What is the situation?

The nature of capitalism, the economic system under which we live, has changed over the past three decades. The old Keynesian social democracy of the 50s and 60s has given way to neoliberalism, to the wholesale privatisation of previously state run industries and services.

The current financial crisis is not a unique point in history; there have been similar crises ever since the emergence of capitalism. In order to pay for the bailout of the banks, the UK faces a "decade of austerity", which for the working class means a general attack on conditions and where necessary upon trade union organisation.

Our unions have entered this crisis unprepared and with a declining density, leading to a weakening of the power of the working class and hence its ability to resist the wave of cuts that would seem inevitable. A decade of "partnership" between bosses and unionists has left the activist base of many unions decimated and rendered branches unable to take effective strike action.

Though if varies from union to union, the ghost of craft and trade specific unionism still haunts us. For example janitorial staff at schools and universities are almost always in a separate union from the teachers and lecturers. Naturally this leads to a weakening in local union power and creates potential division and conflict amongst unionised workers.

Thatcher’s anti trade union laws have handicapped the unions, making effective pan-industry strike action almost always illegal. Wildcat and solidarity strikes have, however, so far met with little government repression despite their illegality.

Where resistance from the trade unions has been in evidence, it has often only occurred when an entire workforce faced losing their jobs due to a closure, by which time, without effective solidarity action, it is almost impossible for them to win.

However, there are some positive signs. The Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes, as muddled as their politics may have been, showed that solidarity action can be extremely effective.

What do we want?

Democratic, militant and member-led mass industrial organisations, capable of uniting the working class to win struggles and asserting themselves politically without being tied to a political party.

Such organisations should be structured around industries, so as to allow for cross-workplace solidarity in the best traditions of industrial unionism instead of the divisive "trade" unionism still in evidence today. They should also educate their members both in practical organising skills and in broader political issues.

Ideally we would like to see all workers united in a single organisation across Europe and having been made confident enough to challenge the rule of the various European states.

As a stepping stone towards this, we would like to see the emergence of a cross-union rank and file movement in favour of greater union democracy and willing to deal the final blow to the craft unionist tradition.

How will we do it?

L&S members should join their relevant trade union, build their local branches, and become shop stewards. This is especially important in certain specific sectors such as health care.

L&S members should join the IWW, and where possible to involve themselves in initiatives such as the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN), which cuts across sectarian trade union boundaries, and focus on a unionism of the base. These two organisations are focussed on because their nature makes them useful in building strong organisation amongst ordinary workers. The IWW is run by its members. It is organised along ’industrial’ lines and has the potential to unite both existing trade union members with non-unionised workers, building real industrial strength. All official roles are elected and instantly recallable, and as such we believe the IWW to have the potential to be the model of the new society we wish to build. Similarly, the NSSN is an initiative set up to get union activists talking and working together, as we are stronger when we stand together.

L&S supports base unionism. This is where ordinary workers create their own organisations in opposition to established, partnership unions. These base unions are characterised by a strong belief in autonomous workers control and a disregard for different occupational categories. Base unionism also allows for the possibilities for greater cross union solidarity, as ordinary workers can decide to act together because it is beneficial, by-passing all the inter-union squabbles that are the result of disputes between leaders. Again, this means we can become well organised across our whole industries. The IWW and NSSN are useful vehicles for building base unionism.

L&S members should use and encourage the use of the ‘organiser’ model by all the branches and organisations we work with. The organiser model is a method of organising which focuses on strategic planning and encouraging workers to participate, and results in highly active and motivated branches.

L&S considers that unions should spread class consciousness amongst their members, and will to encourage this.

L&S will support all attempts to internationalise the kind of fighting industrial unionism that we support.