Against Wage_Labour Issue # 9

Bicycle workers in Germany who worked for a bicycle manufacturing company that was going bankrupt took their labour power back through self-management.  The success of this is in their own efforts to take back their power as well as through the support they have received from other workers and organizations.  Also, in Stockholm, Sweden there were widespread protests calling for “General Strike” and the bringing down of the Swedish government – both the union leadership and the Social Democrats distanced themselves from this struggle that was deemed ‘violent’ – another situation which demonstrates that worker emancipation will only occur by the workers themselves with no involvement from Union or Left Capitalists.  Recently in Canada, the Canadian Auto Worker leadership made a ‘deal’ with Magna International, an international auto parts maker, which deforms existing legal labour rights and takes away the workers’ powers by removing their legal right to strike – this is outlined briefly in another article “Lovers in a Dangerous Time”.  Related to this, is the declining situation of the auto workers in the United States and how the union there also suppresses the workers –outlined in another article from www.Futureoftheunion.com. 

In the town of Khorramabad, Iran, women activists were attacked by Security Forces and  the men were arrested at the meeting while the women fought back and the Security Forces gave up.  Fighting back is not only clearly effective in the struggle for a better world without wage-slavery, it is absolutely essential.

It is these struggles that lead to the natural element of developing worker organizations.  These workers were not lead by one leader, rather by their necessity to life’s essentials, the economic means to survive and thrive with dignity.  This anatomy of organizing is outlined in excellent detail in the article titled “The Anatomy of a Successful Experience of the Movement Approach” which describes the experience of refrigerator factory workers in Iran who organized based on their demands, and subsequently organized in a broader fashion with other workers and worker-activists.  Neither the illusion of unions nor political parties can emancipate workers and rid them of exploitation and suffering.  Furthermore in another article about the Palestinian situation, it further explains that Nationalism and reactionary religion cannot emancipate workers, rather it divides them.  The workers of Palestine must recognize their enemy, capitalism, and not the Jewish nor American states.  Nationalism is an illusion imposed by the ruling classes.  It is dangerous to fight the wrong enemy which is what is occurring with the workers of Palestine who react with anti-Semitism and Arab Nationalism.  It is further disgusting how lefties in an international form support the building of a state of Palestine.  This is neither recognizing the true sources of suffering and worsening the ability to organize as a working class.  The class consciousness of the Palestinian people must overcome the hatred between states and religions and recognize their solidarity with workers of all countries in the world.

Oppression by the state, the bourgeoisie and their friends, the Unions, leads workers to eventually realize that they must fight for improvements in their economic situations and subsequently realizing the relation of the labour power in the current political situation.  Capitalism exists based on the ability to buy the labour power of the workers so that it can create its profits, surplus value.  There are no mechanisms within the framework of capitalism that can fight itself; this includes nationalism, religion, left-wing governments and organizations.  Struggling against capitalism must leave behind any notion of struggling for reforms, albeit immediate reforms are necessary at the beginning, but must always demonstrate a vision to ending the closed economic state of affairs where human beings can only survive by selling their labour power.