Workplace
What do we want?
For every worker in each industry to be organised into industry-wide unions, capable of launching effective action across jobs, workplaces and companies within that industry, ending divisive ‘craft’ or ‘trade’ unionism.
For these industry unions to be democratic and member-led, as well as to be independent from political parties and open to all relevant workers on the single, simple economic basis that they are ‘workers’.
For these unions to be ‘universities’ of class consciousness and class power; The union movement should be a training ground where the working-class learn how to organise democratically, how to take effective action, how to campaign and win struggles, how to assert our interests directly and how to increase the power held by the working-class within industry.
For these unions to be joined together into one big union, so that workers are capable of exercising maximum power over industry, in this way asserting our general, social interests directly and learning how society is organised, why it is organised this way, and how – through our position as organised workers, with power over industry - we might change it.
For these unions to be strongly linked to residents' associations and community organisations, so that they are connected to those who are not in a union, and so that they are deeply rooted in our everyday lives.
Ideally we would like to see all workers in similar unions and united in a single organisation across Europe and having been made confident enough to challenge the rule of the EU and the various European states; then also united across the globe with the confidence to challenge the rule of the IMF, WTO, World Bank, G8/G20 and all states.
How will we do it?
To build unions of this kind will require careful strategic analysis of power-relations both within and without the current trade union and socialist movements. We will need to analyse the various actors, their positions and their potential (both positive and negative).
On this basis, we will need to involve ourselves in working-class organisations of various kinds. We will need to help build the organisational capacity of workers unions (both in terms of internal democracy and the power of the membership as well as the militancy and capability of exercising external power within industry). We will also need to help build the organisational capacity of other working-class organisations and initiatives which can contribute towards our goals. And we will need to help build a political ‘leadership of ideas’ through struggle, propaganda, training and education
To These Ends:
L&S members should join their relevant trade union, build their local branches, and become shop stewards.
L&S members should support moves within their trade union to increased membership participation and control over the direction and action of that union. We also support moves towards greater strategic militancy and greater organising tendencies – especially where these might have significance for industry-wide working-class power.
L&S members should join the IWW where useful. We support the IWW because we feel that with most of the private sector not unionised there is room for a new union to attempt to organise the presently unorganised. We also agree with its historic mission to build one big union of all workers, across all industries and nations, independent of political parties and with the explicit goal of securing worker-control over industry. Currently, the IWW is a registered (and soon to be certificated) union in the UK and has potential to build new industry unionism of the kind we support in niche industries, to unite like-minded militants within trade unions and already unionised industries, and perhaps to build new organisation towards industry unions within other sectors. The IWW also has some potential to deal with many of the problems facing trade unionism in the UK creatively. With this in mind, the IWW also has some potential to be at least an ambassador for the ‘one big union’ idea, and perhaps to play a significant part in making that idea a reality.
L&S members should support the building of cross-union networks of elected trade union activists (shop stewards, health & safety reps, elected branch officers, TUC delegates etc). Historically, militant and class-conscious shop stewards have been at the centre of creating movements along the lines of those we aim for. Whilst this is sadly no longer always the case, at their best the union rep’s unique role as potentially the most active of trade union ‘rank n file’ whilst at the same time being elected (and therefore respected and trusted) by their workmates, makes them a key factor in bringing about our aims.
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 members should specifically create and/or support initiatives aimed at organising young workers.
L&S members should support and/or create educational and training initiatives which can take advantage of the ‘blank slate’ potential of new and/or currently passive trade union membership to increase the capabilities and tendencies amongst the membership which are necessary for the kind of fighting industrial unionism we support.
L&S will support all attempts to internationalise the kind of fighting industrial unionism that we support.
L&S also support the building of a syndicalist tendency within the unions, arguing for better organising practices, union democracy, industrial unionism, workers control of industry and the rejection of all party political affiliations. Such a tendency would serve as an alternative pole of attraction to young and radicalised trade unionists and would look beyond its own ranks for allies to unite with around specific issues.