PERSONAL:

HERE AT MOLLY'S BLOG:

The seasons change, and the leaves begin to fall. Molly is due to go on vacation soon so the number of posts at this blog will drop during that time. I hope I've provided at least a little information and amusement in the last little while. the squirrels are busy gathering their nuts, and Molly is busy decorating the yard for Halloween. It's a long process preparing for my favourite holiday, and each year the cars drive by, stop and take pictures.

In terms of this blog I'd like to call the readers' attention to three different sections that have been added in the last little while. All of them are under the anarcho-syndicalist rubric, the form of anarchism that I feel closest to and which I consider the most practical. The first is the listing for the KRAS, the Confederation of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists in Russia. While it must be admitted that KRAS is still only a propaganda group rather than a functioning union it is still significant that they have at least expanded their online presence in the last little while. it is part and parcel of the general expansion of practical anarchism that I have taken such delight in in the last few years.

Speaking of such there is also a new listing for the youth section of the German FAU. The (take a deep breath) Anarhistisch-Syndikalistischer Jugen (Anarcho-Syndicalist Youth) in Germany has been expanding rapidly, and I have added a separate category for them following the FAU listings. While not up to the level of the youth federation of the Swedish SAC (also listed under our Links) the young German comrades seem to be expanding rapidly. I have to admit that it is beyond me why the Swedes and the Germans seem to be so successful while in Spain both the CNT with their FJIL (historical nostalgia ?) and the much larger CGT seem to have their youth sections "stillborn". There is also another Iberian youth federation that, as far as I can tell, is not an extension of one of the Spanish anarchosyndicalist unions, but it is also very small. They have been listed under the Spanish section of our links. As I said, beyond me, and I can definitely see the utility of a youth federation as it addresses concerns different from those of older people. As for here in North America this is obviously a project for the far distant future as "youth" would probably encompass close to 95% of anarchists here.

Perhaps most pleasantly there is now a listing for the Workers' Initiative/(another deep breath) Inicjatywa Pracownicza of Poland. These people are the "non-AIT' anarcho-syndicalist union federation in Poland, and despite my early misconceptions they are (as expected) far more successful in organizing than the AIT affiliated ZSP. Their base of strength is in Poznan, but as the listings point out they have branches in many Polish provinces. These are the people who have a "dual card" arrangement with the British IWW. The latest news that I have heard from their quarter is that their decision to actually run as candidates in the workplace councils has brought the same success (in a smaller way) as it brought to the Spanish CGT and the French CNT (Vignoles). The anarcho-syndicalist project faces some fundamental choices in the modern world...whether to actually collectively bargain, whether to participate in union elections (in both the North American and European sense) and so on. My own opinions are very much in favour of making the necessary compromises because the alternative is shrinking away to an irrelevant sect that will be of no use even if times were to change. I recognize the dangers, but I also recognize the dangers of the sectarian alternative.

Enough of this pontification. May the busy squirrels of Fall not shit on your head.

Molly.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-POLAND:

STARBUCKS PICKETS BY POLISH SYNDICALISTS:

The following from the A-Infos website puzzled Molly when she went on her usual attribution search (something usually-and especially in one case, almost as a matter of policy- ignored by anarchist websites). The action was apparently undertaken by the AIT associated Union of Syndicalists. For more English language reports of anti-Starbucks actions in Poland see the English language blog of the non-AIT Workers' Initiative-Warsaw. The report is from an independent anarchist news website in Wroclaw Poland, the Wroclawska Sekcji Alternatiwna. I was, however, unable to find any English language material on this subject there. The AIT-associated Polish anarchosyndicalist organization is the Union of Syndicalists. The non-AIT site of the Workers' Initiative also reports ant-Starbucks action. For what it is worth I am willing to venture the opinion that Poland is the only country in the world where, when there are AIT and non-AIT unions present, that the AIT one is more active, larger and more dynamic. I may be wrong. I don't make a pretense of being able to read Polish. The general Polish anarchist news site referred to below is the Centrum Informacji Anarchistcznej. All told very confusing. What I am not confused about is the IWW's Starbucks Union, that has been organizing for some years now.

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Poland, Starbucks Pickets organized by ZSP*:

Today there were two pickets at Starbucks Coffee in Poland - one in Warsaw and one in Wroclaw, the two cities where Starbucks opened their first cafes in Poland last month. May 17 is the 5th anniversary of the founding of the Starbucks workers union, which we spoke about at the pickets.

---- The pickets were organized by ZSP* as solidarity campaigns but also to raise awareness about working conditions in the cafe/restaurant industry and to encourage workers to organize. ---- Some photos of the picket in Wroclaw can be found here: http://www.wsa.org.pl/module.php?op=galery&cmd=366

---- Texts of the Wroclaw leaflet (in Polish) are here http://cia.bzzz.net/wroclaw_pikieta_powitalna_pod_kawiarnia_starbucks Two weeks ago a picket was held in Warsaw, as well as today.

Today's picket also included information about what is going on along "Nowy Swiat" (New World) Street in Warsaw where Starbucks is located. Almost all of the well-known cafes along the street have closed down due to astronomical rents, leaving room only for corporate chains, ultra-exclusive places and money laundering fronts. We just found out that the last of the famous cafes on the street. Cafe Bajka which has been there for 53 years and was the last place on the street where you could get a cheap drink and a meal, is being forced to close since their rent was raised to an astronomical 20,000 zloties a month. (It's a small place, so it's really amazingly high rent.) We could see on the street that other cafes and small shops have closed up and in their place we will have Subway and Haagen Daaz. The price of coffee in Starbucks is similar to in the US, despite the fact that average wages are many times higher. This makes brands like these clearly brands for yuppies (and tourists) who are in the elite. Seeing what is going on with the rapid influx of corporate chain stores along New World St., we renamed it "Brave New World" St.

We have also noticed that Starbucks in Poland has started an extensive greenwashing campaign, which an average consumer might misunderstand and believe the prices are high because they are buying fair trade coffee. Only about 5% of Starbucks coffee is fair trade but they are presenting themselves as the most "ethical" coffee in town

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* An antiauthoritarian anticapitalist syndicate(A Molly sidenote- I really wish that people wouldn't use this rhetoric, ie "antiauthoritarian anticapitalist" to describe themselves. I've seen this two word modifier stuck in front of many nouns such as "initiative", "network" and "project", amongst others in the past few years, and it continues to grate on my nerves. To me it looks like it is usually a "weasel word", used to avoid the use of the dreaded word "anarchist". If it is not such an euphemism then it may even worse. It may refer to a mindset of "fashionable leftism" that has absorbed enough anti this that and the other thing to qualify as a separate political ideology, a closed in group ideology of fashion. If people really do want a modifier then the adjective "libertarian", as in "libertarian socialism" is more than sufficient in any country in the world outside of the USA where "libertarian" has another unfortunate meaning. I have a sneaking suspicion, though I cannot prove it, that this clumsy two word adjective "antiauthoritarian anticapitalist" is of Canadian origin, and that it was coined basically to avoid matters of "consistency" that would be raised if one used the word "anarchist". If this is true then it would be one more example of our "colonial mentality" in that we have to coin a term for politics that have been borrowed from the USA where we Canadians can recognize the difference from anarchism per se and think we have to rename it. (But this, of course, is an entirely different subject from the news above. Sorry for the diversion)

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-WARSAW POLAND:

MAYDAY IN WARSAW:

Here from the Workers' Initiative -Warsaw Poland- is the callout for anarchists to come together on the real Labour Day, May Day, this coming Friday.

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May Day in Warsaw:
May Day in Warsaw.

In the Praga district. To be preceded by Hyde Parks agitating for a rent strike. (Rents are raised from the first of May.)

For workers' self management and people's control over all public services!

Enough bad working conditions, poverty and fraudulent social policies!

Start at 14:00 at the Praga Hospital. March to Skaryszewski Park for festival. Stops along the way with speeches about working conditions and government policies against the poor and working class.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-POLAND:

POLISH WORKERS VERSUS NESTLÉ:

The following article is from the Polish anarchist news site Centrum Informacji Anarchistycznej. It's particularly apt as the trial for unfair dismissal mentioned below began last Monday. A few notes are in order. The Polish Union of Syndicalists is an anarcho-syndicalist union federation affiliated with the AIT-IWA, the anarcho-syndicalist international. There is another anarcho-syndicalist union in Poland, less active (I believe) and not affiliated with the AIt, the Workers' Initiative. In Poland, like most of Europe and unlike here in North America there are often several unions represented at any one workplace.

The Nestlé Corporation, the largest food company in the world, has a particularly long rap sheet. It is the subject of the longest running boycott operating today. Since 1977 it has been subject to a boycott because of its promotion of infant formula over breast feeding. This action is presently coordinated by the International Nestlé Boycott Committee, and their secretariat is the British International Baby Food Action Network. During the recent melamine in milk scandal in China the Nestlé company was implicated (see Molly's Blog Sept. 25, Sept 26, Sept 28 and Oct 1 of this year). During last year's melamine in pet food events Nestlé, under the Nestlé-Purina label was also involved (See Molly`s Blog March 24 and April 19 2007).

The company has also been the target of other labour campaigns for its abuses of workers' rights. These include Russian workers (See Molly's Blog March 28, 2008 and June 9, 2008), and its operations in the Philippines. The later campaign is being found by the Filipino Union Federation the Kilusang Mayo Uno. All tolf a rather long record, and most of it isn't even described here. For further information consult Nestlé Watch.

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Nestle attempts to break trade-unions in Alima Gerber in Poland:

In September this year, Jacek Kotula, the president of the workplace commission of the “Solidarity” trade-union in Alima Gerber S.A. in Rzeszow, Poland (currently owned by Nestle) has been dismissed on disciplinary grounds. This is one of many cases of contempt for workers’s rights by large corporations operating in Poland. It is not the first time that Nestle workers have to fight with Nestle in order to have their basic rights respected in various Nestle factories spread around the world. Russian workers are still in the process of struggling for the right to negotiate wages.

Below, we present an interview with Mr. Jacek, made by a member of the Union of Syndicalists of Poland (ZSP).

ZSP: The official reason given for your dismissal was a conversation you had with a Polish farmer, in which you informed him that Alima Gerber imports apples from Italy instead of buying it from the local farmers. In the opinion of the management, this conversation was detrimental to the interests of the company. Do you think it was the real reason why you got fired?

"Of course, this was just a pretext to get rid of me. The real reason was my activity and the activity of the workplace trade-union commission of “Solidarity” presided by me for 3 years. Let me just mention that since July 2008 our commission grew by 50% and our activity has expanded to Nestle in Warsaw. I have demanded wage raises of about 140 Euro monthly. Currently, a regular employee earns about 350 Euro after tax.

The employer was not interested in negotiations. I have also proposed to sign an agreement about combating stress-related problems. The management falsely claimed that there are no legal grounds to introduce such a program. I have also presented the facts related to the discrimination of our employees in comparison with another Nestle plant in Poland, where workers earn 50% more than the ones in Rzeszow, while performing similar work.

Since there was no reaction, I have sent a letter about the case to the United Nations. I have indicated the many illegal actions of the management of the factory, confirmed many times by the Work Inspectorate. I have asked the president of Nestle Poland to meet me regarding an important issue I have mentioned in writing. Each time, I was faced with a wall of indifference. In the end, they just got rid of me in the most brutal fashion - by way of a dismissal on disciplinary grounds.

The conversation with the president of the union of farmers of Alima Gerber which I had and the alleged encouragement to negotiate high prices for fruit and vegetables was only a sad pretext to get rid of me after 16 years of work there."

ZSP: How did your colleagues and union members react to the management's decision? Did the local commission act in your defence?

"The decision to dismiss me was a shock for everyone. My colleagues from the Solidarity union gathered signatures on a protest against my dismissal. Two thirds of the workforce signed the protest. The union commission, nor the work council, did accept my dismissal. Despite this, the employer knowingly broke the law by dismissing a union representative protected by the law. This is a clear violation of the worker's rights and the Labour Inspectorate in Rzeszow has initiated a proceeding against the management."

ZSP: How was the dismissal delivered to you?

"After I was informed about the intention to fire me and after I saw the September 5th letter asking the union to accept my dismissal, I felt very sick on psychosomatic grounds and I have spent a week being treated on the cardiology department. In the meantime, the management of Alima Gerber harassed my family several times. The saddest event occurred on September 13th, at 7 AM. Four of my children, aged from 7 to 13, were alone in the house, while my wife was working on a night shift. My children were woken up by the relentless bell ring. When my 12-year old son opened the door, the manager tried to give him the dismissal document.

My son did not want to accept anything from the manager. The manager demanded that an older son be called. But the older son refused to take anything and locked the door. The manager stood at the door until 9 AM, kept ringing and knocking the windows and door. The children were terrified and informed their parents by phone of what has happened. The youngest son kept crying and asking: "why do they want to put daddy in jail?"

After the manager left, the house was under observation until noon by a man in a red car, at about 50 m away from the house. Our neighbours informed us of this fact. After I left the hospital, I went to Bulgaria on September 16th, for a training organized by the European Trade Union Institute from Brussels. The training was earlier approved by the manager of the plant.

I was the only representative from Poland. At the Okecie airport in Warsaw, after luggage check-in, I saw the manager and the Human Resources director going after me. I was shocked to see them there. I ran to passport control and haven't seen them afterwards. After I returned from the training, I was not let into the plant. It was claimed that I was fired... at the airport!"

ZSP: How did the management portray this case to the employees? Were there any attempts to turn employees against you? If so, were those attempts successful?

"The management informed the employees that I am a criminal, because I have acted to the detriment of the company, allegedly advising the farmers to negotiate the highest possible prices for fruit. The management claimed that this was the reason for falling profits and that is why the employees cannot expect any significant raises. The workplace commission was also threatened that its members will have to participate in court hearings. Was this successful? I believe in some sense, yes."

ZSP: When will the trial begin?

"I have filed the case on September 25th in the Labour Court in Rzeszow. The first court hearing will take place on November 10th. I believe I will win, as I did 6 months earlier, when the employer illegally punished me for entering with a workplace security inspector on a night shift. I did nothing wrong. As a matter of fact, the inspector admitted that I acted in the interest of the plant by informing the president of the farmer's union that apples are being imported from Italy. No one can convince me that apples imported from Italy will be cheaper than the apples from near Rzeszow. Besides, the farmers are shareholders of the company. They are not competitors, but members of a family and the plant could not function without them."

ZSP: Dismissals of active union members are quite common in Poland. The political climate for union activity is quite bad. This year several union members have been dismissed in state owned and private companies. The employers seem to act with impunity. How to reverse this negative trend?

"We must highlight cases when the employers break the law. We need to show people the of meanness of some companies which knowingly break the law by firing protected union members. We also need to change the law in order to give real protection to the union activists who are on the front line of the struggle for workers rights. All unions must act together in this area."

ZSP: Temporary work is a common phenomenon. What kind of difficulties did you encounter while trying to fight for equal treatment of temporary workers employed by temp agencies and workers with permanent contracts?

"Our plant has been hiring temporary workers from the Impel agency for three years. These employees performed the exact same work as the permanent employees, for half the wages. They did not receive compensation for working in noisy conditions, their working clothes were not washed and they did not receive meals.

They were discriminated against, which is not allowed by the law on temporary work agencies. We have reported the issue to the management, but to no avail. Two years ago, we informed the Work Inspectorate about the case. The inspection revealed that our suspicions were right. The plant was forced to employ 70 of the temporary workers on permanent contracts, with the same wages as other Alima Gerber workers. A few of the workers filed suits against Impel for discrimination. Their lawyer estimated their losses to over 3300 Euro a year. The case is still pending."

ZSP: The international character of many corporations doing business in Poland allows for international actions of support in case workers rights are being broken. What are your experiences working with other organizations internationally?

"I have excellent experiences, especially with unions from the so-called "old" European Union. There seems to be quite a different union culture there. For example in 2006 I have written a complaint to the Swiss management about the extremely poor wages in our company. I have argued that an employee of our company cannot sustain himself, let alone his family on the wages he receives. We have received support from the European Confederation of Trade Unions in Brussels, from the IUF (International Union of Food workers) from Geneva, the European Worker’s Council and many unions in France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. A journalist from Basler Zeitung has visited us to write a big feature about the case. Another newspaper, “Input” has written an article about the topic.The western media and organizations are the only real weapon of Polish unionists."

ZSP: Since you have lost your source of income, are you in need of material help? How can union members and people interested in worker's rights help you in your situation?

"I have not received wages since September 16th. I don’t receive any unemployment benefits, since I was fired on disciplinary grounds. Our family subsists on the income of my wife, who is a nurse. I have four children, who still are very much in shock after what happened to me. I have to return a credit from the Social Fund until October 15th. I am in the same situation as many ordinary workers in Alima Gerber, who can only afford some basic necessities despite years of hard work. I believe that the good will prevail. I ask people of good faith only for prayer."

ZSP: Thank you for the interview. We wish you success in your fight for reinstatement in the workplace!

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-POLAND:

AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL:

The following is from the A-Infos site, but it originates from the Workers' Initiative website in Poland. If Molly's often faulty memory and her search efforts prove right this is the "non-AIT" anarcho-syndicalist group in Poland. the item, strangely enough, comes via Portugal where the AIT has little to no support. Poland has two anarcho-syndicalist groups, and maybe that sort of thing should be imitated elsewhere as it leads to "healthy competition" as to which can be the most effective in defending workers' rights. That, of course, is an offhand thought, but it may be true nonetheless.

In any case the following describes how people have rallied behind the case of a dismissed postal worker in Poland. It's an outstanding example of what solidarity actually means, making the case of an individual-rationally- the case of the majority of the people.

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Poland: syndicalist and anarchist militants in solidarity with dismissed postman:

In July several actions took place in Poland and in other European countries. They were a reaction to the dismissal of Bartosz Kantorczyk, Workers' Initiative activist in the Polish Post Office.

---- On 16 July in the morning a solidarity rally took place in front of the headquarters of Polish Post Office in Gdansk, where Bartosz worked.

---- Around 30 post workers, WI activists from Gdansk, anarchists, leftists and friends of Bartosz gathered. The dismissed worker also came there and he was wearing a t-shirt saying "Dismissed but still inconvenient".The other demonstrators held banners saying "Hands off Workers' Initiative Trade Union", "Stop repression for strikes!".

They were shouting slogans "No exploitation at life's expense!", "Managers go to work for 1000 zlotys (300 euro)", etc.

There were also two protests in Warsaw - one organized by ZSP, Polish Syndicalists' Union(the AIT group I believe-Molly) - in front of the General Headquarters of Polish Post Office. In the rally at 7 a.m. also samba drummers and activists from LA - Leftist Alternative took part.

They handed out leaflets with information on the conditions of work in the post office and about Kantorczy's case in particular. Another rally took place in the afternoon, a few dozen people from different organizations and trade unions took part in it.

In Poznan, around 30 activists of WI and the Anarchist Federation took part in the rally in front of the Post Office Local Management headquarters. They held banners saying "Priority: the safety of postmen work'", "Registered letter: bring Kantorczyk back to work".

In Cracow, around 30 people from WI, the Anarchist Federation and the Sierpien'80 Trade Union protested in front of the Post Office local headquarters.

Also, in Szczecin, people from WI and ZSP protested.

10 people from LaLucza collective took part in a rally in Torun; they held a banner saying "Stop breaking workers' rights in the Polish Post Office". They handed out leaflets and gave a letter to the management to the Post Office officials complaining about Kantorczyk's case.

Activists from the Workshops of Local Activity protested in the same cause in Opole. There more similar actions in different towns in Poland, e.g. in Zielona Gora or in Rybnik.In the capital city of Lithuania there was a solidarity rally in front of the Polish embassy. The activists climbed up the trees nearby and dropped a10-meter-long banner saying "Solidarity with Kantoryczk".

An activist from anarchija.lt portal presented the situation of Bartosz and also the information about Polish trade unions' activities. An activist from the Polish Organization of the New Left read a protest letter in two languages,Polish and Lithuanian, and then delivered it to the ambassador's representative. They demanded bringing Kantorczyk back to work.

Police illegally took IDs from all the participants of the rally, saying that the demonstration was illegal.

On 22 July Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organized a protest in London In front of the Polish embassy. They handed out hundreds of leaflets about workers' rights, one of the banners said (in Polish): "Poland is violating workers' rights".

On the same day, WI sent another letter to the General Manager of the Post Office demanding negotiations about Kantorczyk's case. The company was also sued for the illegal dismissal and WI demands bringing him back to work.

Workers' Initiative will hold other protests in defense of Bartosz Kantorczyk, including demonstrations in front of Polish embassies in other European countries.

POLAND:

ZSP: SOLIDARITY WITH REPRESSED WORKERS IN AUCHAN SUPERMARKET:

Seems that Molly's Blog has been doing too much heavy duty theoretical slogging lately. Anyways, here's a break from tiny, itty, bitty equations. The following article is reprinted from the Polish anarchist news service Centrum Informaji Anarchistcznej , and it describes a recent solidarity action that one of the Polish anarcho-syndicalist groups, the Union of Syndicalists- Poland (ZSP) held in support of a worker fired at the Auchen Supermarket in Wroclaw. The "clincher" is that the worker in question belonged to the rival anarcho-syndicalist group in Poland, the Workers' Initiative. For the uninitiated (ie most sentient life forms in the universe) this division of the Polish syndicalists mirrors the worldwide division of anarcho-syndicalists into the ILS and AIT camps. The ZSP is the newer group, formed last March/April, and Molly has just added them to her links list (with the English section of their website rather than the Polish one). what Molly finds so inspiring about this action is that, unlike the situation in other countries where AIT and non-AIT anarchosyndicalists are usually sniping at each other- at best- here is an example where people have put aside their organizational loyalties for a more important cause. Molly may also be wrong in another impression she has drawn from reading about these two groups, that in Poland, unlike in most other countries, the AIT group is the more active and dynamic of the pair. Am I wrong ? Polish readers please comment. Anyways...

"On Friday (Jan 11- Molly) the Wroclaw section of the Union of Syndicalists (ZSP) held a solidarity picket for a fired activist of Workers' initiative in front of an Auchan supermarket. The activist was fired from Auchan in Zielona Gora shortly after there was an action demanding better wages and work conditions there.

ZSP members and supporters gave out a few hundred leaflets and had a banner which read 'Enough Repression for Workers' Activism'. After some 40 minutes a security guard tried to verbally intimidate the protesters and asked them to follow him inside the building. The protesters ignored him. About 15 minutes later, all the leaflets were already gone and the activists were ready to go home when the guard came back with eight of his colleagues and the director of security. They tried to threaten the activists which made them resolved to stay.

The activists turned the main entrance of the supermarket into an arena for discussion of exploitation in the market. They also discussed the meaning of freedom of speech and assembly and public spaces. The head of security for some strange reason tried to convince the activists to take their protest to the Volvoidship Office, where she claimed those types of protests belong and, when that failed, claimed that they had the "wrong Auchan" and that supermarket was owned by "a different Auchan". The security guards' boss claimed that "repression of workers was something that existed under Stalinism:\" and that "these days if somebody is repressed, it's his own fault and it means that he's a loser". The ZSp activists tried to ask the security guards how much they earn and how much their bosses earn. The head of security intervened and tried to claim that she earns less than supermarket cashiers. She also said she was a member of the Solidarity Union and claimed that "workers don't need crusaders like you". When she ran out of arguments she decided to offer the ZSP activists immediate employment at Auchan...as security guards !!!

The security people claimed they really need workers as there are too many vacancies. ZSP activists pointed out that this must be a testament to the working conditions in the firm if nobody wants to work there. The activists responded that it is more likely that one day the security guards will join them than that they will join the security guards."

Whooo...Molly's best guess is that the protesters interrupted some serious drinking session here, and that the boss turned into a friendly drunk. It's hard to explain such a bizarre offer any other way. Or maybe the protesters looked like they could indeed handle themselves, and the director tried to take any opportunity that might come her way. Anyways, very strange. Still, the Polish anarcho-syndicalists get full marks for solidarity and initiative.