Following a survey of the book "Don't complain, it's not the factory" which had
been organized by the Libertarian Communist Union of Brussels, as an activist,trade unionist and worker in an association, I tried to reflect on how tointegrate the observations made by the authors into our organizational methods.The voluntary sector has a particular context, how can we adapt to it in order todefend our rights as workers and carry out collective actions? ---- Associationsand the state: ---- Associations alleviate the problems not solved by the State,thus reducing its wage costs. Associative workers, precarious subcontractors, arecheaper. This transfer of skills calms social struggles by channeling themthrough associations. The state responds indirectly to problems while controllingconflicts and masking class struggles behind "participatory democracy" and"better living together".The association funding model has evolved and creates conflicting imperatives.Associations must establish sufficient budgets to allow themselves to work, butwithout exceeding a certain threshold to be selected in calls for projects. It isstrangely similar to the lucrative private sector, except that the associationshave precarious contracts and "volunteer" status to reduce costs.Calls for projects and public contracts restrict associative action. Associationsmust conform to the political needs of the state rather than act according totheir own decisions or the realities on the ground. This shift is oftenimperceptible. It is thought that it is enough to adjust one's speech to obtainsubsidies while maintaining autonomy, but this creates a vicious circle.Public contracts and calls for projects are often vague and wordy. We can believethat they offer a certain freedom of action, but it is necessary to present theprojects with a fashionable language and by integrating catch-all concepts.Writing files, adapting them to different interlocutors and producing reports andevaluations becomes an energy-intensive task for associations. Little by little,reproducing their own work becomes the very essence of the activity of workers inthe voluntary sector.Exploitation in an associative environment:With project-based operation and declining structural funding, the associationstill seems to be in crisis. As an employee, we must constantly work to reproduceour own job, not ask for more and if the association no longer needs us, we havenothing to complain about because it's a crisis. ...There is an attraction to associative work, because it is rewarding, it allowsreflection, collaboration. It is seen as an area of resistance to globalizationand neoliberalism, often inciting workers to make sacrifices for "the cause".Wages remain low and overtime is unpaid. We convince workers of the ethicalimportance of their mission by empowering them and making them feel guilty.Instead of a living wage, recognition is often used as compensation.Dedication is so built into association work that sometimes it seems like thereis no power or coercion. The employer is never perceived as a boss, but rather ashaving the same interests as the workers. The latter identify with theassociation and reproduce its structure, which pushes them to self-manage.Nevertheless, one management coordinates this dynamic well and works to concealthe employer-employee relationship. To ensure proper functioning, the managementmixes informality, shared values with quantitative and financial objectives.The associations rely heavily on volunteerism and a variety of precariouscontracts. The first affected by unstable and exhausting jobs are women (who makeup the majority of workers in the sector) and secondly non-white people. Fewdifferences here with other sectors of work, except for the discrepancy betweenpractices and the discourse of the fight against discrimination. Once again, therelations of domination are erased behind the narrative created by the association.Unionism of social relations:The organizational principles of the IWW seem well suited to the associativeenvironment with its small structures which facilitate the creation of stronglinks with our colleagues. Most of the time, there is no union delegation inplace (why should one be, we are a "big family"), but this can leave room for theconstitution of a committee of auto workers -organized.The ideology of dedication, consultation and the discourse of the "associativefamily" creates an environment relatively hostile to confrontation with theinterests of the employer and to direct action. On the other hand, strong bondsbetween colleagues can make it easier to form a committee of workers and considercollective action. The major barrier consists in this reluctance to scratch thisassociative "we" by exposing more clearly the employer-employee relationship.It is possible that our colleagues first seek consultation with management orcall on an external actor (lawyer, mediator, etc.). Within a self-organizedcommittee of workers, our opinion is only one voice among others. If thesesolutions work, so much the better, but if they don't, let's not hesitate to putthe possibility of direct action back on the table. The implementation of arelevant action plan within a common front of workers will reverse the balance ofpower between worker and employer. In any case, building a committee andstrengthening solidarity with our colleagues already increases our power of action.When a problem arises, workers often find themselves alone with the board andmanagement. Indeed, associations are generally small structures, sometimes of 2to 3 people and the employees can have very different missions from each other.But in parallel with this fragmentation of workers, there is also a tendency, asin the lucrative private sector, to group together structures within hubs thatfacilitate networking between associations.It could be possible to take advantage of this trend which makes it possible tobring together in the same place workers with various missions, but who sharesimilar working conditions. A trade union organization operating on the model ofsolidarity networks (such as the Brussels Solidarity Network) could enableworkers in very small structures to support each other and take collective action.In parallel with the fight against exploitation within associations, there isalso a fight to be waged for better working conditions and funding forassociations. There is a need to develop a broader and more radical balance ofpower. It is also the barrier between exploited workers and beneficiaries of thework of the association that must be broken down. Indeed, these two groups, asproletarians, have more in common than with the leaders of associativestructures. In this way, the struggle can also be extended to the conditionssuffered by the users of the associations.https://bxl.communisteslibertaires.org/2023/07/03/sorganiser-au-travail-dans-le-milieu-associatif/_________________________________________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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