The aspiration for an anarchist federation in Australia is as old as the anarchist movement in Australia itself. Upon its formation in 1886, the Melbourne Anarchist Club announced its intention to “promote the formation of voluntary institutions similar to the Melbourne Anarchist Club throughout Victoria and the neighbouring colonies, and, with their consent, to eventually unite with them forming the Australasian Association of Anarchists.”1 David Andare, one of MAC’s founders, wrote enthusiastically of this prospect to the American individualist anarchist Benjamin Tucker, who received his correspondence with equal excitement. As early as 1888, however, divisions would appear within this young movement, with many moving away from the individualist anarchism espoused by Andare and Tucker in favour of the anarchist communism of Peter Kropotkin and Emma Goldman.2
Since then we have seen the emergence and disappearance of dozens of groups and spaces across Australia. Over the past fifty years federations have been attempted a number of times, in 1975- 1976, 1986, 2007-2008 and 2013-2015, at least to our knowledge. With the exception of 1986, each of the preceding proposals have suggested a synthesist approach, attempting to bring together anarchist groups and individuals regardless of their ideological or tactical approach. The 1975 Federation of Australian Anarchists (FAA) lasted just over a year before the diversity of opinions and ideologies present in the organisation led to its collapse at its 1976 congress. Anarcho-syndicalists would establish their own federation in 1986, and while this federation still exists, it has not in recent years been able to maintain its relevancy and has diminished to a point of invisibility. The more recent 2007-08 attempt and the 2015 Provisional Anarchist Federation brought together groups from Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth but both would swiftly vanish.
Attempts have come out of ‘moments’ that inspired confidence in the feasibility of federation. The 1986 formation of the ASF developed as convergence of anarcho-syndicalist groupings in Melbourne and Sydney. 2007-08 came out of the series of summit protests at the time and the success of numerous gatherings such as FLARE in the Void, A Space Outside and Live and Let DIY. 2013-15 also reflects a period of buoyancy in the movement. The proliferation of anarchist collectives across the country, combined with the successful Brisbane Anarchist Summer School, gave rise to a period of optimism that soon dissipated along with many of the groups it included. The period that we currently inhabit should be seen within the context of bitter struggles globally, the rise of hard-right forces, the erosion of the liberal-democratic state, the collapse of the United States’ unipolarity, heightened conflict in the Pacific, the coronavirus and successive natural disasters as climate change worsens. This has led to an internal reexamination among anarchists worldwide of our strategies and tactics as we find the renewed relevance of our ideology bring it to the front lines of struggle.
While we can appreciate calls for anarchist unity, however, the experience of synthesist groups leads me to believe that organisations need to value internal coherence rather than attempt to collect as many individuals as possible. Groups that tend towards the latter in Australia tend to have an extremely limited shelf life as opposed to groups that remain faithful to a clearly defined set of guidelines. The desire for large, ponderous groups such as Unite, which based their politics on bringing together diverse coalitions of leftists, is evaporating in favour of forming more tight-knit militant formations. Constructing a federation of groups and individuals that do not have shared principles, or even ideologies, has emerged to us in the course of struggle as a pointless exercise.
The 1975 Organisational Platform of the Federation of Australian Anarchists, a title clearly inspired by Delo Truda, came close to this conclusion in noting that, “the central task of the revolutionary movement is the creation of flexible democratic organisation, united by common programme, strategy and analysis rather than by subordination to a common centre; uncompromised by automatic support for external power-political interests, and having sections capable both of independent action and of unity on a joint action programme with other sections.”3
Unfortunately this simply wasn’t reflected in reality. Before the formalisation of the FAA, the Self-Management Group had predicted that the “lack of unity and coherence within regional groups would be unfavourable to the realisation of a national strategy.”4 This would be proven correct almost immediately, when disagreements between the anarcho-syndicalist, individualist-egoist and anarcha-feminist currents within the organisation erupted at the FAA’s first Congress in 1976. An intense (and likely justified) rejection by anarcha-feminists of the ‘male politics’ that permeated anarchist politics at the time had led to the exclusion of men from the 1975 Anarcho-Feminist Conference, leading to resentment at the Congress. This was further exacerbated by the predominance of university-based anarchist collectives that felt themselves to have little in common with the more workerist/syndicalist elements. Various factors would lead to the implosion of the Congress and the re-fragmentation of the movement.5
A concentrated attempt was made in the aftermath of this conference to establish a more limited federation exclusive to those within the anarcho-syndicalist tradition. From 1975 on, various anarcho-syndicalist organisations would begin to coalesce in Sydney and Melbourne, influenced by exiled anarcho-syndicalists from Bulgaria and Spain. In 1986 the Rebel Worker Group in Sydney and the Melbourne Anarcho-Syndicalist Group, itself a merger of the Spanish CNT in exile and the Melbourne branch of the IWW, agreed to form the Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation. The ASF in its early years had some major successes, absorbing the Public Transport Workers Association in 1987 and was admitted as the Australian section of the International Workers Association in 1988, an affiliation it continues to pride itself on today.6 In more recent times, however, the ASF has struggled to maintain its relevancy. Along with some successes in forming links with other anarcho-syndicalist groups in Indonesia and Bangladesh, the ASF’s activities today are largely limited to pickets in solidarity with its international affiliates and its numbers domestically have dwindled to a small handful.
To segue briefly, it is worth reviewing why I don’t believe it worthwhile to simply merge our own efforts with those of the ASF, concentrating purely on the ideological side of things. Within the platformist tradition, we find anarcho-syndicalism to be insufficient, viewing, in the Platform’s words, anarchism and syndicalism as belonging “on two different planes. Whereas communism, that is to say a society of free workers, is the goal of the anarchist struggle — syndicalism, that is the movement of revolutionary workers in their occupations, is only one of the forms of revolutionary class struggle.”7 As the Workers Solidarity Movement in Ireland noted in 2003, “In our view syndicalism (at least historically) has failed to address the issue of political power. We believe that to make a revolution it isn’t sufficient that workers just seize their workplaces and the land. They must be organized right across communities and workplaces to smash state power and replace it with workers’ councils. This requires revolutionary anarcho-communist organizations dedicated to this goal.” 8
Returning to the topic at hand, the next two attempts (2007, 2013) at a nationwide federation were again synthesist in nature. By this time, platformist politics had finally asserted themselves with the formation of Anarchist Affinity, which would later become Collective Action. AA, while not hostile to the idea of federation, responded to the 2013 proposal with the statement that “Anarchist Affinity believes that a specifically anarchist political organisation must be built if we are to seriously advance anarchist ideas and advance the struggle against capitalism, the state and all forms of oppression. We believe that anarchist organisations are most effective when built on a shared political understanding (theoretical unity), a common strategy (tactical unity) and united by a collective responsibility to their implementation.”9 They went on to state that “the kind of federation we advocate will require the active participation of multiple functioning and healthy anarchist groups, with both the desire and preparedness to achieve greater theoretical unity, as well as the resources in labour and money required to meaningfully pursue common strategy.” Conscious that “other groups participating in the conference favour a much looser conception of federation, with more limited organisational goals”10, AA opted to abstain from the rest of the discussions taking place at the time.
It is along these lines that it is worth considering how a new approach towards federation can be taken. Aware of the need for a new approach in Australia, it is my belief that a turn towards the principles proposed in Delo Truda’s Organisational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists and later elaborated by the especifist current in Uruguay is necessary. The fundamental tenets here remain unity of theory and strategy, tactical homogeneity, a federal structure and internal collective responsibility for militant activities. An elaboration of each of these can be found in The Platform by the Worker’s Solidarity Network.11
This brings us to the question of why we should desire federation. This was a source of some confusion for the various attempts in the past. The 2007 proposal opened with the lament that there was an “underlying sense of isolation from broader anarchist activity” and that this constituted a “severe barrier on our ability to maintain effective struggle or to even propagate a revolutionary, anarchist politics on a larger-scale”12. The Mutiny Collective believed that “(o)verall the aim of the federation seems to be about promoting solidarity with anarchists from all parts of the region, and opening up communication about anarchist practice.”13 The 2008 Northcote conference call-out suggested, “improved solidarity work when individuals and collectives face state repression; better support for anarchist spaces that already exist & the production of a regular regional publication; the development of greater momentum & support when collectives around the region are organising around similar issues.”14
What we find here and in many of the message boards and statements circulating in the period from 2007-2015 is a shared feeling that the geographic isolation of population centres formed the primary obstacle to the construction of a nationwide anarchist movement. What I would suggest here is that this was symptomatic of the anarchist movement’s failure over the past three decades to engage with emerging technologies. The shrinkage of time and space in our era overcomes this problem, particularly now that the Coronavirus has normalised video conferencing technology.
The real need for a federation, in my view, has already been assessed within the platformist/especifist tradition: “Anarchists have played important roles in many revolutions, but have invariably been defeated. One reason for this history of defeat is the failure of the anarchist revolutionary minority to organize itself into a distinct political organization. A democratic federation could develop a coherent analysis and program, could coordinate the activities of members, and could spread its ideas through its literature. It would not include all anarchists, but only those who agreed with its program. It would not be a ‘party’, since it does not aim at ruling a state.”15
Crucially, it would act to establish the conditions of our engagement with social struggles. As the FAU’s Huerta Grande notes: “To propose a program, we must know the economic, political and ideological reality of our country. The same is necessary in order to create a political line that is sufficiently clear and concrete. If we have insufficient or incorrect knowledge, we will not have a program but only a very general line, difficult to implement at all the places the party is inserted. If there is no clear line, there is no efficient political practice. The political will of the party then runs the risk of getting diluted, “voluntarism” in action ends up becoming just doing whatever comes up out of sheer good will, but does not determine the outcome of events, based on its inaccurate previsualization. We are determined by them [the events] and by them we act spontaneously.”16
In short, we do not want a federation that serves to simply ‘improve solidarity’ or ‘open up communication’, though these are certainly features of any federated organisation. Rather, we should see federation as a means to collectively assess the realities facing us and develop theories and strategies to confront them in a consistent and meaningful way. “Theory aims for the elaboration of conceptual instruments used to think rigorously and profoundly understand the concrete reality. It is in this sense, that we can refer to theory as an equivalent to a science.”17
APPENDIX
Notes on the practical orientation of a federation.
A federation would serve as central ideological and strategic point of reference, allowing member organisations to work within a unifying framework and coordinate their activities. It would be based on an agreement around a key document similar to the Anarkismo Editorial Statement and have an overall set of procedures that the organisations affiliated to it would be bound to. Affiliated organisations would be free to maintain their own independent character, policies and procedures as long as they did not conflict with those of the Federation. If an affiliated group decided to endorse and participate in a political party’s electoral campaign, for example, that would be in contravention to the Federation’s principles and would serve as grounds for suspension.
It is easy to talk about the ‘can nots’ of a federation, however, than to describe its benefits. In my own research into federation attempts in the past, there hasn’t been a great deal of discussion concerning that and they generally haven’t gone beyond ‘it would increase cooperation’. Below I have compiled a list of projects and benefits that could come about as a result of Federation.
-A theoretical journal that would serve as a discussion point for advancing specific anarchism in the Australian context. This would be the public point of access to the Federation’s theoretical advancements.
-An internal theoretical and strategic bulletin between the various organisations affiliated with the Federation where ideas and disagreements could get thrashed out. This could exist in an online or a physical format and would allow members to present strategies and theories that they suggest could advance the Federation’s general praxis and facilitate discussion. This would also bolster the ideological and theoretical unity of the Federation.
-A newsletter that could be distributed to the public at demonstrations, pickets and other events containing the Federation’s analysis of events in Australia and around the world as well as news from the various affiliates. This would be for many members of the public their first introduction to anarchism and the Federation’s politics and ideas. It would also not only help give the affiliate organisations common talking points but bring them into greater alignment ideologically and strategically, with articles being proposed for this publication being discussed on the Federation’s online internal platform. It would of course not take the place of the various affiliate’s own publications. This is common practice in Anarkismo affiliated groups.
-A basis for interaction with other groups that exist on a national scale, including the trade union and socialist movements. This would allow affiliated organisations to present a unified body and give them a common voice with which they can confront issues that affect Australia as a whole.
-Sponsorship of new branches. Where reading groups and small collectives appear, a Federation could offer guidance and sponsorship. This would mean sending them pre-prepared sets of readings and sending members to their location to meet with them and explain the Federation’s foundational principles (platformism/specificism). Sending members in person would also serve to allow the Federation to gauge that group’s level of political coherence, activity, commitment and maturity.
This would help to bring more organisations into the Federation and attempt to ensure their longevity and expansion. There are plenty of groups that have appeared around the country but have disappeared altogether (e.g. Black Swan Adelaide) or have slipped into a charity model that may have benefited from some guidance. Where the Federation felt a group wasn’t suitable for inclusion or that group remained unconvinced by the Federation’s principles, this guidance/sponsorship would hopefully transition to a lasting friendship, with the door open to further collaboration in the future.
-A common resource pool, perhaps in the form of a monthly donation made by each organisation, according to their own ability to do so, and occasional fundraisers that would facilitate conferences, assist expenses for Federation-related travel, subsidise bond money for establishing new centres and so on. In terms of travel, the Federation could subsidise airline tickets if it wanted to send representatives to a conference in Europe or South America or if it wanted to send someone to speak with a collective emerging in a new area.
-It would give members who were changing cities the opportunity to easily transfer to other groups. Some groups have a lengthy trial membership stage before candidates are granted full voting rights, for example. A Federation would allow a streamlining of this process, allowing full members of the various groups to immerse themselves immediately in their new city. If someone moved to an area without Federation presence, the Federation could assist that person to build their own group, by sending resources and sponsoring (in a realistic, transparent and accountable manner) expenses that may occur.
-An annual or biannual conference hosted in different cities that would have both public and internal sessions, not dissimilar to Socialist Alternative’s Marxism and Socialism conferences. This would give an opportunity for unaffiliated anarchist individuals and groups as well as the general public an opportunity to engage with the Federation’s politics and perspectives while showcasing the Federation itself. This would serve to build the Federation’s prestige and bring in people who have not yet been convinced of its politics.
On the final day of the conference, the affiliate organisations would meet in a private session to discuss matters pertaining exclusively to the Federation’s operation – including tactical and theoretical points, the entry of new organisations, international relations and any grievances that may exist and can’t be resolved in an online format. This would further allow individual members of the Federation the opportunity to become better acquainted with one another and give everybody something to look forward to every year. The Brisbane Anarchist Summer School in 2013 showed that a conference can be organised by even a relatively small group and still be widely successful, with hundreds of anarchists from around the country in attendance.
-Internationally the Federation would serve as the chief means by which affiliate organisations would interact with other groups within our tradition internationally, including but not limited to the organisations that have declared their support for the Anarkismo Editiorial Statement. It would also help to guide interaction with other anarchist and non-anarchist groups that affiliates wish to interact with. This is of course not to say that affiliate groups wouldn’t be free to pursue their own alliances, but the involvement of the Federation as a whole would allow a greater level of participation and cooperation.
If down the track, for example, where specific groups begin to form in the Asia Pacific, the possibility of the Federation opens the building of relations and sharing resources with neighbouring countries, helping them to gather strength and perhaps even work towards a regional platform for cooperation. Given the geographic, linguistic and cultural proximity with Aotearoa there are strong possibilities for a cross-Tasman federation. There is already a long history of work with Indonesian and Filipino groups that in turn may eventually yield opportunities in those countries as well.
REFERENCES
1 https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/jdfpdj
2 Tom Goyens 2018, Anarchy at the Antipodes: Australian Anarchists and their American Connections, Salisbury University, Maryland, p. 4-5.
3 http://www.takver.com/history/aia/aia00037.htm
4 https://www.redblacknotes.com/anarchism-in-australia/australian-anarchist-history-anarchist-libertarian-conference/
5 http://www.takver.com/history/aia/aia00045.htm
6 https://asf-iwa.org.au/history/
7 https://libcom.org/library/platform-3
8 https://freedomnews.org.uk/2021/12/09/ireland-a-farewell-to-the-workers-solidarity-movement/
9 https://slackbastard.anarchobase.com/?p=33968
10 Ibid.
11 https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/workers-solidarity-movement-the-platform
12 https://afederation.wordpress.com/2007/12/07/hello-world/#comments
13 https://afederation.wordpress.com/responses/mutiny/
14 https://slackbastard.anarchobase.com/?p=1018
15 https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/wayne-price-revolutionary-class-struggle-anarchism
16 https://zabalazabooks.net/2021/03/19/theory-ideology-and-political-practice-the-faus-huerta-grande/
17 Ibid
Comments
This article is riddled with…
This article is riddled with errors in fact and egregious omissions. So many that it is difficult to know where to start.
The use of 'we' and 'me' interchangably is confusing.
I agree with Libertas - the…
I agree with Libertas - the article shows particularly poor research and is quite misleading - In the latest edition of Rebel Worker Dec. 2023 - Jan. 2024 put on libcom.org and in particular the article in this edition "From Corporate Bureaucratic Unionism to Grass Roots Controlled Unionism: Activity and Perspectives for Australia Today" shows anarcho-syndicalists have been achieving some important things on the industrial front in Australia since the 1990's - defeating privatisation/NeoLiberalism pushes, slowing the tempo of the employer offensive and helping get the initial stages of a strike/direct action wave going - all this would be important in facilitating the emergence of mass syndicalist unionism in Oz and also helping considerably on the environmental front - through defeating pushes to privatise the NSW Railways and so heading off cut backs to rail services compelling people to use cars and slowing the push to privatise the buses in Sydney & Newcastle also leading to increased car usage. Anarcho-Syndicalists associated with the ASN have been achieving some important stuff - in contrast to the various cults and sects on the left here in Oz for some decades! Perhaps the poor research is really about the author of the above confused mess fear of committing a vernal or even a mortal sin? Through reading forbidden literature like the current edition of RW and previous editions?
Don't worry, I read RW…
Give it a go Libertas, don't be afraid.
And don't worry asn, I read RW religiously. It's one of the most important newspapers on industrial issues in Australia. Given my own experiences, those of others that I've talked with and the evidence that I've reviewed, however, I simply don't find the ASF or the ASN all that convincing. There's no doubt that the ASF was cutting edge once upon a time.
I don't know why you're going on with religious metaphors. In any case, any serious student of anarchism will agree that anarcho-syndicalism is a brilliant industrial tactic. Grey Mallory makes the case in his book Uncharted Waters that the BLF was within inches of anarcho-syndicalism. What's necessary though is to review the role of the anarchist organisation itself.
Let's revisit the CNT leader in exile J. Manuel Molina: "The platform of Archinov and other Russian anarchists had very little influence on the movement in exile or within the country. Very few defenders. You know that we had become very radical and we viewed any modification or revision with reservation. The Platform was an attempt to renew, to give greater character and capacity to the international anarchist movement in light of the Russian Revolution, particularly in the Ukraine. Today, after our own experience, it seems to me that their effort was not fully appreciated."
As for 'we' and 'me', I refer to myself when I use the term 'me' and to the anarchist movement as I understand it when I say 'we'.
Yours comradely
Challenge accepted. I'll…
Challenge accepted.
I'll start with inaccuracies and errors of fact before moving on to egregious omissions so great it resembles censorship.
1) "As early as 1888, however, divisions would appear within this young movement, with many moving away from the individualist anarchism espoused by Andare and Tucker in favour of the anarchist communism of Peter Kropotkin and Emma Goldman."
The Melbourne Anarchist Club had dissolved by 1890. The works of Kropotkin were certainly read and discussed there but Emma Goldman was 21 years old and only just getting involved having only just met Berkman. I doubt anyone in the MAC had heard of Goldman. Chummy Fleming invited Emma Goldman to visit Melbourne in 1907, by then MAC was long gone.
A minor point but an inkling of the lack of rigour and sloppiness to come on the part of the author.
2) "The 1975 Federation of Australian Anarchists (FAA) lasted just over a year before the diversity of opinions and ideologies present in the organisation led to its collapse at its 1976 congress."
It was a conference not a Congress as would be commonly understood by anarchist practice. A minor but important point to understand why it was doomed to failure as an anarchist federation.
3) "Anarcho-syndicalists would establish their own federation in 1986, and while this federation still exists, it has not in recent years been able to maintain its relevancy and has diminished to a point of invisibility."
An opinion passed off as fact that I will leave until addressing the egregious omissions later. But the fact is the ASF remains the only anarchist federation (as opposed to a federation of anarchists) in the entire history of anarchism in Australia speaks volumes more about anarchism in Australia than it does about the ASF. The ASF remains the only anarchist organisation in Australia to be federated internationally as the Australian Section of the IWA to which it was admitted in 1988.
4) "The 1975 Organisational Platform of the Federation of Australian Anarchists, a title clearly inspired by Delo Truda, came close to this conclusion in noting that..."
It this was inspired by Delos Truda why wasn't it acknowledged? The short answer is because it wasn't. I understand this as an attempt by the Platformist/Especifista current in Australia to manufacture some history of it in Australia that they could point to but there wasn't any. This wasn't because anarchists in Australia were unaware of the Platform, it had been discussed widely but there was general agreement with the contemporary critiques of Voline, Malatesta, Maximoff, etc as more or less 'Bolshevik Lite'. Also the reference cited has two different editions of the FAAB; the March-April edition published two months after the founding of the FAA and the January-February edition. Take a closer look. The FAAB had been published before it was actually founded by that name in January 1975 in Sydney. This was a decision of the 'Anarchist-Libertarian Conference in Sydney, September 1974 where the author quotes SMG Brisbane. The CNT exile group 'Grupo Cultural Etudios Sociales de Melbourne' were also in attendance but more on that when examining the author's egregious omissions.
5) " Various factors would lead to the implosion of the Congress and the re-fragmentation of the movement." The 1976 Conference split over the issue of class politics. It is better understood as the split between the anarchists and the radical liberals masquerading as anarchists who went on to establish the 'Down to Earth Confest' (conference festival) under the stewardship of former Deputy PM Jim Cairns at Cotter in December 1976. Also, the anarcha-feminist critique was directed at the radlibs not the "workerist/syndicalists" (sic)
6) "and the Melbourne Anarcho-Syndicalist Group, itself a merger of the Spanish CNT in exile and the Melbourne branch of the IWW" The Melbourne IWW was dissolved in 1979 (another wouldn't re-appear until 1994). The MASG lasted from 1983-85 and consisted not only of CNT exiles but also anarchists some of whom were former IWW. The remaining members founded, with other anarchists, ASF Melbourne North in 1986.
7) "absorbing the Public Transport Workers Association in 1987" PTWA was not "absorbed" by the ASF. PTWA was formed by members of ASF Melbourne North working in the public transport industry who left to form a separate autonomous affiliate of the ASF in accordance with ASF Aims Principles and Statutes and were admitted as such at the 1987 ASF Congress.
Time is short so I'll get onto the egregious omissions in a subsequent response after which I hope to summarise the record of the Platformist/Especifista current in Australia with regard to anarchist federation.
"3) "Anarcho-syndicalists…
"3) "Anarcho-syndicalists would establish their own federation in 1986, and while this federation still exists, it has not in recent years been able to maintain its relevancy and has diminished to a point of invisibility."
An opinion passed off as fact that I will leave until addressing the egregious omissions later. But the fact is the ASF remains the only anarchist federation (as opposed to a federation of anarchists) in the entire history of anarchism in Australia speaks volumes more about anarchism in Australia than it does about the ASF. The ASF remains the only anarchist organisation in Australia to be federated internationally as the Australian Section of the IWA to which it was admitted in 1988."
There is the ASF No.1 formed in 1986 with many from Melb. displaying little understanding of anarcho-syndicalism, lacking research into its history and grasp of a realistic a-s strategy for Australia today - after the defeat of the trammies in !990 and collapse of ASF in Melb. - many dropped out of a-s activity and became involved in alternative lifestyle and various single politics eg greenie issues etc in Melb. Following the defeat of the trammies there emerged evidence of the Stalinist legacy influence and Trot group ways in Melb ASF - one congress I attended was manipulated by the subsequent guru (miss using his skills acquired from on the job activity/agitation) of ASF No.2 into a climate of hysteria and subsequently a fake ASF Melb North was established to stack the last ASF No.1 Congress again resorting to the notorious underhanded ways of the Trot groups, ALP Machine, Stalinist legacy.
There is ASF No.2 formed after the collapse of ASF groups in Melb - I understand its cult guru was initially masquerading as the ASF all by himself to credulous overseas people eg the IWA secretary as he had access to the key to the ASF mail box - or maybe his body parts formed a "federation" with his hands sending delegates to congresses of other body parts. Duplicitous and underhanded behaviour.
It has continued in this "anarcho-Stalinist" fashion creating the imaginary General Transport Workers Union following their masquerade in the dimino's dispute - where they acted not all that different to how corporate unions operate - acting as lobbyists for the Dominos workers with community picket lines in oz etc. The ASF No.2 has continued in this fashion which is inappropriate for an anarchist grouping - more a poor photocopy of the Trot groups - Also ASF No. 2 has been heavily informed by "Formalism" focusing upon and massaging micro and macro bureaucracies obviously the IWA one - and their bureaucratic histories rather than involved in the content of anarcho-syndicalist activity - work about getting the strike/direction wave movement going, slowing the tempo the employer offensive etc See the above article on a-s activity in oz from the 1990's in RW Dec,2023-Jan.2024.
See on archive section of www.rebelworker.org review of the pamphlet on Anarchism in Australia Today and the article "Two sides of the Class Struggle" discussion of an ASF No.2
meeting in Sydney characterisd by manipulative practices aligned with the Trot groups and the Stalinist legacy, These articles also focuses on the "Formalist" orientation of the ASF No.2
"And don't worry asn, I read RW religiously. It's one of the most important newspapers on industrial issues in Australia. Given my own experiences, those of others that I've talked with and the evidence that I've reviewed, however, I simply don't find the ASF or the ASN all that convincing. There's no doubt that the ASF was cutting edge once upon a time."
But the article in RW looking at A-S activity from the 1990's in Oz does provide - convincing evidence documented by editions of NSW Sparks for decades - or do you just rely on silly gossip? You refer to the ASF No1. successes which were legit but what about ASN successes as outlined in the above article? It seems you are trying to air brush out of history and activity by the ASN and associated militants for decades in very harsh conditions much worse than what the ASF No.1 were facing in Public Transport in the 1980's and winning much more important victories eg defeat of privatisation pushes etc to fit your bodgied up thesis. This airbrushing out of history was a favoured technique of the Stalin Regime in Russia.
Your talk about A-S as a tactic also shows your inadequate research - if you read the appropriate literature you would see its is more a revolutionary strategy which has its tactics eg forms of direct action etc. As a strategy its about preparing workers for the revolutionary project and effectively waging the class war today - read the writings of Rudolph rocker George Maximoff etc. Its not like today's IWA or CIT so called a-s unions - in the case of sects like ASF No.2's imaginary one or having meeting halls in largish Phone Booths or micro versions of the Corporate unions in many respects particularly in various European countries.
If you think the ASN is doing serious work - why not work with us? Or do you prefer constructing and massaging another micro bureaucracy which of course would provide opportunities for excuses for social occasions and student social clubs heavily informed by political correctness displays and identity politics garnished by the poison of the Stalinist Legacy - perhaps turning out like a larger version of the ASF No.2 - a poor photocopy of the Trot groups.
Egregious omissions "Since…
Egregious omissions
"Since then we have seen the emergence and disappearance of dozens of groups and spaces across Australia."
Between the dissolution of the MAC in 1890 and the foundation of the ill-fated FAA in 1975, the history of anarchism in Australia was located in the migrant working class. I exclude here the history of the IWW in Australia which neither an anarchist organisation nor an organisation of anarchists. But the IWW in Australia did have substantial influence in the labour movement up until the 1917 when 12 members were put on trial for treason and the subsequently banned by federal legislation. Many ex-IWW subsequently became involved with ACTU affiliated unions the CPA founded in 1920.
Anarchism in Australia was revived by the Italian anarchists who arrived in Australia after 1922 escaping fascist persecution or choosing to emigrate. They organised on the North Queensland canefields and established the Matteoti Club in Melbourne. In 1940, they were arrested as enemy aliens and imprisoned with all Italians including fascists. Francesco Fantin was murdered by a fascist in a detention camp in 1942.
From 1955, anarchists from Bulgaria arrived in Sydney and a group of former CNT-B members founded the Sydney Anarchist Group in 1956. The SAG distributed leaflets at May Day marches advocating for anarcho-syndicalism. A few were influential in establishing the ASF in 1986.
From late 1964 through 1966, about 300 CNT exiles and their families arrived in Melbourne from Morocco on UNHCR visas and established themselves as 'Grupo Cultural Etudios Sociales de Melbourne'. The CNT exiles advoacted for anarchists to organise into anarchist federations.
This history of anarchism is largely ignored by what passes for anarchism in Australia today.
1) "...in 1986, and while this federation still exists, it has not in recent years been able to maintain its relevancy and has diminished to a point of invisibility"
Putting aside what constitutes 'relevancy' or how that might be determined and acknowledging what might be considered 'recent years' would exclude the history of the the influence of the ASF in industrial disputes of the 80s and 90s and even excluding the Domino's dispute that resulted in the recovery of AUD 590,000 in stolen wages for more than 3,300 delivery drivers across Australia in 2012, I'll take the last five years as falling within the definition of recent.
In 2019, the ASF hosted the 27th Congress of the IWA in Melbourne. This was only the 2nd time an IWA Congress took place in the southern hemisphere and the first time in the Asia Pacific region let alone Australia. It was at this Congress that the decision to establish the Asia Pacific Sub-Secretariat of the IWA was taken, a joint responsibility of the ASF and the PPAS, the Indonesian section of the IWA.
In February 2020, the ASF Melbourne North affiliate obtained compensation of AUD 12k for a member who had been unfairly sacked from Bunnings Warehouse the previous November.
On 1 May 2020, the ASF commemorated May Day, the Worker's Holiday calling for a general strike on the day itself (as opposed to Bosses Convenience day, first Sunday of May, organised by Trades Hall) for the for the 34th time in a row.
In the same month, ASF initiated a fundraiser for members of the (now defunct) BASF in Bangladesh to pay for basics like soap and masks that many IWA sections responded to.
Also in May 2020, the ASF in conjunction with PPAS assisted in the foundation of the Workers Solidarity Initiative (now Workers Solidarity Federation) in Pakistan who chose the model their Statutes on the ASF Statutes (a document that drew on the experience of the Bulgarian and Spanish comrades who participated in its founding).
In July 2020, the ASF responded to correspondence received by the General Secretary of the Asia Pacific IWA in Jakarta from a group of sacked workers in Sri Lanka who had been abandoned by their IndustriALL affiliated reformist union by commencing a campaign for justice at the global HQ of the company, Ansell, which happened to be in Melbourne. This campaign continued right through to its conclusion in December 2023 and was ably assisted by IWA affiliates WSA and CNT-AIT France.
On 1 May 2021, the ASF Melbourne North commemorated May Day at the Eight Hour Day Monument for the 35th time in a row.
In August 2021, the ASF in conjunction with WSF, the Pakistan affiliate of the IWA, organised a rescue mission to facilitate the escape of 11 anarchists from the Taliban in Afghanistan. This operation was made possible by the extraordinary courage of WSF and greatly assisted by the funds raised by a number of IWA affiliates. One WSF member in Peshawar was arrested by police and falsely accused of receiving funds from Al Quaeda and was forced to flee the country.
While protest actions against Ansell continued throughout 2022, the ASF again initiated a fundraiser for WSF in Pakistan who mounted a flood relief operation that attracted the attention of the national media so much that the govt announced an award acknowledging the WSF for 'charitable works'. Again, IWA sections responded generously.
In November 2022, the ASF in conjunction with the PPAS organised the 1st Asia Pacific IWA Convergence in Jakarta at which comrades from Australia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines attended at which it was decided to launch a campaign to raise awareness of the ideas of anarchism and the methods of anarcho-syndicalism throughout the broader Asia Pacific region with a focus on the translation of texts into the vernacular languages and the publication of original texts in local vernacular languages.
In December 2022, the ASF sent three delegates to the 28th IWA Congress in Alcoy. This is participation in anarchist organising at an international level where decisions are made.
In June 2023, the ASF, in conjunction with PPAS, organised the 2nd Asia Pacific IWA Convergence in Jakarta at which comrades from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand attended. To our knowledge, the greatest number of countries represented at an international meeting of anarchists in Asia ever.
In August 2023, ASF Melbourne North initiated a dispute with a cafe (oddly, owned by a former IDF paratrooper) to recover stolen wages.
In October 2023, the 11 sacked workers in Sri Lanka won compensation worth USD 113k and publicly acknowledged the efforts of the ASF as pivotal to its success and extended an invitation to ASF to come to Colombo to present on anarcho-syndicalism.
In December 2023, ASF Melbourne North won its dispute to recover 11k in stolen wages for its member.
If this is irrelevant, I'd be interested in the author's definition. If this is invisibility, I'd suggest the author make an appointment with their optometrist as a matter of urgency.
2) "2007-08 came out of the series of summit protests at the time and the success of numerous gatherings such as FLARE in the Void, A Space Outside and Live and Let DIY."
What missing form this account is the fact that it was the Melbourne Anarchist Club (not to be confused with MAC of 1886-90) took up this proposal in earnest and organised a conference in April 2008. No agreement could be reached at this conference largely due the those individuals who were suspicious of federation as a nascent bureaucracy who were in the majority.
3) "the next two attempts (2007, 2013) at a nationwide federation were again synthesist in nature."
The 2013 proposal was initiated by the MAC, a fact omitted by the author. The key difference on this occasion is that only established anarchist groups were to be invited and any individuals who expressed an interest were encouraged to either; join an existing group or find others to establish a new one.
That complaint by the Platformist current that it resembled a synthesis position and consequently would not be able to agree on anything and therefore doomed was undermined by the contrary positions taken by the only two avowedly Platformist groups in the country. For more on this read:
https://libcom.org/forums/oceania/critique-anarchist-affinity-its-attitude-towards-afa-07042016
The proposal was advanced on the premise that anarchist groups co-operating together at whatever level they could would be far better than the status quo of small isolated groups with little or no co-operation on anything much at all - a weakness that would be exposed by the rise of the far-right in 2015.
From the Platformists it was clear that it was their way or the highway at the expense of any co-operation that may have enable anarchists in Australia to better respond to an emerging threat from the far right apart from anything else. (Far right white supremacist, Phil Galea, was convicted in 2019 under anti-terrorist legislation of planning to bomb the MAC)
The record of Platformists in Australia with regard to anarchist federation is lacking in any experience and declining any opportunity to gaining any experience on the grounds of it lacking in ideological purity. On top of that, it appears to have chosen to ignore or, when that isn't possible, greatly diminish the experience of the ASF with regard to anarchist federation.
Against the idea of creating politically independent anarcho-syndicalist unions they posit an anarchist cadre that would 'influence' the reformist unions in the direction of anarchism holding nothing more than experiences in Uruguay and Ireland.
Platformists in Australia have a record of supporting unions in Australia engaged in industrial disputes at the same time as studiously avoiding supporting any dispute initiated by ASF. ASF receives far more support from rank and file members of reformist unions and even the odd member of Leninist groups.
Taken together, the hostility by Platformist groups in Australia and their friendly attitude to Leninist orgs reveal much about their politics. Little wonder that Paltformism/Especifism is widely regarded as Bolshevik Lite.
There is no problem with specific anarchist organisations but hostility to anarcho-syndicalism reveals aspirations to the conquest of political power.
For the record, ASF is open to all workers, regardless of their political views, within the confines of abiding by the Aims, Principles and Statutes. Here, an anarchist organisation, there, an organisation of anarchists.
Absolutely no evidence of…
Absolutely no evidence of the strategic industrial organising in Australia which Anarcho-Syndicalists should be doing such as focusing on transport industries - involving long range consistent work and no evidence of a "realistic" industrial strategy presented and no evidence of facilitating the big actions affecting millions which would change the climate in the Oz labour movement encouraging major direct action and syndicalist oriented major splits from the corporate unions but plenty of massaging of the IWA macro bureaucracy - helping workers in a small way in other countries - is okay - but inappropriate in regard to the limited resources and personnel you would have.
The problem would also be at these international gatherings groups like ASF No.2 would foster a grossly simplistic view of how mass a-s union movements would emerge - lacking consideration of the work to facilitate the strike/direct action wave movement.
In regard to Black Freighter - rather than squander limited resources and personnel - with this A-Federation fantasy - why not put this energy and resources into getting behind A-S tools such as NSW Sparks and RW - help get the industrial alchemy going in Vic. and elsewhere which can lead to the strike/direct action wave going - we need to now prepare the ground work on the job for major direct action and major syndicalist splits from the corporate unions - as we don't know when some new major direct action movement in industry will occur like DAA (Drivers for Affirmative Action) - such an outbreak would be connected to the serious industrial oganising we are doing today and other factors completely out of our control. The events of May 1968 in France must be seen in this context - particularly the industrial work of the "Socialism or Barbarism" group - assisting a small group at Renault Billancourt Factory in Paris from the early 1950's with an industrial bulletin which encouraged and linked up with other workplace papers in the late 1950's contributing to an anti-Stalinist pole of action in important factories and firms in the lead up to May 1968 wild cat and general strikes and factory occupations.
Lots of the international…
Lots of the international solidarity activities that the ASN are engaged in sound laudable, but it doesn't sound like most of them involve organising at workplaces in Australia? When you mentioned commemorating May Day for instance, how many people turn out to take part in this activity?
R Totale wrote: Lots of the…
That's because the ASF is 'a mere propaganda group' and 'not a real union' appears to be the premise of your question. You wouldn't be a member of an ICL/CIT affiliate, would you? I only ask because it's a familiar refrain.
The ASF has never had all workers in the one workplace organised into one workplace union. But then not even the IWW in Australia at the height of its fame in 1917 had an entire workplace covered. Before 1917, the IWW in Australia had no more than 400 members. This would be equivalent today of about 2,400 members. But then the IWW was never an anarchist organisation anymore than it is today.
To answer your question about May Day; every State based (what used to be called) Trades and Labour Councils (e.g. Trades Hall in Melbourne or Unions NSW in Sydney) march on the first Sunday in May (i.e. Bosses Convenience Day). These marches attract thousands but not tens of thousands, of mainly rank and file members in addition to members of every leftist group you care to name. On those occasions when 1 May falls on a Sunday, the ASF marches with them.
When May Day falls on a day that isn't a Sunday numbers are small; anywhere between 10 and 50, a little better on a Saturday. The one great exception was Thursday 1 May 1986 when there was about a thousand but those numbers were bolstered by anarchists from interstate and overseas who were in Melbourne for the Australian Anarchist Centenary Celebrations and included veteran Japanese anarchist Seiichi Miuru, veteran Korean anarchist Ha Ki Rak, Diego Camacho (Abel Paz), former CNT Column Commander Vicente Ruiz and about 25 CNT militants most of home had escaped from Alicante harbour on the British merchant ship 'Stanbrook', 26 March 1939.
But the article I'm commenting here on is about the practice of anarchist federation in Australia.
Even through this discussion…
Even through this discussion thread alone its degenerated to posturing between ancoms, ArSes, and platformists.
What would seem like a noble attempt to test political theory with political reality will i fear fall at the first hurdle, each oz anarch tendency in oz competing with each other for the title of best historian.
Tell me how this is any better than the trots vs leninist stouches that happen on the socialist end of The Left, and how any of this has relevance to those who are not members to any of these orgs?
Irrelevant, all of it.
If we could get a lot more…
If we could get a lot more involved in strategic industrial organising in transport industries - more chance of getting the strike/direct action wave movement going and defeating the neo liberal push and defeat privatisation pushes - getting the spearhead of the movement going - which would spread this direct action wave across industry (militant networks in other industries/sectors would be greatly assisted in their agitation for syndicalist unionism, in contrast today they may not be getting too far with low morale of workers, etc) - lead to major syndicalist oriented splits from the corporate unions - break out of enterprise bargaining, defy the Fair Work Court etc. In this context you would have workers taking direct action on various issues of concern - eg environment, anti militarism, etc. As outlined in the article in RW Dec.2023 - Jan.2024 - the defeat of privatisation pushes in the NSW railways over the years avoided a lot worsening environmental situation eg with more cars on the roads.
Also just by achieving syndicalist influence in the above sector and others - it would discourage agencies of the ruling class imposing a much more authoritarian regime in Australia - in the context of preparing for getting Oz involved in war with China/Russia etc - that could be on the cards. There is a book which came out some years back I think it was called "a most dangerous man" - it was about a Doctor who was member of the Communist Party and was targeted by numerous Govt. agencies in the 30's 40's - it is based on Federal Cabinet documents revealing plans for outlawing the CP in the 30's on two occasions before the out break of WWII but the Govt. backed off - due to the important industrial muscle they had in areas such as wharves mining etc, the Govt was intimidated from launching the crack downs/new laws which would also affect other left groups - and lead to a more authoritarian political set up here.
But Most Trot groups in Oz aren't really Trots anymore - they act as very much stooges of the corporate unions and political establishment helping out with the union bosses' smoke and mirrors performances associated with enterprise bargaining with ineffectual "community pickets" and recently with the Israeli Zim Line useless blockades, and helping the neo liberal push etc, see article on Corporate Unionism in Oz and "News & Notes" in RW Dec.2023-Jan.2024 and - this activity of these groups would be in breach of Trotsky's writings.
This strategic industrial organising I'm advocating would fit in with NSW Sparks - may involve some salting - people getting jobs in the sector - to make contact and perk up militants get them contributing/involved in paper with a short term perspective - distro of copies during people's daily routines and perhaps also doing interviews with workers for sections of the paper.
If not we could be in a dangerous situation eg sudden imposing of this neo liberal strong state, moving ahead much more rapidly with war drive and greatly worsening environmental crisis and privatisation of most things.
Also another point re the ASF No.2 they have been affected as I have argued by Stalinist legacy ways for some time - which is not appropriate for a genuine a-s group - a worry is them encouraging this unwholesome influence amongst these international groups in the IWA - also in places like Asia - these countries who have had very large Stalinist Communist parties which may have influenced perhaps unconsciously these allegedly A-S groups in the ways of the Stalinist Legacy - hopefully not - but we really don't know what's really is going on - on the ground with these groups in their countries.
To do this strategic industrial organising - its going to be a tough job - conditions would be much worse then ASF No.1 faced in public transport in Vic in the 1980's - problems of morale, suveillance, disorganising impact of perhaps longer shifts, rotating shifts, speed ups in work - all forces would be needed to focus on it - you have to cope with reverses and on occasion conducting some terrible forced marches. You would have to work miracles on occasion. So it most be the overwhelming priority - the serious work which must be done. Not holding glamorous international gatherings to impress the credulous, gullible and inexperienced particularly those overseas and certainly not holding duplicitous stunts etc. To do the serious work and the breakthroughs , you won't be able to live the soft life anymore - finding excuses for social occasions with mindless useless activoidism and May Day rituals.
And i doubt you personally…
And i doubt you personally would have the soft skills to manage such a project, so what you preach here is actually a moot point. Decades and reams of RW over the decades would seem to be your wheelhouse, with no further contribution rendered.
There are also other labour sectors that are worth organising around, with transport being but one albeit critical pillar amongst others. It might be wise to encourage any form of direct action in oz and build from that, no matter how small. I dont think we are necessarily in a position to cherrypick what is the best course of action based on what fancies our theoretical position.
And im not a fan of some anarch structural proposal that presently amounts to nothing better than a membership to Anytime Fitness. But sure, keep tinkering with history and when you all get a common narrative nailed down then organising will take care of itself, i am sure. We can park this until we get it right :p
'Appropriate' contributions…
'Appropriate' contributions to RW have always been welcome - We are not interested in putting out an exotic left subcultural pile of rubbish garnished with identity politics. A realistic strategy is being presented - which has to be based to a major extent on a study historical precedents - the article in Dec.2023 - Jan.2024 about corporate unionism in oz does provide important evidence that strategy presented works - documented by editions of NSW Sparks - With scanty personnel and resources likely available in Oz for engaging in strategic industrial organising its realistic to focus on this sector "transport industries" which based on the study of historical precedents and practicalities of assisting major syndicalist breakaways from the corporate unions organising drives would make sense.
In the UK some years back the group "Angry Workers World" was engaging in an organising drive in various factories and warehouses in West London which proved unsuccessful in getting an a-s style union going and industrial action to get recognition of it by employers -
In deciding on the focus of this drive - they indicated to me grossly inadequate historical research - not making an adequate study of the strike wave movement in various historical phases and the history of international syndicalism and such episodes as the defeat of the Mundey/Owens group in the NSW BLF in the mid 1970's in Oz. Failing to grasp the likelihood of any a-s union arising in this sector in West London being likely to be crushed in the context of isolation and encirclement by the corporate unions etc and also they would have burnt out their "outside the job" organisation/periphery eg giving out their mag/flyers at factory gates very early in the morning which could not be sustained in the long term. In contrast in certain parts of transport industries - this periphery could assist the drive with distro during their daily routines and get major industrial action going affecting millions and tens of millions which raise the morale of workers in various sectors and get the alchemy going for the strike wave movement going and an expanding syndicalist mass union movement which could break out of the encirclement of the corporate unions and wipe out large parts of its base.
As i said, we are not in a…
As i said, we are not in a position to cherrypick what is the best course of action based exclusively upon our theoretical position. It does seem like it is beyond your capacity to entertain otherwise, with rant after rant of AS fueled dogma.
This ingrained competition of ideological postioning is no better than the trot wars, and demonstrates why a greater anarchist movement can't take this seriously. If participants like yourself were self-aware to this irony that would be a start.
Libertas wrote: R Totale…
Not a member of an ICL/CIT affiliate here, if it's an observation that gets made a lot then maybe there's a reason for that that isn't just about the observers. I just think that if you're making a claim for the relevance of an anarchosyndicalist group, then I'd like to hear about some kind of workplace organising as part of that - obviously, not everything can be public all the time, but I'd be interested to hear about, for instance, how things are going at Domino's and what lasting structures have been built and sustained following the 2012 dispute.
To Black Freighter: In…
To Black Freighter: In regard to this issue of the impact of the Stalinist legacy on contemporary so called anarcho groups in Oz which would form the A-Fed you talk about - You need to take into account the extreme marginalisation of other currents on the Left in the 20th Century in Australia for 4 or so decades and else where- as a result of the predominance of the CP to the left of the ALP in its Stalinist phase.
See discussion New Org in Sydney on Libcom.org - looks at the Stalinist legacy impact on Jura Books - in particularly provides discussion of a meeting in early 2004 heavily informed by Stalinist political practice ( a major step toward its hijacking by a heavily informed by the Stalinist legacy informed cult associated with Sid Parrisi in 2013) - similar to the antics at an ASF No.1 Congress by the later cult guru of ASF No.2 discussed above and aspects of identity politics being "beyond debate & discussion" - like the political lines coming down from Stalin/Moscow imposed on local CP's in various countries during heyday of Stalinism - it also looks at a so called anarcho group in Sydney - also influenced by Stalinist political practice re identity politics.
This adoption of the Stalinist Legacy ways on the Anarcho Milieu to my knowledge didn't really exist much in the 70's, 80's in Oz. However since the emergence of ASF No.2 in the early 1990's we are seeing this nefarious sort of thing affecting many groups. Also the student and middle class social base of these groups must be taken into account and low level of class struggle. See Report on the Workers Control Conference on archive section www.rebelworker.org re these elements seeing capitalism via hierarchies of oppression.
Is it an important principle…
Is it an important principle of doing Proper Working Class Non-Stalinist Anarchosyndicalism that you have to never provide links to the thing you're talking about and just tell the reader to look things up themselves?
I think its his way of…
I think its his way of discouraging people from looking and finding out its just even more ranting screed.
"Is it an important…
"Is it an important principle of doing Proper Working Class Non-Stalinist Anarchosyndicalism that you have to never provide links to the thing you're talking about and just tell the reader to look things up themselves?"
No! Its just providing references which throw more light on and support the points I'm raising and assist research about it - a normal part of a research process - it occurs in most books with their references sections- its voluntary obviously - there is no attempt to engage in psychological manipulation techniques or airbrushing out of history which would be in line with Stalinist political practice as occurred with Black Freighter and the Anarcho-Stalinist outfits I have discussed get up to. In the case of the Jura Books orchestrated meeting referred to above - a week before I stumbled across - a secret meeting at the shop - involving the individual who played a key role in the psychological manipulation at the larger meeting (and now a wanna be union boss) - at this secret meeting engaging in really gross and vile psychological manipulation techniques with a female friend of his - involving her revealing intimate details of her private life with her boy friend to a group of 9 young guys in jura - the mind boggles!!! - a technique it seemed to me aligned with brain washing techniques you get with cults.
He's now written it down, so…
He's now written it down, so it must be true.
For any non-Australians who…
For any non-Australians who have read the above comments: please do not take the above inane arguing as representative of the Australian social anarchist scene.
To directly answer R Totale's question about the ASF Domino's campaign – there is no tangible legacy of it outside of ASF members mentioning it at every opportunity. The wages were recovered through a process of making representations to the Fair Work Commission, Australia's Industrial Relations tribunal, not through strikes or other forms of direct action. The campaign collapsed not long after as it failed to hold on to any of the engaged workers (this is not necessarily the ASF's fault, obviously, but does need to be reflected on) and the Brisbane ASF branch itself folded soon after.
The ASF's inability to give a thorough account of what actually happened (an Angry Workers-style reflection text would be very helpful to militants like myself in the retail/fast food industry!) invites questions about what they actually tangibly did. These questions usually go unanswered since ASF members interpret these questions as personal affronts.
All this (and more) is what convinces me as an anarcho-syndicalist that committing myself to the recent wave of platformist organising is more productive than anything else I can do, whatever the faults of the platformists. The ASF is tiny, consists pretty much only of anarchists anyway, and its members cannot give a straight answer about what it is they actually do. Rebel Worker is one person who has a superhuman level of commitment but an equally superhuman level of hostility towards virtually every other person on the left.
I don't know what exactly happened to the Australian anarchist movement all those years ago that turned its key participants into the most sectarian people imaginable, but I'm terrified it might happen to us of the younger generation one day. My fear isn't that I will get more conservative as I age, it's that I will become a crank and start posting page-long forum screeds about my enemies. If my current factional opponents are reading this: I apologise in advance.
"Rebel Worker is one person…
"Rebel Worker is one person who has a superhuman level of commitment but an equally superhuman level of hostility towards virtually every other person on the left."
All you are doing is spreading silly malicious gossip - the ASN is a network on the job and outside the job - we have a critique of most leftist groups - ie the influence of the Stalinist legacy and identity politics peddled by the bourgeois cultural, education and other apparatuses of the state on these groups - this focus of spreading malicious gossip also known as propaganda/slander - in the heyday of mass Stalinist parties in the 30's 40's etc had very nefarious effects eg accusing the POUM (Workers Peasants Bloc) during the Spanish Civil War as fascist/Francoist supporters and then targeted by the Stalinists/Counter Revolution in the Republican Zone for arrest, assassination etc. Aspects of identity politics for you and your group I understands such as "Indigenous Welcomes" are sacred "beyond debate and discussion" . Most leftist groups in OZ are dysfunctional re workers control directed activity - and the largest from the Trotskyist legacy are heavily involved in the smoke and mirrors of the corporate unions community picket line circuses. Discussed in the above article.
sherbu-kteer wrote: To…
It started as a result one ASF member receiving a notice of a wage cut of 19%. The campaign launched by the ASF in Australia against the wage cut involved pickets at various Domino's outlets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane holding placards and handing out leaflets. Althougfh support from self-avowed Platformists was thin on the ground, members of reformist unions with leftist affiliations associated with Workers Solidarity (union support organisation regularly attended. Six months into this campaign the ASF called upon the IWA to organise an 'International Day of Action' to support as it was a multinational corporation with outlets everywhere.
This took place in September 2012 at 49 separate Domino's outlets in 15 different countries on four continents and it included actions by organisations that were not affiliated to the IWA.
The reaction of the Domino's senior executives of Domino's HQ in Ann Arbor, Michigan was one of shock. The details were known because one of the clerical staff at Domino's Australia New Zealand HQ who was sympathetic contacted the ASF and provided information not only the content of emails from senior executives but the mobile phone number of every Domino's pizza delivery driver in Australia and New Zealand enabling ASF to contact all of them directly. A total of 23 delivery drivers, mostly in Brisbane joined the newly organised ASF drivers affiliate.
It was these drivers that signed an authorisation for the ASF to represent them at the Fair Work Commission as a 'bargaining representative' as defined by the Fair Work Act 2009, Section 176. The reformist unions also fall under this definition but cahnges made to the Act in 2004 allowed for any worker to authorise just about anyone to represent them.
As a direct consequence of this process, it was discovered that Domino's was in breach of industrial law and were ordered by the court to pay around 3,300 delivery drivers a total AUD 590,000 (do the math).
While there were no strikes or even a whole separate workplace organised, none of the workers involved reported any ideological issues with the money they received. It appeared the money had a seamless ideological alignment with their pockets.
Alas, it wasn't to last and the ASF was unable to retain the membership of those workers over time but a great deal of experience was gained.
These kinds of experiences are valuable and were put to good use in future disputes.
Your suggestion that there has been no thorough account is entirely false as it has been has been covered elsewhere on LibCom.
sherbu-kteer wrote:All this …
The ASF is small by any measure but then so is Platformism. Indeed, what passes for the Left in Australia is also small. But I get how numbers are important to those who believe it is a measure of correctness.
Anarcho-syndicalism is a methodology, a practice if you will. It is a not an opinion, the Platformist strategy of creating a cadre of anarchists who will transform reformist unions into revolutionary vanguards is in contradiction to the practice of anarcho-syndicalism. For Platformists (or anyone else for that matter) to be considered anarcho-syndicalists, they would have to be members of an anarcho-syndicalist organisation.
The ASF is open to all workers including those who, for whatever reason, are not members of reformist ALP affiliated unions. Union density in Australia is currently a tiny 14%.
What of the other 86%? It would appear that Platformists would have you abandon them.
I hope these answers, including the information provided at 'Black Freighter's request, is straight enough for you.
In other words ASF No.2 was…
In other words ASF No.2 was acting very similar to the corporate unions but on a micro level -as lobbyists working in the framework of the industrial relations racket but masquerading to gullible and credulous overseas people eg in the IWA and others that ASF No.2 in the regards to dominoes activity they had something to do with anarcho-syndicalist industrial organising/activity - and totally oblivious to the importance on focusing on one strategic sector eg transport which could initiate the strike/direct action wave movement- getting big actions going which would affect millions - defy the industrial relations racket/enterprise bargaining - help provoke major syndicalist oriented splits from the corporate unions etc - All the dominoes workers are doing is carting around pizzas - hardly of any strategic importance - those in ASF No.2 could have got involved in developing sections for Melb. tramways, buses, metro trains etc in the NSW based Sparks - involving outside the job organisation intensively assisting on the job organisation like in Sparks Vic. Rail section - but you won't do that - perhaps due to the obvious Stalinist legacy/Trot group influence/mad cult/sect building/ massaging of the IWA macro bureaucracy etc.
In terms of your figures - re membership of the corporate unions - again a totally abstract discussion - failing to realise their membership would be amongst those in strategic sectors and also elite groups eg train drivers, electricians etc who have the potential to initiate the above big actions - but through the union bosses/corporate media/ALP smoke and mirrors performances of enterprise bargaining and maintaining 'low morale' etc - this hold the corporate unions have of many of their members influences these other less strategic maintaining their low morale and isolating them leading to defeat.
For a discussion of a realistic strategy for anarcho-syndicalists today in Australia
See "From Corporate Bureaucratic Unionism to Grass Roots Controlled Direct Action Unionism: Perspectives and Activity for Australia Today" on Libcom.org and Rebel Worker Dec. 2023 - Jan. 2024 on www.rebelworker.org