Founded in 1922, the International Workers’ Association (IWA) is celebrating its centenary this month. Over the last century it has represented many millions of people, faced repression from State forces and bounced back from the precipice. It has fought for the abolition of capitalism and the State, the implementation of libertarian communism and full workers’
The initiative by Liverpool SolFed offers stripped-down must-knows about getting by amid State incompetence and bosses’ greed, from furloughs to care rights, sick pay to self-employment. The group will be regularly updating the guide here and welcome people getting involved in the project. The version below was released on April 21st 2020. The current coronavirus
The anarcho-syndicalist international, founded in 2018, looks at workplace struggle in its branches worldwide and calls for the building of new forms of solidarity amid the lockdowns. With the corona crisis, the world has suddenly entered a new phase of intense class struggle. This is impressively documented by a map of (for the most part) wildcat strikes
In this classic explainer of trade unionism without bureaucrats from 1952, Philip Sansom (pictured) considers the thinking behind anarcho-syndicalism before giving an example from the time — the fascinating and little-known Mutual Aid Society of the Euston railwaymen. The trouble with most theories is that they have so little relationship with the facts. One can
The bizarre confrontation saw two men, who have been accused of ripping off one of their staff in a wages dispute, hold up traffic while throwing an almighty tantrum involving smashed furniture, shirtless pushing and rolling on the floor as they demanded that the Solidarity Federation (SolFed) stop picketing them. The owners of CJ Barbers
Following Ash Sarkar’s recent “I’m literally a communist” moment on Good Morning Britain, there’s been a lot of fairly messy attempts by media names to explain what communism is — hopefully the following will help them out (apologies for the elderly Drake meme). From Matthew Parris suggesting “communism means State control of the means of production,
The first reports are coming in from the Foundational Congress for a New International — an effort to draw together some of the biggest syndicalist unions worldwide. Update, May 13th: The new name for the international is reportedly the Confederación Internacional del Trabajo (International Confederation of Labour). Besides the CNT (Spain), USI (Italy) and FAU (Germany),
Anarcho-syndicalists in Liverpool linked to Liverpool Solfed have recently opened a new campaign to fight bad working conditions in the city’s hospitality sector, following on from similar successful efforts in Brighton. The group said in a launch statement: The hospitality industry, which includes workplaces like pubs, restaurants, hotels, canteens, etc. has an important presence in
A member of the Bristol Care Workers Network reflects on their experiences organising in healthcare. I work in a community mental health team in a large town north of Bristol. Morale in my team was low and this was being made worse by staff lacking access to training and supervision; supervision is important in mental
Anarcho-syndicalist union FAU has welcomed legal action from the German Association of Journalists (DJV) and pilot’s union Cockpit as the campaign to try and knock down a controversial Bargaining Unit Act designed to shut down small unions, known as the Tarifeinheitsgesetz (TEG), grows. The Act, which was passed in 2015, says that in an industry with more than one union
The anarchist’s recent arrest continues a long story: ten years ago today, his prison hunger strike brought the country to the edge of insurrection on the anniversary of the 2008 uprising ~ Neil Middleton ~ The recent arrest of Nikos Romanos, following the widely publicised explosion in an Athens apartment, took place in the run-up
Political artists Andrei Molodkin and Santiago Sierra, and Wikileaks ambassador Joseph Farrell, talk to A/POLITICAL about the sham of Western liberty, Julian Assange, and how art can still transform pain into defiance ~ Becky Haghpanah-Shirwan ~ The heightened tensions of international politics are reflected in the work of Andrei Molodkin (Russia, 1966) and Santiago Sierra
Van Gogh soup protest and M25 blockade among cases in January hearing ~ Andy Meinke ~ In July, when five Just Stop Oil activists were jailed for a total of 21 years for a plan to block the M25 motorway in London, it was part of a huge jump in sentencing for peaceful protesters.
Walkout over pay and conditions expected on 19 December as company refuses to engage with union ~ Cristina Sykes ~ Hundreds of workers across Harrods’ retail, restaurant, kitchen and cleaning departments have returned a resounding 95% yes vote to strike action in the Christmas season.
It seems like in the year 2024, governments and the people supporting them have accomplished the impossible in terms of normalising death—but refusal persists ~ Juju Alerta ~ With a wild demonstration to enliven the St Pauli district of Hamburg, people from different countries gathered in the city in mid-November to exchange stories and discussions
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