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Issue 60 | ||
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| Last update Sept 25, 2024 | |||
| WHAT DISTINGUISHES OUR PARTY – The line
running from
Marx to Lenin to the foundation of the Third International and the birth of the Communist Party of Italy in Leghorn
(Livorno)1921, and from there to the struggle
of the Italian Communist Left
against the degeneration in Moscow
and to the rejection of popular fronts
and coalition of resistance groups – The tough work of restoring the revolutionary doctrine and the party organ, in contact with the working class, outside the realm of personal politics and electoralist manoevrings |
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In July, in Georgia of the Caucasus, 1,700 workers employed by the company Evolution, a Swedish company that operates worldwide offering services in land-based and online casinos, went on strike. It employs 16,000 workers, and Georgia has the largest number of employees, about 7,000. Many are migrant workers from countries such as India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and others.
The company is known for its poor working conditions. Wages range from a minimum of 800 Lari (the Georgian currency introduced in 1995 by the government of former USSR Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze) to a maximum of 1,000 Lari, which can be achieved only through the receipt of bonuses for which additional time and health must be sacrificed. The average salary-officially stated-is 1,100 Lari (at today’s exchange rate about 410 Dollars or 370 Euros). The wage situation has been exacerbated by inflation in recent years. The sanitary conditions of the workplace are equally terrible. Treatment by middle and upper managers is in line with this situation: before the strike, screenshots of managers’ chats were circulated showing their racist, sexist comments, in which they mocked workers by making jokes about their appearance and even their health.
The workers are organized in a union formed in the company just over two years ago, called Evo Union, which is part of a union federation called Labor that organizes mainly workers in the agricultural sector but recently, under the leadership of a new young and energetic leader, Giorgi Diasamidze, has expanded to other sectors. Since 2018 Labor has led several strikes, often victorious.
Labor is part of the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC), founded in 1992 after national independence in 1991, the result of the dissolution of the USSR. It continues the tradition of state unionism of the former supposadely socialist regime, not defending the interests of the working class but submitting them to those of corporations and capitalism in general. It is a corrupt organization, headed personally by Irakli Petriashvili, elected five times. It claims 250,000 members.
The Evo Union has made a variety of demands. Among the main ones are: a 100 percent wage increase; pegging of wages to inflation; a permanent medical garrison at the main workplace in Tiblisi; food vouchers and healthy food; and paid leave during menstruation.
Initially, the union followed the legal process for calling the strike, seeking to resolve the dispute at the labor court. After the mediation period ended unsuccessfully, it declared the strike, which began on July 12.
Other unions, especially those formed outside the GTUC, actively expressed solidarity with the current strikers. The most active has been the deliverymen’s union, which was engaged in a major struggle last year that we reported on in our Italian, English and Turkish periodicals (iPC420, TCP51, KP3), whose militants have constantly helped the strikers, including with food and water, and joined our comrades in suggesting more aggressive and determined measures to the union.
The start of the strike was a little hesitant, which, for example, did not allow the full effect of the denunciation of management behavior resulting from the circulation of insults to workers contained in their private chats. Only 4-5 union militants were involved in organizing work and this was not enough.
As soon as the strike began, the company took various countermeasures, from circulating rumors about the closure of its operations in Georgia, to placing fences around union stands at entrances to workplaces.
Since August 1, union action has become more incisive, organizing sit-ins in front of the workplace entrances, forcing those who wanted to enter to climb over them. Some members of bourgeois left-wing parties spoke out against this decision, asserting that it "divided the workers." Instead, the action was successful, discouraging more workers from going to work. At its peak, the strike was joined by 1,700 workers, but many others, totaling about 4,600, while not declaring themselves on strike, absented themselves, by agreement with the union, asking for leave of absence or placing themselves on sick leave.
On the morning of August 3, the company declared that the union was illegally blocking the building, leaving no way in; for the entire month of August it would more easily issue bonuses to workers who were not on strike; for each shift of attendance it would give an additional payment of 20 Lari; and it would impose a warning for each strike shift (after 3 warnings the worker is fired).
After that statement it rounded up 600 shift workers urging them to overcome the chain of sitting strikers and even trample them. However, this arrogance of the management backfired: only about ten went in. The company also hired a dozen new guards who attacked the workers, sending one worker to the emergency room. But most of the guards actually sided with the workers, obeying company orders slowly and unwillingly, basically ineffectively.
After that failure, the company relaunched its threat to close or downsize the business. It sent all workers an email asking them, if they intended to continue working, to fill out a form. It then canceled the night shift on August 3 and the morning shift on August 4. A brief lockout. Then resumed activities but at a reduced pace. This action began to have a negative effect on strike morale which, having peaked in early August, began to decline.
On August 8 the company hired new guards, bouncers in clubs and festivals called the "Zonder brigade," known in Tbilisi for being openly violent. Their first action tried to disrupt strike committee elections that were taking place in front of Evolution’s administrative building.
From that moment the union leaders began to call for help from all kinds of bourgeois parties and politicians. In general, they reacted to the decline of the strike by promoting actions that could be described as liberal, unrelated to the methods of class struggle, ineffective and individual in character.
On August 13, several union militants began a hunger strike. Our comrades tried to dissuade the workers from taking such an initiative and proposed to try to involve other workers in the struggle, but they went unheeded.
Since August 15, it has been decided to hold "surprise" sit-ins without notifying the company and police which entrances would be manned. The company hired additional guards, bringing the number to 150.
On August 19, the union leader stated that if the company continued to fail to respond to the workers’ demands that evening at 8 p.m. the union would organize a demonstration and block the road. Police were promptly mobilized to the scene at 6 p.m. and their numbers matched those of the strikers and solidarity workers. The police warned that if they blocked the road they would arrest the workers, and the union desisted.
This development generated some discontent among the strikers about the conduct of the struggle.
The company recovered from the initial slaps and spent considerable resources against the strikers, sowing discord among the workers and demoralizing all those who sided with them. Anti-strike propaganda aims to marginalize striking workers, to present the strike as an individual choice of an irrelevant number of unjustly disgruntled and uncivilized employees. The fake social media accounts and professional lackeys of capital are "influencers" who spread disinformation and use arguments as foolish as they are effective, echoing the dominant ideology. They target strikers, attacking their integrity, painting them as liars and troublemakers who violate others’ right to work and act against their fellow workers. The voluntary and amateur action of workers cannot compete with the social media propaganda machinery that the company can afford, and unfortunately, at the end of the day anti-worker disinformation efforts get more results than pro-strike propaganda, which is natural given the strikers’ lack of resources. The strength of the workers’ struggle lies not in counter-information but in extending the struggle, in breaking down the boundaries between companies and categories. Locked in the individual company, day after day even the most determined struggle is worn down and defeated. To this end, the strike must be well prepared already with the aim of not limiting it to the single enterprise.
On September 7, the "Zonder brigades" ravaged the strikers’ tents, taking away chairs, tables and other tools.
Since early September, in response to complaints about the line of conducting the struggle, the organizing group has been expanded. A day of mobilization was promoted for Sept. 21 to revive the strike.
Despite its limitations and flaws, the strike went better than expected, led
to closer contacts with militants of other unions and represents a wealth of
important lessons for the continuation of the working class struggle in Georgia.
On September 12th 2024 approximately 32,000 workers organized under District 751 and District W24 of the IAM (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union) working for the Boeing company overwhelmingly voted no on their proposed tentative agreement and likewise voted yes to strike. This is the first time in 16 years that a full contract has been on the table for negotiation. The tentative agreement included changes to wages, health care, mandatory overtime, and more. The last major contract was passed after almost a 2 month strike, though with significant turnover and an inexperienced workforce the majority of current union members were not a part of that action. While the company and leadership in the union would like to suggest this was a great offer, the rank and file at Boeing would beg to differ.
The initial demands the union proposed was for a 40% raise over the life of the 4 year contract while Boeing responded with an offer of only 25%. At first glance a "reasonable" person may think that the offer from Boeing is a good one that the members should have accepted. Once one decides to look deeper into the issue though we can see why members are willing to say no for the chance for more. Bad contracts being extended, low wages in a high cost of living area, and the desire to reinstate their pension plan have pushed these workers to say no.
We applaud the workers’ desire to strike and their voting against the defeatist tentative agreement, going against the wishes of their District President who was quoted as saying that "We recommended acceptance because we can’t guarantee we can achieve more in a strike.
Of course there is no guarantee of success when we are compelled to fight, though there will forever be nothing but an increase in misery for workers who are unwilling to come together in their collective interests and take a stand against the capitalist class. Besides the opportunity for material gain that can be had from collective action it is also a training moment for the workers involved in potential future struggles, and can be a point of valorization for workers in other industries that can see their brothers and sisters openly and proudly saying no! We will not take it anymore! Workers across the world who are willing to fight are a beacon for others who at times may have little to no hope that they even have the ability to push back against the bosses, or union fat cats.
Whether it’s from reading statements from company or union officials, or their lap dogs in the mainstream media,we can draw parallels in how this contract is being sold to workers by remembering the most recent national rail union negotiations in the USA. Not only by looking at what these figures bring up but also what facts that they leave out. Company officials in both industries love to tout the size of the percentage wage increase especially in regards to contracts that have been passed prior. One of the most obvious issues with this though, is the fact that these talking heads don’t mention the reality of record inflation across the United States, nor the fact that both the railroads and Boeing are employing less people across the board than during prior contracts. While numbers may look impressive when they are first seen, they become increasingly less impressive when you account for the fact that prior contracts for most of the unionized workers within America have been nothing but capitulation for the last two decades. Workers who were in the past, clear members of the labor aristocracy, have either started the process of, or are being increasingly proletarianized. Regarding Boeing, the rejection of the proposed agreement is an obvious sign of the will to fight against this current fate.
It should be of no surprise to anyone that has been following the situation at Boeing to see these workers pridefully say no to a contract that isn’t worth the paper it was written on. Workers with the IAM took a strike sanction vote at T Mobile Park in Seattle in July of this year and a landslide vote, showed 99.9% of the rank and file were in support of striking if a meaningful contract couldn’t be reached by the September deadline. Along with the show of force in Seattle there have been numerous workplace actions in the lead up to this contract vote. Workers across all facilities have been marching on the job, and using horns along with music to harass management on the shop floor. All of these actions are a positive development within the US working class. The more that workers take up an openly antagonistic relationship with the bourgeoisie the clearer it becomes that we have distinct and separate interests. Members of both the company and the union try to promote a perspective that suggests that Labor and Capital can go happily hand in hand into the future. That their upcoming successes are bound up in one another, and when one wins so does the other.
Here is a quote from IAM leadership that explains exactly how they view their relationship to Boeing "Ultimately, we love this company and couldn’t be more proud of the jobs we do or the products we build.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Labor’s success will be in understanding its position in an historical movement. We know that in this parasitic relationship within class society what is good for the goose is not good for the gander. When one takes up this collaborationist perspective promoted by leadership within the IAM, the only win is for the companies, and trade union bureaucrats. When leadership of organizations for worker’s struggle defang themselves, the company is emboldened and will consistently try to take more from less, whether that is cutting wages, and benefits or threatening the loss of jobs by shipping them elsewhere. We applaud the workers at Boeing for banding together to defend their immediate interest but that must also be coupled with a rejection of this collaborationist perspective. Workers and their bosses do not win together. When workers secure higher wages or better working conditions this directly cuts into the profit that is accumulated by the company. This real distinction between producers and exploiters is at the very heart of class society, and will never be undone by the well wishes of romantic "leaders" within the workers movement.
Workers
will only ever win in the historical sense when they band together,
under the leadership of a revolutionary fighting organization with
the explicit goal of striking the death blow to class society. Of
course not every battle is of such serious importance but workers
must become aware of the situation they find themself within, and
recognize that antagonism and not capitulation is the answer to the
woes in class society. We must attempt to build fighting
organizations of the class that openly recognize the antagonistic
relationship between Labor and Capital, and are willing to organize
and defend the widest swathe of workers. When leaders in a union wax
poetic about the love they have for the bosses, they should be met
with a swift kick out the door!
The International Communist Party commends your struggle for better wages and better working conditions. The necessity of this fight is something endemic of our exploitative mode of production: capitalism. Despite being a public institution, the University still exploits its workers like any other capitalist enterprise, state owned or private. There is no better demonstration of this than the bosses’ clear interest of keeping your wages low and making you work more hours even while inflation rises; in a word, increasing immiseration.
It is only through the power of striking indefinitely that the capitalist class is forced to give concessions to the working class. This is why the bourgeois state collaborates with the bosses and actively sabotages your freedom to strike by making it illegal in the public education sector to abandon the no-strike clause in your contract. The bourgeoisie fears the strike and will do anything it can to reduce its power.
Our power to strike does not come from bourgeois “rights” enshrined in their constitutions. It comes from our shared material interest as a class and our will to act. The Government, whether Democrat or Republican, will always take the side of the bosses when push comes to shove, i.e. when the state or the bosses are under serious threat from combative workers. The Democrats have clearly shown this during the recent rail strike and through their promotion of class collaboration and submission to the bosses instead of worker combativity. If the Democrats truly had the interests of the working class, they would repeal the Taft-Hartley Act and support the freedom to strike at all times in every sector.
SEIU will spend $200 million attempting to buy influence within the Democratic party, but this is an erroneous maneuver. The bosses and capitalists will always be able to outbid the unions as the extraction of surplus-value guarantees that they will have the monetary advantage; it is a DEAD END. This money would have been better spent on valuable organizing initiatives to bolster the power of the strike and to organize the unorganized.
WORKERS!
To further your struggle, to extend it for even higher wages and a
shorter working day made even more necessary by the rising cost of
living and the depressing reality of having to work more than one
job, means to UNITE AS A CLASS. Practically, we must work
towards aligning contract expiration dates, striking in solidarity
and at the same time as other workers, and unifying our trade
unions across occupation and country into a genuine CLASS UNION.
AGAINST SUBORDINATION TO BOURGEOIS PARTIES!!
AGAINST LIMITATIONS ON STRIKE POWER!!
AGAINST COLLABORATION WITH THE BOSSES!!
FOR INTERNATIONAL AND CROSS SECTOR SOLIDARITY!!
Comrades, workers,
Our
trade union struggle and the formation of the class union is the
essential step in the process of eliminating capitalist exploitation.
To that end, the authentic working class communist party is necessary
to direct the unions towards revolution and proletarian dictatorship.
It is only in this way that capitalist society can be overcome with
communist society, one without classes, without wage-labor, and
without the state. Only after this necessary and monumental leap
forward for the human race can we finally GIVE according to ability
and TAKE according to need.
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!