ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR IN LONDON
The CWO will have a stall at the Anarchist Bookfair in London.
When: Saturday, 7 October 2023
Where: four venues in East London (see link below)
As an example of the kind of activity that No War but the Class War committees are involved in, we reproduce here an article from NWBCW Pacific Northwest on the latest developments in the struggle of the Weyerhaeuser workers.(1)
The Pacific Northwest No War But Class War Committee stands in solidarity with all Weyerhauser workers, particularly those who voted no on the bogus contract pushed down their throats by union officials and the Weyerhaeuser corporation on October 29th. Don’t take this sitting down!
The contract passed with a slim margin of 54%, with 46% of workers bitterly rejecting it. Due to the underhanded tactics of union bureaucrats in collaboration with the Weyerhaeuser corporation, one of the largest strikes in over a decade in the Pacific Northwest has been broken, resulting in a miserable sellout contract. Despite a massive propaganda and intimidation campaign by union officials, the company and local media outlets, a large number of workers are beginning to see the controlled opposition (aka the union apparatus) for what it is — just another tool of the companies to thwart effective strike action. In response, workers have already begun to self-organize by forming independent forums from which to voice their opposition. One such forum already boasts over 85 members; however, this is not enough.
Workers need a public collective voice to articulate their interests and demands, independent of the union and the company, from which they can influence their fellow workers and combat the company and union disinformation campaigns. We suggest Weyerhaeuser workers form an independent struggle committee, open to lumber workers across companies and trades. This committee can act as a public voice of workers from the grassroots, issue joint collective statements, and organize opposition tactics. Without an independent organization, workers will always be subject to the manipulation of these institutions which were bought and sold long ago. Half a century of defeats of the working class at the hands of the trade unions demonstrate that the solutions to our problems do not lie with a change of leadership or a different union, but with the self-organization of the working class, free of union, state and company control! The litany of disgraceful acts and deliberate sabotage of the strike by IAM union officials is almost too long to list. To name just a few…
These issues are not just a matter of poor union leadership. These tactics have been the norm for unions for nearly a century, all across the world. Union leaders routinely manipulate workers to accept contracts that are almost always in the company’s favor. Despite one of the workers’ primary demands being to reject the introduction of new healthcare premiums, the deal struck up by union officials and the company includes new out-of-pocket premiums that are far from affordable. Yet even after over 40 days on the picket lines, workers were willing to keep up the fight. But IAM president Brandon Bryant announced long before the vote that it was time to tuck and run, stating “We think it’s the best we can get at this time,” signaling the beginning of the union’s manipulative campaign to rein in workers for the company.
We win strikes when we inflict maximum economic damage against the owners to force them into negotiating. In order to achieve this, strikes need to be led by workers fighting on the front lines, not by sellout bureaucrats behind a desk! As production stoppages cut into companies’ profits, they typically have a self-interest to negotiate. But if workers are not able to force the company into coming to terms, the company will always refuse. For example, despite the strike, Weyerhaeuser profits have been only modestly affected. Throughout the strike, Weyerhaeuser continued to utilize contract loggers and sell its wood to other sawmills where workers were not striking. Union leadership did nothing to stop this. In addition to this, IAM officials didn’t bother with ensuring that picket lines were manned 24-7 throughout the region. In fact, in some cases they broke up self-organized worker pickets. This is because for government sanctioned unions (all unions who have NLRB contracts), solidarity strikes are illegal. This means that unions can be fined (and thus the bureaucrats that work for them risk losing their jobs) if union members utilize solidarity strikes and become too effective.
Unlike 100 years ago, today the lumber industry employs relatively few workers. Therefore strikers in one industry or within one company have limited numbers to seriously put pressure on the company. To win, workers must begin organizing themselves across trades, companies and industries from the jump. We have to put pressure on companies at multiple points in the supply chain. This is something trade unions can never do, because they are legally barred from organizing sympathy strikes or secondary boycotts. The only alternative is more compromises and sell out contracts. The only way to mount enough pressure on the companies is for workers to self-organize outside of the trade-union model.
We encourage workers to form their own struggle committees, from which they can create their own demands, and to unite with workers across the lumber industry and beyond. Most immediately, we encourage those workers who have been forced to return to work by the union and Weyerhaeuser to keep up the fight by taking the following actions:
(1) For background on the Weyerhaeuser strike, see: Weyerhaeuser Workers Strike Across the Pacific Northwest, Weyerhauser Strike Enters It’s 3rd Week. Show Your Solidarity! and Weyerhaeuser Strike Continues! All Power to the Rank N’ File!
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ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR IN LONDON
The CWO will have a stall at the Anarchist Bookfair in London.
When: Saturday, 7 October 2023
Where: four venues in East London (see link below)
READING GROUP
This meeting's text: Theses on the Tasks of International Social-Democracy by Rosa Luxemburg
When: Saturday, 7 October 2023 at 6:00pm
Where: Hamilton, Canada (contact us through our social media for location details: linktr.ee)
Klasbatalo
NO WAR BUT THE CLASS WAR: WHAT OPPOSITION TO IMPERIALIST WAR REALLY MEANS
PUBLIC MEETING AND DISCUSSION
Topics of discussion:
When: Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 2:00pm
Where: 134 W 29th St, Fl. 2, Conference Room 3-4, New York, NY
Internationalist Workers’ Group
LONDON RADICAL BOOKFAIR
The CWO will have a stall at the London Radical Bookfair.
When: Saturday, 4 November 2023
Where: Great Hall and adjoinging rooms at Goldsmiths University, 8 Lewisham Way, London, SE14 6NW
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