OASL participates in the 31st Congress of Sinpeem, a union that represents (or
should represent) education workers in the municipal education network of SãoPaulo. The congress takes place between the 18th and 21st of October, at thePalácio das Convenções do Anhembi. At the meeting, our militancy, which buildsactions together with regional strike commands, is distributing a publicationthat brings together our reading of the national situation and the category. Thecontent follows below. ---- The election of Jair Bolsonaro, in 2018, was a cardof the ruling classes to advance the neoliberal economic project, radicallyprecarious the living conditions of the population. The approval of the PensionReform - which, in practice, represents a dismantling of retirement - is anexample. Inflation and the rising cost of living skyrocketed, with peoplebecoming increasingly hungry and even resorting to bones to survive!Furthermore, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government adopted a genocidalpolicy, sabotaging prevention measures and refusing to buy vaccines. Officially,in Brazil, we have more than 600,000 deaths from the disease. How many livescould have been preserved?The Lula and Alckmin ticket, which proposes a policy of conciliation to makeitself viable in the face of the ruling classes, will have difficulties. Thecurrent global economic climate is unfavorable, with a war going on in Europe,which contributes to domestic economic difficulties. Brazil has also gone throughan intense process of de-industrialization in the last 20 years, being even moredependent on the export of agribusiness products.Bolsonaro's possible electoral defeat in 2022, as much as it seems like a relief,does not solve the problems. Even if he loses the presidency, the so-called"bolsonarism" will persist in the next period, which symbolizes the worst -fascism, racism, misogyny, LGBTQIA+phobia and ultra-liberal economicperspectives. The base that makes up Bolsonarism is active and violent - see theattacks and murders against political opponents and against any people contraryto their "myth".We cannot ignore, therefore, the risks that the extreme right represents,advancing between police and military, CACs, religious, ruralists and the like.It is essential that we assume combativeness from direct action and self-defense.The retreat of sectors of the left so as not to displease the elites in theelectoral process is a mistake, since it strengthens the violent actions of theextreme right Bolsonarista.As organized and revolutionary anarchists, we reinforce that the electoraldispute is not enough to make the necessary transformations for those from below,nor to stop the offensive of the extreme right. A decisive confrontation and thestrengthening of popular movements and grassroots bodies are necessary, carryingout the struggle in a radical way. Only the organized and combative struggle isable to bring achievements to those from below and stop the advance of Bolsonarism!The union bureaucracyThe current political conjuncture demands from us, the working class, anorganizational response and an increasingly strong struggle in defense of therights conquered in the past and in the advancement of improvements in living andworking conditions.In education the situation is no different! In recent years, attacks on pensions;the advance of privatization and outsourcing; the policy of death in the pandemicand the devaluation of wages took tens of thousands of workers in education andother public services in the municipality to the streets. However, even with thewillingness and impetus of the bases, the union leaderships, especially thecurrent board of Sinpeem and Cláudio Fonseca, were more interested inconciliatory arrangements with the government, betraying the category and sellingdefeats as achievements!Cláudio Fonseca and his board, contrary to the interests of the majority of thecategory, sent union elections in the middle of the pandemic, when we were inisolation and with a high number of deaths in the city. The election proceededeven with the demand for postponement, forwarded by the other slates - who evenwithdrew from the process, out of respect for the workers. The result was anelection without political debate and with very low membership, in ademonstration of dissatisfaction!We also remind you that elections for Regional Councilors have not been calledfor years!Contradictorily, Sinpeem kept its doors closed under the argument of protectionfrom the pandemic, while part of the school board remained in face-to-face work.It is important to highlight that, in this period, contracts with outsourcedcompanies were terminated; reduction in the number of workers in cleaning andkitchen services; hiring family members of students on a precarious temporary basis!Amid the 2021 health strike, once again Cláudio Fonseca abandoned the category,which had its salaries cut by the government of Covas and Nunes. He did notorganize the strike fund, the primary reason for the existence of a union,supporting the government's authoritarianism in publications and speeches. Evenso, the category proved resistant and did not leave the streets, radicalizing theactions and self-organizing, through the Regional Commands, the solidary supportto those who did not receive their earnings.In the second half of 2021, we once again fought a tough fight against the newpension reform. The struggle also counted on the radicalization of the workers,who blocked paths; they mobilized central and regional acts; camped in front ofthe City Hall - even with rain and cold. The strike ended under repression by theGCM. We were defeated, but we left standing and with our heads held high,convinced of the strength of the category's base - even in the face of a boardthat once again acted far below what was necessary in the face of the harshattack by the government.In order to resist the current situation and advance in the struggles for rightsand valorization, we need an organizational instrument that really meets thedemands of workers. A combative and popular union.For grassroots democracy and a true struggle unionThe theme of this 31st Congress is "Education and Democracy", which also makes usthink urgently about our union structure! We understand that the organization ofthe union is not an end in itself and must make the struggles of the categoryviable, but the way in which it is structured can both dynamize and hinder themovement of teachers in their struggles. We need to end the reign of CláudioFonseca and his board, who haven't set foot on the floor of a school for decades.But for us, just changing the direction is not enough.We understand that a union structure that effectively meets the interests of itscategory must start from the base itself - in our case, in schools! For this tooccur, there must be a re-signification of the instance of the REs, in which thevoice of workers is manifested.Currently, the meetings of School Representatives are mere "takes and bringsback" of the decisions taken by the union board. There is practically a monopolyof speeches and with little open space, which leads to a fierce dispute betweenthe opposition, which mostly question this logic.Therefore, for there to be a change in this structure, the RE must be adeliberative instance: fundamental political decisions must be forwarded in thisspace, with greater freedom and speaking time for everyone present. In order tostreamline the meetings, bring the union closer to the category and to otherstruggles in territories, the reopening of the sub-headquarters is of paramountimportance, a decision that was even approved in previous Congresses and notcarried out by the board of Cláudio Fonseca.The subheadquarters, provided for in the Sinpeem Statute, could make it possibleto build a union from below and would reinforce a closer relationship between thecategory and the organization. This is a fundamental issue, as the distancebetween the union and the workers means that the instrument of struggle isreduced to mere labor advice.With the sub-headquarters, the Regional Councils would also gain greater dynamicsand function: effectively organizing each region, promoting regional bulletinsand forwarding the deliberations of each sub-headquarters to the General Council- which should discuss them, approve them or give feedback to thesub-headquarters. when not approved. We remind you that the Sinpeem Statutedetermines that the elections for Regional Councilors take place biennially.Another key point to be discussed is bureaucratization. It is not just a questionof ethics and justice, but of considering the perverse effects that bureaucracybrings: for example, lack of legitimacy before the category and the notion thatthe "union solves" without the need for participation.Finally, the image that the union represents the workers in the same way that adeputy of the bourgeois parliament does. In summary, bureaucratization kills theunion as a tool for organizing and mobilizing the category. Union whoseleadership has been crystallized for decades in their positions needs urgently tobe rethought!The re-election of the union's board of directors and, mainly, of its president,could not pass at once and its role should be minimized. The role of the union'sboard of directors should only be executive, that is, comply with thedeliberations forwarded by each region. If it does not fulfill its functions orwhen it adopts practices that disrespect the decisions of the category, the boardshould be revoked. The executive role of the board is also provided for in theStatute, but again we realize that the practice is reversed, as the presidentbehaves like a monarch.In a category composed mostly of women, it is even possible to discuss genderproportionality for the occupation of directorships, thus avoiding sexist andmisogynist policies and attitudes, as already denounced by colleagues in previousCongresses.We know that the path is long and difficult. Our fight against governments andbosses will never cease as long as we live in a society organized by capital, butwe need the working class to add more and more strength and our instruments mustnot reproduce the logic of the capitalist system.It is with the organization of those from below that we join forces to overthrowthose from above and accumulate experiences to manage a new society, without thepresence of capital and the State - a self-organized society!-------------------------------------------------------On the second day of the 31st Sinpeem Trade Union Congress, municipal educationworkers (who build the Regional Strike Commands) organized an act to participatein the plenary, responsible for discussing trade union issues. The union's boardof directors - especially its president, Cláudio Fonseca - resumed the usualpractices of authoritarianism and censorship of voices and alternative andcombative proposals.Despite this, the workers in education stood firm and made room for the category.Afterwards, we held a "counterplenary", open to anyone who wanted to participateand truly democratic. Trade union democracy must be built from the ground up sothat it effectively addresses its demands!https://anarquismosp.wordpress.com/2022/10/18/combater-a-extrema-direita-na-luta-e-nas-ruas/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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