting the creation of cooperatives and other
self-managed collective production and service projects over capitalist
micro-enterprises and other ventures based on asymmetries. social,
4. In this sense, the organizations that distribute products to the population
must re-organize themselves as consumer cooperatives, integrating most of this in
a self-organized way, to fulfill the functions of sale in warehouses and other
retailers, transportation, collection, without implying theft or corruption.
5. We are opposed to the wage system, but as long as it exists, there must also
be recognition of a real minimum wage, visibly above the basic basket as minimum
income for a decent life, which must be public in terms of its composition. and
be subject to general debate and approval; The due must be paid according to
working hours and overtime hours and days, the employer must be enforced in all
work centers the mandatory nature of the collective agreement, unionization
rights, full access to the resolution of labor disputes by who work, and their
right to strike.
6. If it has been possible to recognize the legitimacy of representatives of
liberal tendencies within the Cuban statist political opposition, we consider
ourselves carriers of the full legitimacy as libertarian socialists and part of
the organization of the working classes in Cuba; If such recognition has not been
possible, we will require it for all political opinions.
7. The crime of contempt for authority, as an inheritance of the monarchical
order, must be abolished, and all persons imprisoned for such acts released.
8. Prison or any other sanction for "record of pre-criminal dangerousness" must
be abolished immediately as an institution of fascist origin (Rocco Code).
9. We work for full spectrum liberation from all dominations and oppressions,
especially those of capital, bureaucracy, patriarchy, hypercompetence,
epistemocracy, coloniality, racism, ethnocentrism, the meddling of powerful
foreign structures , rampant consumption and ecological predation.
10. Full spectrum means that no one - person or group under oppression -
liberates himself / herself, not including others, until it reaches the whole of
society. The release does not admit exclusions.
11. We do not recognize the false and self-destructive "normality" of this world
as an ideal to which a Cuba should tend to be "a normal country."
12. We are on guard against any movement that, from collectives, processes or
efforts that aspire to liberation, could lead to the emergence of new and
dangerous dominations.
The Taller Libertario Alfredo López is an anarchist collective that for years
supports and promotes experiences related to its anti-authoritarian and
anti-capitalist principles, and tries to be a timely libertarian voice in this
archipelago that we call Cuba. He has organized four Libertarian Spring Days in
Havana, and is currently the principal manager of the ABRA Social Center .
https://centrosocialabra.wordpress.com/2021/01/03/comunicado-del-taller-libertario-alfredo-lopez-de-la-habana/
------------------------------
Message: 4
The year 2020 ends. It had opened up to a great fight, the strike against the
pension reform. It closes in on struggles, scattered, of course, but well
existing, in a difficult context. We will have to redouble our efforts so that
the exploited find the path of strike, of the street, of combat, of collective
emancipation. ---- To close 2020, we are of course thinking of the Covid-19
pandemic. But more than the pandemic, it is its management that is in question.
It is characteristic of a power subjected to the interests of the employers:
disastrous, ineffective and unjust. Rather than ensuring by means of access for
all to masks, to the vaccine, rather than really restricting activities in order
to reduce contagion, the authorities have chosen a deadly strategy: that of
continuing to make us work a maximum, while trying to make us believe that the
deaths would be inevitable. This logic is the logic of capitalism: to garner
profit at the expense of workers, because our lives are for them only adjustment
variables in their books of account.
The end-of-year celebrations have allowed us to finally find our loved ones. But,
holiday season or not, pandemic or not, nothing is spared workers, who are
experiencing a wave of terrible layoffs. Nothing is spared to undocumented
people, more and more chased by the police. Nothing is spared to women, who,
still too often in silence, suffer from male violence on a daily basis.
Bi-monthly tract n ° 3
Bi-monthly tract to download
So for 2021, we want the exploited to find the path of victorious struggles. We
want our work colleagues, friends, and families to once again have the desire to
win. We want all of us to decide to raise our heads against the steamroller that
crushes us. Collective emancipation through struggle, the union of the exploited
from all over the world, this is our desire, and above all our task, for the
coming year.
Union Communiste Libertaire, 1 st January 2021
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Des-luttes-pour-que-l-annee-soit-belle
------------------------------
Message: 5
Why are the Anarchists who are anti-state and want to destroy the country to the
root of supporting West Papua's independence? Why does anti-state anarchism
actually support the process of creating a new state? ---- Anarchism is the
concept of an ideal social order in which the existence of the state and
capitalism and various forms of domination are abolished, the history of
anarchism itself has been running for hundreds of years from parts of Europe and
North America to the outskirts of the African continent. In achieving their
goals, Anarchist groups legalize and even advocate for the use of violence as a
method of struggle. ---- In its history, we can see that anarchists have been
involved in various struggles for National Liberation even though the majority
group in the region does not and does not even have anarchist tendencies at all,
Anarchists have been involved in the struggle for the liberation of Sicily from
Italy, Catalan and Basque from Spain, and Ireland from British Empire, even the
Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) from the Netherlands. Why are Anarchists involved
in all these struggles?
The answer to that question can be answered if we look briefly at the definition
of anarchism above, "... and various forms of domination being abolished".
Anarchism is a struggle for liberation from various dominations, that domination
can take the form of racism, sexism, homophobia, and also COLONIALISM. Anarchists
must be the opposition to colonialism, because it is a form of domination of one
person over another as well as one nation over another nation.
Colonialism will also inevitably lead to other forms of domination such as
racism, sexism and exploitation of nature. West Papua is one of the independent
territories that was forcibly annexed by the Sukarno Regime on May 1, 1963, the
fake People's Opinion Determination (PEPERA) was held by the Indonesian state at
gunpoint and death threats. After this forced annexation a nightmare started on
the land of Cendrawasih, the killing of hundreds or even thousands of indigenous
West Papuans by the Indonesian colonial apparatus, the exploitation of West
Papua's natural resources by large corporations, and the massive migration of
non-West Papuan people who made OAP (Orang Asli Papua) left out. This colonialism
also brings racism to West Papuans, West Papuans are stigmatized as primitive
humans, forest people, lazy people, and many other derogatory insults.
Anarchists have many reasons to be involved in the struggle for National
Liberation, whether it is to fight for the slightest possibility of Anarchy, to
stem the influence of the right wing in the struggle for National Liberation, or
simply solidarity for people who are oppressed, Anarchists do not have the same
position. between individuals because Anarchism means decentralization and the
rejection of a single authority. Anarchists distinguish between what is meant by
state and homeland, indigenous peoples are used to loving and respecting their
homeland, their nation, a sacred entity that will be defended with all their
lives, while the state is a man-made entity that wants power, control and
domination over the community.
Quoting Kroptokin, an anarchist theorist from Russia, "Real internationalism will
not be achieved unless all nations are independent. If we say no to the
government, how can we turn out to be letting go of the colonial rule of the
colonial government?" A free society could not be established on colony, the
freedom that it resulted was apparent freedom, because this freedom might
liberate the main society, but oppress the colony community.
Anarchists are already attached to the decolonization movement and indigenous
peoples, in North, South America, Australia and New Zealand, Anarchists are
involved in the indigenous peoples resistance movement and the Land Back movement
(a movement demanding the restoration of rights to land belonging to indigenous
peoples from settlers. comer). Anarchism is definitely about self-determination,
including the self-determination of indigenous peoples from state domination, let
alone a colonial state. West Papua is a culturally naturalized nation, while the
country it is fighting is a man-made entity.
Anarchists are different from other Pseudo-left groups who always see the world
in only two choices, Anarchists see the world in a broad view, Anarchists can
fight colonialism and imperialism in West Papua without pushing their national
political figures. We can move in solidarity with the people of West Papua who
are oppressed by colonialism and imperialism. Anarchist support for the national
liberation of West Papua does not mean support for the formation of a new West
Papua state, but Anarchists are in solidarity while offering other alternatives
to the formation of a state to the oppressed people of West Papua. Anarchism
supports self-determination for colonized societies, even though these societies
may believe that the formation of a new state is the solution to their oppression.
Further reading:
- "Anarchism and National Liberation" by Alfredo Bonanno
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/alfredo-m-bonanno-anarchism-and-the-national-liberation-struggle
- "What Is Anarchism? An Introduction"
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/donald-rooum-and-freedom-press-ed-what-is-anarchism-an-introduction
- www.anarkis.org
- "Indonesian racism in Papua: the face of colonialism" by comrade Koker
https://korankejora.blogspot.com/2019/10/melawan-kolonialism-rasisme-indonesia.html
- Documentation of anarchist solidarity action for the liberation of West Papua.
https://anarchistsworldwide.noblogs.org/post/tag/free-west-papua/
- "Anarchism Thinkers, Who Are They?"
https://tirto.id/para-pemikir-anarkisme-siapa-saja-mereka-dnFm
Author's Note: Ameyuri Ringo, the author is an individual Queer Anarchist who is
interested in the Ocultism tradition and the Indigenous Peoples movement
https://korankejora.blogspot.com/2021/01/anarkisme-dan-pembebasan-papua-barat.html?
------------------------------
Message: 6
From the No Safety, No Work website ---- "How many deaths does it take till we
know that too many people have died?" ---- The rapid rise in both new cases and
deaths is not a surprise to most. Yet it seems that the government didn't think
it would happen, or preferred not to accept it because it went against their own
agenda. Despite the various tiers, it has largely been life as normal for many -
schools and colleges open, people still going into work and some carrying on with
extensive social mixing indoors. Nothing was done, and though Christmas was
scaled down, different households still got together and many people travelled
domestically and internationally. ---- The government and media blame it on a new
variant. But according to Independent Sage, this variant has been around since
September. It was able to take hold in the population because the strategy has
been to contain rather than supress the virus.
"Failure to implement a circuit breaker, recommended by SAGE and Independent SAGE
at the end of September, resulted in a delayed a lockdown until November. As a
result, a new variant of Covid-19 (B117), since shown to be more transmissible,
was given the opportunity to spread widely, particularly in the East, South East
and South Wales. It also meant that England entered December with a high number
of cases, despite lockdown, and a high number of people in hospital." (See
Independent Sage emergency statement, Dec 2020)
The government has been fiddling about with gestures, closing down certain areas
like the hospitality sector and having a system of tiers. But it has not tackled
the main sources of the problem, as we have argued on this website for many
months: the workplace, which includes schools, colleges and universities. This is
of course because its priority is to keep the economy going. It only acts once
the situation, already a crisis, deteriorates into disaster. The NHS is now
completely overwhelmed and there is no end in sight to the rise in cases and deaths.
The education setting as a key spreader
As we argued in our December 22nd post on the No Safety No Work website, the
education sector is one of the main places that the virus is spreading. This is
supported by the infections statistics. First it was university age young people,
then secondary-age, and now primary-age. Though this age is not likely to get as
ill and often doesn't show any symptoms, they can still spread it. And testimony
after testimony from educational staff shows that the safety measures in place
are not sufficient. So people are mixing with hundreds of people in the course of
the day. Again, this is not just an analysis of working class revolutionaries,
these points have been made by scientists for months (see Independent Sage safer
schools report featured in the Independent) but ignored by the government.
Role of unions
What is worrying, though, is that the mainstream trade unions have been slow to
take serious action. Local universities, colleges and schools may have been doing
things, but when researching the December 22nd article, there was little call for
action from the NEU in England and even the actions that were taken, eg at
Havering Sixth Form College in East London, were not reported on by even the
local Havering website. It is only recently that the NEU is calling for action
but as of yet no moves to a ballot for united industrial action. Instead they are
"advising" their primary school members to not return to work on January 4th -
leaving the decision to individual teachers. Though some teachers claim that
their schools are safe, most likely smaller schools where overcrowding is not a
problem, most would argue that universities, colleges and schools have never been
safe and that the context of education - with large classes, difficulties to
control students of all ages mixing with each other - makes it impossible to have
safe schools without introducing more online learning and much smaller classes.
This is all supported by extensive research by Independent Sage (see above link).
So why weren't unions taking action back in September?
The main teaching union in Scotland seems to be doing more to publicise what is
going on and has launched a social media campaign (see: EIS website). However,
that is nowhere near as powerful as calling for an indefinite strike.
Nevertheless, the Scottish government seems to be taking some notice and has just
announced that schools will be shut until at least the beginning of February.
Local action and co-ordination
If educational staff cannot rely on their union to co-ordinate action, it is up
to people on the ground to start organising their own response, something that is
already happening in a number of areas. Havering Sixth Form College continues to
fight the unsafe demands of management (see East London Advertiser article). They
have already had one strike and plan more. There may be many more schools and
colleges taking action. It is important that these actions are publicised so that
other schools and colleges can be inspired and contribute to a powerful national
campaign.
No Safety, No Work would welcome the opportunity to publicise any actions that
are going on. Please contact us at safereturn@riseup.net
https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2021/01/04/how-many-deaths-does-it-take/
------------------------------
Message: 7
Syndicalist View By Tom Wetzel (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
In a context of political crisis and increasingly virulent questioning of the
legitimacy of the police, the authorities are giving an additional security screw
with the help of the law known as "global security". By even renouncing the
democratic veneer - parliamentary debate and respect for fundamental freedoms -
the government is taking risks, facing a front that is nevertheless crossed by
divisions. ---- While it was possible to hope that this health crisis would
trigger at least an investment of resources in the health system, the bourgeoisie
is still working to plunder the meager conquests of the proletariat, with for
example the pension reform. In order to prevent any resistance, the ruling class
is building up its weapons, expanding its possibilities for surveillance and
information gathering [1], as well as through laws on " separatism ", on
programming for research, and and finally on " global security ". By also taking
up the lexical field of the far right in her business, it is one of its most
sinister forms that she now threatens to display.
The cup is full
Since the five-year term in Holland, power is no longer even encumbered with
democratic formalities. Today, the so-called " global security " law can
therefore benefit from an accelerated procedure and was adopted by the National
Assembly on 24 November. The element of language then used to defend this law,
and more particularly the controversial article 24 which prohibits the
dissemination of images allowing the identification of the cops, is appalling: it
would be a question of " protecting those who protect us ". This propaganda falls
flat: the unbearable video of the beating of Michel Zecler, as well as the
shocking images of the brutal evacuation of the tents and of more than 400
migrants on the Place de la République in Paris [2], come to prove the need to
film the police in order to make visible their violence.
Beyond article 24, it is the entirety of this bill, the logic in which it fits,
and finally all the repressive organs of the State which are here to denounce: or
, spirits have already taken the lead. The mutilations and the volleys of
beatings inflicted on the yellow vests during almost all of their gatherings,
adding to the zealous attitude of the cops, have finished proving the
dangerousness of the police to those and those who could have doubted it. .
In June, the assassination of George Floyd in the United States moved even in
Europe. It is both against racism and police violence that in France the
mobilization has united front organizations of relatives of victims of police
violence, their supporters, as well as many young people. It is indeed the
courage and tenacity of these organizations that have succeeded in making it a
subject of society.
On November 28, a veritable tide of people marched against the global security
law, in Paris and throughout France.
Convergences and collisions
Finally, the unions are not left out and do not hesitate to make the link between
the grabbing of wealth by the bourgeoisie and repressive laws. Thus, all the
numerous demonstrations and gatherings since November 17 claim a wide diversity
of aspirations for more economic equality and more democracy. In Toulouse for
example, the call for the demonstration of December 12 by the CGT of the CHU
[3]headlines " An emergency plan for our health not for profits!" More social
security, less overall security ". On the same day, in some cities, this approach
was even to be associated with the struggles against the Islamophobia of the law
on " separatism". ". The ground is therefore entirely favorable to the
formulation and dissemination of the radical ideas of our camp.
However, it is not without divisions and hiccups. " Public freedoms and
democratic life in our country (sic) are very seriously threatened " concludes an
appeal to the Toulouse rally on November 17 [4]launched by Alternatiba. " The
people of freedom marched everywhere in France against the Global Security law "
[5]headlines a terrible press release from the StopLoiS SécuritéGlobale
coordination denouncing the " degradation and violence " ... not of the police,
but of the demonstrators ! The bourgeoisie no longer needs to divide us; those
who tolerate violence only when it is the act of the bourgeois take care of it.
At the same time, the love of posture and division making us really hit rock
bottom, Solidaires and the CGT were physically targeted from inside the
procession on Saturday, December 5 in Paris ; the following week, fearing a
delusional police crackdown on one side and stabbing in the back on the other,
several organizations withdrew their calls to demonstrate.
December 12, when the same security logic, the same authoritarianism are at work
in the law of " global security " and in the law against " separatism ", and that
therefore to stand united against these two laws seemed obvious [6], on
unioncommunistelibertaire.org., The failed convergence of the December 12
demonstration left a bitter taste to organizations fighting against racism. As
rallies and parades against Securitarism were canceled, protests against the
Islamophobic offensive were isolated, in very small gatherings.
Finally, faced with a bourgeoisie which does not want to let go and which is
preparing to put down any opposition, and while a large part of the population is
ready to question the established order, it seems that the revolutionary
solutions, taking the root problem are ready to be heard. In addition, there is
still work to be done to overcome the divisions that undermine the movement even
though there are no shortage of opportunities to stand up: point out the limits
of complaints that always respect the established order, enforce the diversity of
tactics: mass demonstrations and direct confrontations, the panoply must be
complementary. A common enemy: power.
Géro (UCL Toulouse), with Austin
Validate
[1] "Return of the filing of political opinions and union membership", on
reportsdeforce.fr.
[2] "Place de la République: the visible face of police violence against
migrants", on rapportdeforce.fr.
[3] "November 21 for an emergency plan for health, not for profits", on
cgtchutoulouse.fr.
[4] "National call for gatherings November 17 at 6 p.m. against the global
security law", on universitepopulairetoulouse.fr.
[5] "The people of freedom marched everywhere in France against the" global
security "law", on snjcgt.fr.
[6] "Against Islamophobia and the law on separatism: let's unite on December 12"
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Loi-de-securite-globale-le-gouvernement-en-pleine-insecurite
------------------------------
Message: 2
We accompany this note with a link to the documentary, with the request that they
disseminate it as they deem appropriate. ---- "IF THEY TELL YOU I FELL IN
ROJAVA": ---- International volunteers against the Islamic State ---- Starting in
2015, thousands of Western volunteers traveled to Rojava and Sinyar (in Syria and
Iraq) to fight the Islamic State on the side of the Kurdish YPG and YBS militias.
And among them, a hundred long Spaniards. This scene often brought together
anarchists, communists, crusaders and militants of the Alt-Right. What the Civil
War and ideology separated, Daesh united. ---- Most of them returned to Europe
after serving six months in the guerrillas. Others returned to the Syro-Iraqi
battle board intermittently and some stayed and are still fighting. In Sinyar,
the Yazidi area of Iraq, there has been a stable presence of Spaniards since the
YBS international unit was created.
This work is a unique document that describes the difficulties these volunteers
had to face both in Iraqi Kurdistan or Syria, as well as upon their return to
Europe, where they suffered and still face judicial investigations and social
discredit. It was an unusual situation because, on the one hand, the atrocities
of Daesh were denounced and, on the other, those who decided to go to fight
jihadism were persecuted. The National Court, for example, tried to impute more
than sixty homicides to the Galician sniper Arges Artiaga. Two Communist
Reconstruction volunteers were even prosecuted.
In reality, the Spanish authorities did not know very well how to deal with or
what treatment to give to the volunteers of these militias. Not even public
opinion was very clear about what kind of drives led them there, and even less
so, the legitimacy of the reasons that pushed them to risk their lives. If
something was evident, it was that they were not mercenaries because they did not
sell their weapons. The solidarity movement that aroused the irruption of ISIS
and the people who came to fight from all corners of the world was inevitably
compared to that of the internationalists of the Civil War. Three Spanish
militiamen died fighting and one took his own life on his return . Several more
were injured. A long dozen more YPG and YBS fighters have been imprisoned upon
their return to Spain in the Kurdish Asayish prison, in Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan).
During their stay in the penitentiary, the majority suffered torture. They were
accused of having traveled to the Iraqi region of Sinyar or northern Syria
(Rojava) to fight Daesh and Turkey in the Rojava militias. Ankara does not
differentiate between the PKK and the rest of the units that fought under the
wing of the US Army (YBS and YPG). In their eyes, volunteers are and should be
treated like terrorists.
Among those deprived of liberty is the director of the documentary (journalist
Ferran Barber), imprisoned by the Barzani peshmerga for more than a month, in the
summer of 2019, after visiting an Iraqi Christian valley occupied by the PKK and
known as Nahla , when he was working with a German television team from Tele
Sieben in the production of a documentary for a German channel. The reporter
starts from his own experience - narrated in various written media - to put
together the events that affect all the Spanish displaced to that area.
From 2014 to 2019, Barber spent nearly three years on the ground exclusively
covering singular events such as the Battle of Mosul or the fall of the
Caliphate. The Aragonese was the last reporter to leave Raqqa and one of the
first to make his surrender known. Much of the time he spent at the front, he did
it together with the volunteers who star in the documentary. Ferran had already
covered the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and spent about three months in Iraq
during the North American invasion of the country.
For the first time, this work interviews some of the best-known militiamen, of
all ideologies, from anarchists to communists and crusaders, who have taken part
in the combat or the ins and outs surrounding their activity in Raqqa, Sinyar
City or other iconic cities in the conflict. The team also talks with the
families and friends of some of the fallen, and analyzes the deep psychological
reasons that gave fuel to the Spaniards who have taken part in the conflict.
About the director
Ferran Barber is an Aragonese investigative journalist with more than 30 years of
experience covering social issues and conflicts. He has collaborated or worked
with practically all the Spanish reference media in the last decades. His work
has been developed in more than sixty countries. Among them, he has covered
conflicts and social issues in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia,
Iran, Japan, Scandinavia, Lithuania, Latvia, Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Ukraine,
Western Sahara, Equatorial Guinea, Turkey and Syria. In Iraq, he covered the fall
of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and returned in 2014 to echo events related to the rise
of ISIS. Barber specializes in minorities and is the author of a novel and the
first journalistic book in Spanish about the non-Muslim peoples of the Middle
East, and more particularly, Assyrian and Yazidi. He has also directed several
documentaries on Middle East issues.
About the documentary
This documentary is the first in a series produced by Freedom & Worms, in
collaboration with CGT's Rojo y Negro. A new work on the heritage of the
anarchist Nestor Makhno in modern Ukraine is scheduled to be released next
spring. The Freedom & Worms team spent about two months touring Ukraine for this
purpose, from the conflict areas and the Donbass fronts to the Azov Sea, Odessa
and Chernobyl. The series financed by Rojo y Negro is called "audiovisual, direct."
If they tell you that I fell in Rojava
Persecuted for fighting the Islamic State
Series "audiovisual, direct"
Produced by Freedom & Worms and Rojo y Negro / CGT.
Written and directed by Ferran Barber.
Duration, 57 minutes.
For more information, you can contact the person in charge of the documentary,
for any additional clarification through the email ferranbarber@yahoo.com or by
phone 600 654280.
Documentary link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5r3LwraPW4&feature=youtu.be
-
Macarena Amores García
Press office of the Confederal Committee of the CGT
General Confederation of Labor - CGT
C / Sagunto 15, 1º
28010 Madrid
Tel. 91 447 57 69
Mobile 690 640 826
gabineteprensa@cgt.org.es
http://alasbarricadas.org/noticias/node/45258
------------------------------
Message: 3
We do not accept masters over us or servers under us. We work for a society where
all public affairs are resolved through the self-organization of those of us who
live, work, create and love, in Cuba and on the planet. We bear witness, however,
that the move to such a way of managing our lives in common can only be the
product of the most profound social revolution. But being radical in our
conception of socialism and human liberation does not make us strict or extremist
people, nor does it oppose us to those who sincerely seek ways of dignity. The
struggle for social guarantees is legitimate, even when its germinative root does
not reach the ideal immediately - as long as such a root exists-, many of which
contain living and growing germs of the common society that for now we only dare
to dream. Defending such germs and sowing the seeds of freedom even if we know
that it can take millennia to become trees as robust as the kapok trees in our
fields, is our duty and choice of life.
And for all this:
1. We repudiate any blockade on the Cuban people, imposed either from abroad or
from within by the United States, United States or not. We radically support the
full deployment of the creative capacities of our people, their
self-organization, self-support and self-liberation, in a world that must be more
supportive and cooperative.
2. We do not support provocations aimed at social explosion. This would be tragic
in the current circumstances of organizational deterioration of the working
classes and the most precarious segments of society.
3. We support all forms of self-organization of those who work, live and believe
in Cuba. By social self-organization we understand undertakings, projects,
networks, collectives and other endeavors where there is no wage labor, the
imposition of authority, the cult of personality, the various direct, structural
or symbolic violence, hyper-competitiveness, bureaucracy, decisions in the hands
of an elite, the concentration of wealth and the unequal appropriation of
knowledge. We demand that the country's institutional framework give priority to
self-organized entities, such as promoting the creation of cooperatives and other
self-managed collective production and service projects over capitalist
micro-enterprises and other ventures based on asymmetries. social,
4. In this sense, the organizations that distribute products to the population
must re-organize themselves as consumer cooperatives, integrating most of this in
a self-organized way, to fulfill the functions of sale in warehouses and other
retailers, transportation, collection, without implying theft or corruption.
5. We are opposed to the wage system, but as long as it exists, there must also
be recognition of a real minimum wage, visibly above the basic basket as minimum
income for a decent life, which must be public in terms of its composition. and
be subject to general debate and approval; The due must be paid according to
working hours and overtime hours and days, the employer must be enforced in all
work centers the mandatory nature of the collective agreement, unionization
rights, full access to the resolution of labor disputes by who work, and their
right to strike.
6. If it has been possible to recognize the legitimacy of representatives of
liberal tendencies within the Cuban statist political opposition, we consider
ourselves carriers of the full legitimacy as libertarian socialists and part of
the organization of the working classes in Cuba; If such recognition has not been
possible, we will require it for all political opinions.
7. The crime of contempt for authority, as an inheritance of the monarchical
order, must be abolished, and all persons imprisoned for such acts released.
8. Prison or any other sanction for "record of pre-criminal dangerousness" must
be abolished immediately as an institution of fascist origin (Rocco Code).
9. We work for full spectrum liberation from all dominations and oppressions,
especially those of capital, bureaucracy, patriarchy, hypercompetence,
epistemocracy, coloniality, racism, ethnocentrism, the meddling of powerful
foreign structures , rampant consumption and ecological predation.
10. Full spectrum means that no one - person or group under oppression -
liberates himself / herself, not including others, until it reaches the whole of
society. The release does not admit exclusions.
11. We do not recognize the false and self-destructive "normality" of this world
as an ideal to which a Cuba should tend to be "a normal country."
12. We are on guard against any movement that, from collectives, processes or
efforts that aspire to liberation, could lead to the emergence of new and
dangerous dominations.
The Taller Libertario Alfredo López is an anarchist collective that for years
supports and promotes experiences related to its anti-authoritarian and
anti-capitalist principles, and tries to be a timely libertarian voice in this
archipelago that we call Cuba. He has organized four Libertarian Spring Days in
Havana, and is currently the principal manager of the ABRA Social Center .
https://centrosocialabra.wordpress.com/2021/01/03/comunicado-del-taller-libertario-alfredo-lopez-de-la-habana/
------------------------------
Message: 4
The year 2020 ends. It had opened up to a great fight, the strike against the
pension reform. It closes in on struggles, scattered, of course, but well
existing, in a difficult context. We will have to redouble our efforts so that
the exploited find the path of strike, of the street, of combat, of collective
emancipation. ---- To close 2020, we are of course thinking of the Covid-19
pandemic. But more than the pandemic, it is its management that is in question.
It is characteristic of a power subjected to the interests of the employers:
disastrous, ineffective and unjust. Rather than ensuring by means of access for
all to masks, to the vaccine, rather than really restricting activities in order
to reduce contagion, the authorities have chosen a deadly strategy: that of
continuing to make us work a maximum, while trying to make us believe that the
deaths would be inevitable. This logic is the logic of capitalism: to garner
profit at the expense of workers, because our lives are for them only adjustment
variables in their books of account.
The end-of-year celebrations have allowed us to finally find our loved ones. But,
holiday season or not, pandemic or not, nothing is spared workers, who are
experiencing a wave of terrible layoffs. Nothing is spared to undocumented
people, more and more chased by the police. Nothing is spared to women, who,
still too often in silence, suffer from male violence on a daily basis.
Bi-monthly tract n ° 3
Bi-monthly tract to download
So for 2021, we want the exploited to find the path of victorious struggles. We
want our work colleagues, friends, and families to once again have the desire to
win. We want all of us to decide to raise our heads against the steamroller that
crushes us. Collective emancipation through struggle, the union of the exploited
from all over the world, this is our desire, and above all our task, for the
coming year.
Union Communiste Libertaire, 1 st January 2021
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Des-luttes-pour-que-l-annee-soit-belle
------------------------------
Message: 5
Why are the Anarchists who are anti-state and want to destroy the country to the
root of supporting West Papua's independence? Why does anti-state anarchism
actually support the process of creating a new state? ---- Anarchism is the
concept of an ideal social order in which the existence of the state and
capitalism and various forms of domination are abolished, the history of
anarchism itself has been running for hundreds of years from parts of Europe and
North America to the outskirts of the African continent. In achieving their
goals, Anarchist groups legalize and even advocate for the use of violence as a
method of struggle. ---- In its history, we can see that anarchists have been
involved in various struggles for National Liberation even though the majority
group in the region does not and does not even have anarchist tendencies at all,
Anarchists have been involved in the struggle for the liberation of Sicily from
Italy, Catalan and Basque from Spain, and Ireland from British Empire, even the
Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) from the Netherlands. Why are Anarchists involved
in all these struggles?
The answer to that question can be answered if we look briefly at the definition
of anarchism above, "... and various forms of domination being abolished".
Anarchism is a struggle for liberation from various dominations, that domination
can take the form of racism, sexism, homophobia, and also COLONIALISM. Anarchists
must be the opposition to colonialism, because it is a form of domination of one
person over another as well as one nation over another nation.
Colonialism will also inevitably lead to other forms of domination such as
racism, sexism and exploitation of nature. West Papua is one of the independent
territories that was forcibly annexed by the Sukarno Regime on May 1, 1963, the
fake People's Opinion Determination (PEPERA) was held by the Indonesian state at
gunpoint and death threats. After this forced annexation a nightmare started on
the land of Cendrawasih, the killing of hundreds or even thousands of indigenous
West Papuans by the Indonesian colonial apparatus, the exploitation of West
Papua's natural resources by large corporations, and the massive migration of
non-West Papuan people who made OAP (Orang Asli Papua) left out. This colonialism
also brings racism to West Papuans, West Papuans are stigmatized as primitive
humans, forest people, lazy people, and many other derogatory insults.
Anarchists have many reasons to be involved in the struggle for National
Liberation, whether it is to fight for the slightest possibility of Anarchy, to
stem the influence of the right wing in the struggle for National Liberation, or
simply solidarity for people who are oppressed, Anarchists do not have the same
position. between individuals because Anarchism means decentralization and the
rejection of a single authority. Anarchists distinguish between what is meant by
state and homeland, indigenous peoples are used to loving and respecting their
homeland, their nation, a sacred entity that will be defended with all their
lives, while the state is a man-made entity that wants power, control and
domination over the community.
Quoting Kroptokin, an anarchist theorist from Russia, "Real internationalism will
not be achieved unless all nations are independent. If we say no to the
government, how can we turn out to be letting go of the colonial rule of the
colonial government?" A free society could not be established on colony, the
freedom that it resulted was apparent freedom, because this freedom might
liberate the main society, but oppress the colony community.
Anarchists are already attached to the decolonization movement and indigenous
peoples, in North, South America, Australia and New Zealand, Anarchists are
involved in the indigenous peoples resistance movement and the Land Back movement
(a movement demanding the restoration of rights to land belonging to indigenous
peoples from settlers. comer). Anarchism is definitely about self-determination,
including the self-determination of indigenous peoples from state domination, let
alone a colonial state. West Papua is a culturally naturalized nation, while the
country it is fighting is a man-made entity.
Anarchists are different from other Pseudo-left groups who always see the world
in only two choices, Anarchists see the world in a broad view, Anarchists can
fight colonialism and imperialism in West Papua without pushing their national
political figures. We can move in solidarity with the people of West Papua who
are oppressed by colonialism and imperialism. Anarchist support for the national
liberation of West Papua does not mean support for the formation of a new West
Papua state, but Anarchists are in solidarity while offering other alternatives
to the formation of a state to the oppressed people of West Papua. Anarchism
supports self-determination for colonized societies, even though these societies
may believe that the formation of a new state is the solution to their oppression.
Further reading:
- "Anarchism and National Liberation" by Alfredo Bonanno
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/alfredo-m-bonanno-anarchism-and-the-national-liberation-struggle
- "What Is Anarchism? An Introduction"
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/donald-rooum-and-freedom-press-ed-what-is-anarchism-an-introduction
- www.anarkis.org
- "Indonesian racism in Papua: the face of colonialism" by comrade Koker
https://korankejora.blogspot.com/2019/10/melawan-kolonialism-rasisme-indonesia.html
- Documentation of anarchist solidarity action for the liberation of West Papua.
https://anarchistsworldwide.noblogs.org/post/tag/free-west-papua/
- "Anarchism Thinkers, Who Are They?"
https://tirto.id/para-pemikir-anarkisme-siapa-saja-mereka-dnFm
Author's Note: Ameyuri Ringo, the author is an individual Queer Anarchist who is
interested in the Ocultism tradition and the Indigenous Peoples movement
https://korankejora.blogspot.com/2021/01/anarkisme-dan-pembebasan-papua-barat.html?
------------------------------
Message: 6
From the No Safety, No Work website ---- "How many deaths does it take till we
know that too many people have died?" ---- The rapid rise in both new cases and
deaths is not a surprise to most. Yet it seems that the government didn't think
it would happen, or preferred not to accept it because it went against their own
agenda. Despite the various tiers, it has largely been life as normal for many -
schools and colleges open, people still going into work and some carrying on with
extensive social mixing indoors. Nothing was done, and though Christmas was
scaled down, different households still got together and many people travelled
domestically and internationally. ---- The government and media blame it on a new
variant. But according to Independent Sage, this variant has been around since
September. It was able to take hold in the population because the strategy has
been to contain rather than supress the virus.
"Failure to implement a circuit breaker, recommended by SAGE and Independent SAGE
at the end of September, resulted in a delayed a lockdown until November. As a
result, a new variant of Covid-19 (B117), since shown to be more transmissible,
was given the opportunity to spread widely, particularly in the East, South East
and South Wales. It also meant that England entered December with a high number
of cases, despite lockdown, and a high number of people in hospital." (See
Independent Sage emergency statement, Dec 2020)
The government has been fiddling about with gestures, closing down certain areas
like the hospitality sector and having a system of tiers. But it has not tackled
the main sources of the problem, as we have argued on this website for many
months: the workplace, which includes schools, colleges and universities. This is
of course because its priority is to keep the economy going. It only acts once
the situation, already a crisis, deteriorates into disaster. The NHS is now
completely overwhelmed and there is no end in sight to the rise in cases and deaths.
The education setting as a key spreader
As we argued in our December 22nd post on the No Safety No Work website, the
education sector is one of the main places that the virus is spreading. This is
supported by the infections statistics. First it was university age young people,
then secondary-age, and now primary-age. Though this age is not likely to get as
ill and often doesn't show any symptoms, they can still spread it. And testimony
after testimony from educational staff shows that the safety measures in place
are not sufficient. So people are mixing with hundreds of people in the course of
the day. Again, this is not just an analysis of working class revolutionaries,
these points have been made by scientists for months (see Independent Sage safer
schools report featured in the Independent) but ignored by the government.
Role of unions
What is worrying, though, is that the mainstream trade unions have been slow to
take serious action. Local universities, colleges and schools may have been doing
things, but when researching the December 22nd article, there was little call for
action from the NEU in England and even the actions that were taken, eg at
Havering Sixth Form College in East London, were not reported on by even the
local Havering website. It is only recently that the NEU is calling for action
but as of yet no moves to a ballot for united industrial action. Instead they are
"advising" their primary school members to not return to work on January 4th -
leaving the decision to individual teachers. Though some teachers claim that
their schools are safe, most likely smaller schools where overcrowding is not a
problem, most would argue that universities, colleges and schools have never been
safe and that the context of education - with large classes, difficulties to
control students of all ages mixing with each other - makes it impossible to have
safe schools without introducing more online learning and much smaller classes.
This is all supported by extensive research by Independent Sage (see above link).
So why weren't unions taking action back in September?
The main teaching union in Scotland seems to be doing more to publicise what is
going on and has launched a social media campaign (see: EIS website). However,
that is nowhere near as powerful as calling for an indefinite strike.
Nevertheless, the Scottish government seems to be taking some notice and has just
announced that schools will be shut until at least the beginning of February.
Local action and co-ordination
If educational staff cannot rely on their union to co-ordinate action, it is up
to people on the ground to start organising their own response, something that is
already happening in a number of areas. Havering Sixth Form College continues to
fight the unsafe demands of management (see East London Advertiser article). They
have already had one strike and plan more. There may be many more schools and
colleges taking action. It is important that these actions are publicised so that
other schools and colleges can be inspired and contribute to a powerful national
campaign.
No Safety, No Work would welcome the opportunity to publicise any actions that
are going on. Please contact us at safereturn@riseup.net
https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2021/01/04/how-many-deaths-does-it-take/
------------------------------
Message: 7
[Veteran activist and writer Tom Wetzel enters the wide ranging debate on the
left around the "rank and file strategy" orientation to the labor movement. This
piece is based on material in his forthcoming book from AK Press, Overcoming
Capitalism. BRRN] ---- Kim Moody's writings on "the Rank and File Strategy" have
gained a broad hearing within a variety of socialist groups, such as Democratic
Socialists of America and smaller socialist groupings. His original pamphlet from
2000 talks about the strategy in terms of both rebuilding socialist influence in
the labor movement and as a way to build a more worker-based socialist movement
in the USA. ---- Recently Moody encapsulates the point to building rank-and-file
worker organizations in the context of the unions this way: ---- "Building rank
and file power to fight for the independence of unions from capitalist influence,
in part transmitted by the bureaucracy, is an important task in building a
class-conscious workers' movement-something without which socialism remains only
a set of ideas."
Why is worker control of the union organization important? Here I think it is
important to look at the process of class formation - the more or less protracted
process through which the working class overcomes fatalism and internal divisions
(along lines of race and gender for example), gains political insights, and
builds the confidence, aspirations and organizational strength needed to pose an
effective challenge to the dominating classes.
When workers develop power through disruptive collective action, this encourages
the sense that "we can change the society." To the extent workers control their
own struggles and organizations, this develops confidence and skills among the
rank and file. Control of unions by the paid officials and staff doesn't do this.
Self-managed worker mass organizations - not only unions but other kinds of
organizations as well - provide a bridge where radicals in the situation can
connect the grievances of their coworkers to the more ambitious agenda for change
that socialists offer. Developing stronger class-wide solidarity is important to
the process of building a force for social transformation because the working
class needs to "gather its forces" from the various sectors of struggle to form a
united social bloc with both the power and aspiration for change. In this way the
working class "forms" itself into a force that can change the society.
The way the paid bureaucracy of officials and their staff organization act as a
roadblock to the development of the struggle against the employers presents
various barriers to the development of worker struggle that builds a sense of
rank-and-file worker power and tends to cut off the process of class formation.
The bureaucratic layers in unions and electoral parties tend to keep the working
class captive to capitalism. In this framework it makes sense to build worker
organization independent of the bureaucracy of the unions - networks and
committees of activist workers who can work to develop struggles on the shop
floor and push for a more aggressive and coordinated struggle against the employers.
No Interest in Building New Unions
A characteristic feature of Moody's "Rank and File Strategy" is the lack of any
interest in trying to build new unions outside the inherited AFL-CIO-type unions
- even though Moody recognizes their highly bureaucratized character. This has
been a common feature of Leninist and "democratic socialist" approaches to the
labor movement since the Popular Front era of the late 1930s. Given that only 6.2
percent of workers in the private sector belong to unions, why hold that unionism
can only be regenerated from within the highly bureaucratized AFL-CIO-type unions?
For Leninists, this mindset has its origin in the approach adopted by the
Communists in the 1920s, via William Z Foster's Trade Union Educational League
(TUEL). Moody refers to the TUEL as "the first experiment in the rank-and-file
strategy." Even though as many as a million workers between 1915 and 1921 built
grassroots industrial unions outside the bureaucratized (and often racist and
exclusionary) AFL, Foster was intensely hostile to these moves. He believed that
a revolutionized labor movement must be generated from within the inherited AFL.
When he became a communist, Foster adopted a theory that the limits of the AFL
was not in its top-down structure or control by the paid officials at the top.
Rather, he believed it was the "reactionary ideology" of the leaders. This
implied that the solution was to change leaders.
The role of "militant minorities" in unions had been a common theme of
anarchists, syndicalists and other labor radicals in the early 1900s. The
"militant minority" would be the more active workers who do organizing, have
influence due to their experience, and are more committed to the struggle, to
building unionism, and often are motivated by ambitious ideas of radical change.
However, syndicalists did not see the role of the "militant minority" as
substituting themselves for the rank and file but as people who help to build the
worker democracy that allows the rank and file to control the union. Foster's
view was different. Foster believed that a "small number" of "live wires" among a
passive herd were the "brains" of the labor movement. Thus Foster's strategy for
the labor movement was to get the vanguard into a position of control. The strong
emphasis on the control of the top positions was echoed by Foster's associate
Earl Browder:
"As for the TUEL, Browder believed that "a compact, well-educated Communist
minority in the great mass organizations, united upon a clear program of
practical action, can obtain the strategic positions of power in organized
labor." It was a curiously "managerial" proposition, couched in the phraseology
of non-ideological manipulation, control, and administration of workers."
Moody acknowledges Foster's elitism:
"[Foster]had a certain elitist view of this work as well as a tendency to
maintain personal control of the operation. In 1922, he wrote that most rank and
file workers were ‘ignorant and sluggish.' In 1924, he told the socialist Scott
Nearing, ‘Revolutions are not brought about by the sort of far-sighted
revolutionaries you have in mind, but by stupid masses...goaded to desperate
revolt by the pressure of social conditions...led by straight-thinking
revolutionaries who are able to direct the storm intelligently against
capitalism.'"(37)
Given Foster's hostility to the new unionism of the World War I era, he had to
come up with a different solution for the ineffective craft union divisions in
the American labor movement. The TUEL's solution was to propose "amalgamation" of
craft unions to form industrial unions. The TUEL's strategy for "organizing the
unorganized" was to use these amalgamated industrial unions to carry out this
task. This was a completely unworkable solution. The campaigns for amalgamation
by the TUEL throughout the 1920s were a complete failure.
The Communist International had given marching orders to its industrial base:
"Conquer the unions!" Foster's strategy was to do just that - by using the TUEL
movement to capture leadership of the AFL unions. Nowadays advocates for "the
rank-and-file strategy" do advocate "going for power," as they call it; that is,
building union caucuses to gain control of the union apparatus through elections.
As with William Z Foster, this approach is based on a mistaken theory. The basic
problem with AFL-CIO-type unions isn't explained as "bad leaders" or leaders with
"the wrong ideas" - even though that is often true. The problem is more systemic.
If a militant is elected as president of a local union, they may favor a more
combative stance towards management at first. But they will also find that they
are embedded in a situation where there is a whole "system" with pressures and
limits. They face a contract with no-strike clauses and stepped grievance systems
that remove fights from the shopfloor. They also face the "international union"
constitution and the power of the International Executive Board - such as its
power to trustee local unions and toss out elected leaders if they view the local
leadership as endangering the position of the union bureaucracy. Over the past
four decades there have been various cases of local union officers tossed out
when they pursue a stance too militant for the national union leaders - from the
case of UFCW P-9 in the 1980s to the leaders of SEIU United Healthcare Workers
West in more recent years. There may be a weak day-to-day presence in workplaces
of that union - rotted out by years of transferring beefs up the ladder via the
stepped grievance system. And workers may look to the union as a service agency
that does things for them. Weak worker participation and weak shop organization
means less of a sense of power among workers.
Kim Moody is aware of this problem. As he says, "the new leaders" will "confront
the same problems, pressures and enemies as those they threw out." The new
leaders "will fail," he tells us, if they "do not democratize the union, change
its approach to collective bargaining, activate the members as much as possible,
educate the members, develop broader alliances, and...improve workplace and
stewards' organization - that is, enhance the self-organization of the workers
themselves."
So far, so good. Local unions are a setting where workers can participate and may
be able to use the union's democracy to make changes - including a change in who
fills the top positions. At times rank-and-file insurgent movements have taken
over local unions and adopted a more combative and participatory stance. But what
is the end-game? Local unions are legally just administrative agencies of the
International Executive Board. This is why International Executive Boards can
simply toss out elected local officers and appoint dictators to take over the
union. This is the AFL tradition and this is how the courts have ruled. The
"international unions" are the realm of the top bureaucracy of the union. The
only chance for rank-and-file participation here are in the infrequent
conventions. In practice conventions are often controlled by the paid leaders and
staff - including the various fiefdoms that run local unions. I think there is
not much chance that national unions like UAW, SEIU or UFCW will ever be
transformed into self-managed, combative worker organizations, or a base for
building self-managed socialism.
Democratic Centralism and the Federalist Alternative
Even when the local unions are reasonably democratic, national unions are
structured as a form of "democratic centralism." This means that power is
concentrated in the paid officers at the top, to run the organization. Even if
the delegates at an international union convention are elected rank-and-file
delegates, the International Executive Board is empowered to actually run the
union between the infrequent conventions. "Democratic centralist" structures tend
to empower the paid bureaucratic layer in the unions. There is a problem similar
to that with the so-called electoral "democracy" of capitalist states. After the
posters are cleaned off the walls and the election is over, the citizens really
have no way to control what the politicians do once they're in government office.
And this often leads to a disconnect between their decisions and what the working
class majority in society would prefer. A problem of this sort also exists with
"democratic centralism" in both union and political party organizations. Both
Leninists and social-democrats historically have favored "democratic centralism"
in unions and political parties.
The problem with "the rank and file strategy" is its commitment to an internal
reform strategy that doesn't really challenge this centralist character of the
inherited AFL-CIO-type unions. Before World War I the "democratic centralist"
structure of the social-democratic European trade unions had already built up a
bureaucratic layer that preferred to limit the degree of conflict with the
powers-that-be. So it was no surprise when they fell into line behind the
mobilizations for war of their various governments. Concentrating control in paid
bureaucracies at the top creates a separation of life circumstances between the
paid officials and staff and the rank-and-file workers who stay on the job. The
officials come to be focused on the safety and survival of the institution they
are managing. There is no reason to think that this reformist approach to
unionism will have a different result going forward if there is a change in
leaders. The problem with that form of unionism is structural. The commitment to
the "democratic centralism" of AFL-CIO-type unions makes "the rank and file
strategy" internally inconsistent.
The syndicalist alternative is to build unions that do not put power in a
"national executive board" to manage the union top down. Rather, the idea is for
the local unions and city-wide federations of local unions to have a horizontal
relationship to the other local unions and local federations of unions in other
cities and regions. This type of horizontal federalist unionism was a feature of
the Spanish CNT and other syndicalist unions in the 1920s and 30s. This approach
was hit upon by the P-9 strikers in the mid-1980s after the UFCW "international
union" had done everything it could to stymie the rank-and-file packing plant
worker struggle against employer concessions. The strikers proposed to form a new
national meat-packing industry union that would be a horizontal federation of
local unions. To engage in struggles company wide, they proposed chain committees
made up of delegates from the local unions. In a similar way the whole union
would be a horizontal federation of local unions, coordinated by a coordinating
council made up of delegates still working in the plants. They put it this way:
"North American Meat Packers Union is a federation of locals - controlled by
locals ... The last thing we need is a new bureaucracy dreaming up new ways to
feather its nest at "headquarters." If your local decides to go its own way -
even to go back to the UFCW, that will be your privilege. Rank and file control
means rank and file control."
Of course, there are no guarantees that a self-managed union will avoid
degeneration or conservative tendencies in the future. Power grabs by
opportunists remain a possibility. To the extent workers see the struggle as a
fight over fundamental change in the society, this provides a motivation for
participation and commitment. Thus the aspirations, "class consciousness" and
commitment of the workers are important to preserving the combative and
self-managed character of the union. And this brings us back to the issue of
revolutionaries in the unions and workplaces, and the ability of radicals to form
a bridge from the grievances and experiences of rank-and-file workers to the
ambitious agenda for transition to a worker-controlled form of socialism.
Tom Wetzel is active with Worker's Solidarity Alliance (WSA) in the San Francisco
Bay Area and has organized around housing and transit issues in San Francisco. He
is the author of Overcoming Capitalism, forthcoming from AK Press
http://ideasandaction.info/2020/12/the-rank-file-strategy-syndicalist-view/
------------------------------
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten