A statement answering questions presented to the IWW in lead up to and presented at a conference on "alternative unionism" hosted by the SUD in France.
1.) Regarding Crisis of capitalism – what kind of answers, positions and contributions can alternative basic-democratic syndicalism give?
Crisis is often used as a tool to break labor power and to shift balance towards capitalists. Business unions often support the resulting competitive pressures. Syndicalism does the contrary. We are committed to international solidarity instead of competition. While capital is well organized, our primary organizing has to be in the workplace, instead of persuading parties and politicians. What we can contribute is to agitate, educate, organize and resist with direct actions. As workers are not satisfied, we have to make use of the crisis for a generalized critique. Before the current crisis, the system as such was not questioned as much in the mainstream, as it is today. Now there is some openness for radical thinking. But fear is also widespread. We should share our experiences in local struggles with workers in other parts of the world, because this can be mutually encouraging.
2.) What connections do you see in alternative syndicalism, grass-roots unions and social movements to associations, collectives, committees that are committed to issues of housing, against unemployment and precarity, for the environment and for permanent residency?
Solidarity unionism means to feel part of a broader social movement. Through direct action workplace struggles we don’t only seek better wages, but we see it as a way of transformation. We don’t address the government to manage the crisis of employment but rather we seek to create worker-led industries/sectors without the need of bosses and investors. The goal of the IWW, as stated in our preamble of 1905, is still the Abolition of the wage system. Through organizing we also address issues such as racism, discrimination, and immigrant workers’ rights where they materialize concretely. When there is the opportunity we cooperate with social movements for reciprocal support, exchange, influence and inspiration. One example is the synergy effect of grassroots-unionism and Occupy Wall Street experienced last year in different places around the US.
3.) What suggestions do you have for common campaigns and initiatives? Should we do syndicalists actions focusing on one country or shall we struggle over already existing international structures?
We are an international union. When something is happening in one country, members in other countries try to show solidarity. In such campaigns we try to include other unions as well. The exclusive focus on the national level is insufficient. A strategic way could be to organize establishments of MNCs or different parts of a supply chain in different countries. Instead of national contexts, we should bring together the local contexts of different countries. As the exchange of knowledge and experiences is so crucial, we suggest to strengthen ties between grass-roots unions in different countries, to improve channels of information and communication among us in order to hear about campaigns and to be able to support them. One concrete way could be to give each other trainings on skills, strategies and tactics, thus to create networks of training exchanges.
4.) What means do you use in struggles? How do you coordinate and realize campaigns? (E.g. website, coordination on the level of industrial sector etc.)
As we are a pluralist union, we have a great diversity of means, approaches and tactics. On the one hand for instance there is workplace-based organizing embedded in an industrial sector network of exchange. Other organizing committees in our membership follow the strategy of organizing step by step a whole industry. In both cases the means of struggle reach from direct actions on the company, to secondary pressure or mobilizing public outcry. This can be done in traditional and digital ways. It always depends on the collective decision of workers in each case. On the international level we support campaigns in cooperation with other unions, through personal contacts, solidarity statements, solidarity actions, international conferences and calls, issue-based coalitions.
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