The current wave of strikes and the support that the public transport strike is
receiving from the climate movement inevitably make me think of Schellhagen'sfilm "The Loud Spring". This was reviewed for us in the DA by Peter Nowak lastsummer. The film title ties in with Rachel Carson's 1962 book "Silent Spring",which is considered the starting point for the rise of the environmentalmovement. It sparked heated debate in the US and eventually led to the banning ofDDT, an insecticide. Contrary to Carson's idea of a spring muted by the death ofbirds and insects, Schellhagen's film paints a picture of the uprising in whichclimate and company activists work together.The spring of 2023 that we are experiencing right now is undoubtedly louder thanthe previous three, which is not only due to the easing of the Covid pandemic. OnMarch 3, the public transport strike took place simultaneously and in connectionwith the FFF climate strike. According to Ver.di, the cross-industry strike onMarch 27th was the biggest strike day in 31 years!As anarcho-syndicalists, as a grassroots union movement, our voice in this isconspicuously silent. But we have something to say! This text thereforerepresents a first chirp from our ranks, which will hopefully be followed byfurther expressions of opinion.The attention generated by the "#wirfahreinander" campaign primarily benefitsVer.di, which is happy about the incredible increase in members. In my opinion,there are two aspects missing in the current debate that have reduced my personaleuphoria so far:First, it is noticeable that the climate policy demand for higher investments inpublic transport is becoming less and less important in the course of the labordispute. As far as I know, the alliance has not (yet) succeeded in showing thenecessary steps to achieve a fair turnaround in mobility. At first glance, itseems - at least from the Leipzig perspective on the strikes - as if thecooperation between climate activists and public transport employees is stillone-sided in favor of the latter. Instead of generating countervailing mediapower and increasingly attacking the restrictive right to strike, the moderategoal of 10.5 percent more wages, but at least 500 euros more per month, isunquestioningly supported by climate activists.Secondly, in my opinion, it cannot be pointed out often enough that cooperationbetween the DGB trade unions and the eco-movement has failed in the past,particularly due to the former's blocking attitude (here the anti-nuclearmovement should be remembered). While parts of the climate movement and publictransport employees are fighting together this spring, other parts of the climatemovement are hardly able to develop a common capacity to act. Where it is lessabout the expansion of a technology or an industry and more about its sociallyacceptable dismantling, cooperation with the DGB unions still fails - with theexception of the workers at Bosch Munich[1]. The planned expansion ofLeipzig-Halle Airport has produced stories that tell of this failure. Ver.di wasnot willing to hold any talks here, despite numerous requests from the actionalliance against airport expansion[2], the Leipziger Land climate camp and a fewindividuals from DIE LINKE. Long before the overnight blockade of the cargoairport[3]on July 9, 2021, climate activists and local residents tried in vain toget closer. As someone who actively supported the protest against the expansion,I see no chance of working with Ver.di at the moment.This example illustrates that where the growth and acceleration of theinternational movement of goods are called into question, i.e. where the beatingheart of capitalism is at stake, the wage union caves in, while they come up withsystem-compliant solutions to questions about the turnaround in transport(keyword: investments in public transport) to achieve a green image.As grassroots trade unionists, we could point out this imbalance in the debateand offer ourselves as an alternative to the collective unions. Certainly we havea contradiction that we cannot resolve: the urgency of shrinking sectors of theeconomy that are harmful to the climate on the one hand and the slowness of ourself-organization on the other. But we could use our increased discourse powermuch more than before, which has arisen through the public interest in ouroriginal actions in recent years. It is important to defend our unique sellingpoint, the employees' right to self-representation against potential attempts toexploit it from outside.At least for those parts of the climate justice movement that are themselvesorganized in a grassroots-democratic way, membership in the FAU should be moreobvious than membership in the Ver.di. Finally, with grassroots democracy comesenormous self-empowerment of every individual who participates in decisionmaking, direct action planning, and strategy building. In trade union sociology,it has long been recognized that the "removal of the large trade unions from thebasic principle of everyday solidarity, from helping people to help themselves"(Dörre: Die Utopie des Sozialismus. Kompass eines Förderungs-Revolution, 2022) isa major reason for their dwindling attractiveness in recent decades was. At thispoint we can step in with confidence and interject: wait a minute. WE have alwaysstood for all of this!But it's not just about us benefiting from the current "Labour Turn" within theclimate movement through membership growth. Rather, I believe much more that ourcriticism of the social partnership is necessary for a strategy discussion onalliances between the climate movement and the workforce.For example, the need to break down the "glass floor" that separates strugglesinside and outside of the workplace has been convincingly presented here andshould also be championed by us. After all, interlocking with social movements isstill our essence and our principles today (FAU Congress 2015). Here we couldoffer an outlook, a vision that promises more than 10.5 percent more wages. Thequestion of whether there will be a loud spring like the one Schellhagenenvisions ultimately depends on the willingness to go beyond mere wage disputesand to normalize political strikes.As far as the Halle-Leipzig airport expansion is concerned, the Saxony StateDirectorate will make a decision on the building permit in an indefinite periodof time, and as opponents of the expansion we have little choice but to continueto build up pressure on the street - and not on the operation. As soon as alawsuit is filed against the building permit, the plaintiffs should receivesupport through actions and demonstrations, so that in a few years the airportwill not make the region so noisy that - literally this time - there will be nomore quiet spring to be heard.Cover photo of Stay Grounded Networkhttps://direkteaktion.org/fruehlingstoene/_________________________________________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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