We are not powerless.
The phenomenon of militant workers employing bold tactics to win rights does not lie in the distant past, but is taking place right now as you read this.
The class war is not over. It is just beginning.
goinsouth's diary :: ::
Those holding the political, media and economic reins from Manhattan to Washington to Dublin to Paris like to portray the declining state of workers in those societies as something as inevitable as death. Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of bond giant PIMCO, coined the term "New Normal" to characterize lower wages, high unemployment and a declining standard of living as something to be expected despite ever-increasing productivity and advancing technology.
These Masters of the Universe and their hirelings are lying. There is nothing inevitable about our political and economic circumstances because we still hold great power in our hands.
Are you too realistic and cynical to believe it? Are you expecting me to cite you some ancient history about the IWW at the turn of the last century or the CIO in the 1930s to pump up your hope?
Well, you're wrong. I'm going to tell you a tale that begins in November, 2008 and continues right up to the present moment. It takes place right here in the United States, in Chicago and Taunton, Mass, and it provides examples of personal courage, tactical canniness and class solidarity that rival any stories from John L. Lewis's coal fields or Walter Reuther's auto factories.
Republic Windows
The story begins as the neoliberal economies of the old "West" are in freefall. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are being lost every week in the United States. Among them is a small window factory in Chicago called Republic Windows. The workers sniff that something is wrong when they notice equipment being moved out of the plant. Wisely, they talk among themselves, contact their union and begin to plot a strategy.
(Important note: what follows for the next few paragraphs is drawn from an excellent 20-minute video produced by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE). The video provides a history of the Republic Windows takeoever as told by the workers and union representatives who took part. If your hope is waning, you must see this video to witness the strength, courage, wisdom and humor of these workers.)
It's a little unclear where the initiative lies. The union officials tend to portray what comes next as an idea that originates in the union bureaucracy and is supported by the workers. The workers recall it more as a spontaneous action later supported by the union. What's clear is that the rank-and-file workers are ready to take bold action, and the union bureaucracy is there ready to support them with a strong campaign fought with help from the union's political, labor, foundation and media allies.
The workers are called in by the factory's management and told that the plant is being closed. They are handed some paperwork and told to leave.
The workers refuse. They scatter around the plant to make it more difficult for security or police to remove them. Management is thrown off guard and decides to abandon the factory for the time being. The workers organize themselves to maintain the plant's equipment and provide security. On the outside, the UE is rounding up support from friends in politics, labor, community organizations and the media.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/28/923739/-Anti-Capitalist-Meetup:-The-Take
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