WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE News Journal Update - (en) France, UCL AL #340 - Syndicalism, To accumulate forces, the CGT must change from the base (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 This movement tested the strengths and practices of the CGT, and

revealed the weakness of its presence beyond the usual strongholds,
hampering the generalization of the strike. The confederation emerges
stronger from the conflict, at least numerically. But without reforming
its structures, it will not be able to hold back the wave of new and new
union members for long. ---- At the end of these five months of
struggle, the CGT logically benefits from the assertion that trade
unionism must first rhyme with a balance of power. The confederation did
not hide its satisfaction at being flanked by an inter-union united in a
logic of collective struggle, usually quite foreign to the CFDT, the
CFTC and the CGC. But if the co-managing trade union pole, around the
CFDT, saw its image improve thanks to the conflict, it was the CGT which
was the most present to, concretely, put people on strike.

Daniel Maunoury
Indeed, it is the sectors where the CGT is very well established, from
energy to dockworkers, including garbage collectors in Paris or
petrochemicals, which have been the most mobilized. The multiple actions
in the energy sector confirm the need to organize and coordinate, and
the importance of union establishment to lead the struggle in a sector.
We can cite as an example the blocking of incinerators in the Paris
region which brought together two branches, energy and garbage
collectors (territorial) without forgetting the interpro through the
support of the local unions concerned on the picket lines. Due to its
centrality, the aura of the CGT has been strengthened within our class,
including among young people who usually do not come across unionism,
this has resulted in nearly 40,000 new memberships during the first half
of the year. 2023.

A failure: to move in the industry
However, this renewed membership highlights the shortcomings of the CGT,
first and foremost its difficulty in organizing employees outside of
large companies and the public service. However, conquering the union
deserts is imperative to win : if most of the CGT strongholds
participated in the fight against the pension reform, the scale of the
protest cruelly demonstrates the extent to which the " proxy strike " of
a few emblematic sectors cannot win against an opponent ready to do
anything to crush his opposition. To win, it is necessary to extend the
union's hold on other economic sectors, which involves several projects
for the CGT. Let's start by talking about industry, where the CGT is
well established and where, however, only a few isolated bastions have
managed to go on a renewable strike. GAs were extremely rare there and
the mobilized employees mainly went on strike individually, more to
express their anger on a fixed date, during the big dates set by the
inter-union, than to initiate, with their colleagues, a blockage of the
'economy. This lack of collective dynamics is a lack of strike culture
that must absolutely be won back, for example through wage battles that
are set to multiply. Each local conflict is training for larger
struggles. These local experiences must be made known to strengthen the
class consciousness of strikers who sometimes struggle to see the link
between their employer and government policies.

For local branch unions
But another project is needed: that of the evolution of our structures
to adapt them to the reality of the contemporary proletariat. The
current wave of unionization will not be able to be absorbed by company
unions, obsolete structures while subcontracting is generalized and work
collectives atomized. The right answer is to change our structures and
form local branch unions. That in a locality or a department, instead of
having several skeletal unions in various companies, we have a single
union of employees of the same branch. It would be the best place to
welcome the many people who are currently joining the CGT, so that they
can take their place in the organization and become activists. It is
also necessary to fully measure the issue of the unionization of
feminized sectors, these are just as strategic as the strongholds of
predominantly male workers. They do not have the same aura in the social
movement due to the lack of trade union presence, but the victory in
Verbaudet shows us that this is not inevitable.

Affirm and strengthen local unions
The 53rd Confederal Congress could have been an opportunity to move
forward on these essential issues to strengthen the CGT and adapt it to
the needs of the period: branch unionism, feminized sectors,
strengthening union training, articulation between environmental and
social emergency ... Alas this congress was undermined by the internal
conflicts linked to the succession of Philippe Martinez. The possible
advances on the unification of struggle unionism and on social ecology
have been sacrificed, while the debate on the relevance of our union
structures has simply not taken place. Fortunately, the conflict did not
tear the CGT apart in the midst of its struggle. 1 This congress was
also an opportunity for the federations to assert their preponderance
within the CGT, to the detriment of the departmental unions.

Daniel Maunoury
However, it is the interprofessional territorial structures that have
animated this conflict, through actions and demonstrations. Because
beyond the polls, the popularity of this struggle has resulted in an
anchoring which, throughout the country, has awakened many local unions.
The CGT is the organization with the largest territorial network, so we
must take advantage of this renewal when it exists. It will be a
fruitful task for revolutionaries, a crucial opportunity to strengthen
class consciousness on the ground, and a priority union investment for
comrades who think they cannot militate in their professional sector.

Aimeric (UCL Grenoble)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Pour-accumuler-des-forces-la-CGT-doit-changer-par-la-base
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca