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THE ORGANIZER
September 2008 • Issue #11.
Anti-Capitalist Bloc at the RNC
The idea of an anti-capitalist bloc isn't new: this forma-tion is used in Europe and elsewhere, particularly bysyndical-anarchist unions such as the CNT in France,the CGT in Spain and the SAC in Sweden.
What spe-cifically is the point of organizing an anti-capitalist blocto be part of theprotests at theRNC?In my mind, thepoint is to seize theopportunity pre-sented by the RNCfor the purposes of organizing andpropaganda.The anti-capitalistbloc represents aparticularorientation.
Thatorientation ties to-gether an anti-authoritarian per-spective with a classanalysis, and a con-nection to workingclass mass action -an orientation thathas been called classstruggle anarchism.
The RNC provides aready-made oppor-tunity to advancethat orientation.A number of organizations in this country have a classstruggle anarchist orientation.
We hope that the anti-capitalist bloc will provide increasing connectionsamong those organizations.
In this sense, we aim to gobeyond the RNC protests, and maintain the connec-tions that were made here intothe future.The RNC is also a great venue forpropaganda.
This applies both tothe ability to directly reach othersat the protest who may have simi-lar views, as well as an indirectrepresentation to peoplethroughout the country, and, infact, throughout the world.
Ourred and black flags may inspirecuriosity, and encourage thoselooking for a framework for resis-tance.We will be involved inseveral activities duringthe RNC - co-hosting aconcert, providing sup-port to an organizingdrive at Starbucks, pre-senting a panel discus-sion, engaging in directaction, as well as partici-pating in the marches.
But the most importantreason for organizing theanti-capitalist bloc at theRNC is the strategic useof the RNC to enhancethe capacity for ongoinganti-authoritarian work-ing class action acrossthe country.The anti-capitalist blocwill be participating inthe September 1stMarch on the RNC toStop the War and in theSeptember 3rd Marchfor Our Lives with thePoor People’s Economicand Human Right Cam-paign. Look for the redand black flags and thelovely triumvirate banner.See the upcoming events sectionon page 6 for more informationand ways to participate.
A Message from theEditors
The role of the IWW inthe RNC and other historical direct actioncampaigns.
Page 2Cause TroubleEverywhere
Direct action and theRNC.
Page 3The Struggle Con-tinues
An update on IWW organizing at the Mall of America Starbucks
Pages 3-4Looking at London
Accounts from a Wobbly’srecent trip to the UK, and thoughts on the 2008IWW General Assembly
Page 4The PrecariousEconomy and ItsDiscontents
Struggling against thecorporate chains throughworkplace organizing.
Pages 5-6
A monthly publication of the TwinCities General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World.The IWW is a union for all workers,dedicated to organizing on the job for better conditions today, and a world without bosses tomorrow.You are invited to contact the BranchSecretary-Treasurer or any Delegatelisted below for no-pressureconversations about your issues onthe job.
Branch Contacts
Twin Cities IWW P.O Box 14111 Minneapolis, MN 55414Tel. (612) 336-1266email. twincities@iww.org web. twincities.iww.org
Branch Secretary-Treasurers
Editors
Errico Hedake Alexander Graham
Policy
Stories, letters to the editors, and belly-aching can be addressed totc-organizer@riseup.net Unless otherwise stated, the opinionsexpressed are not necessarily theofficial position of the local branch or the union as a whole. Many of our members are engaged inactive organizing campaigns, and some use an alias, occasionally their union card number, or ‘x’ number. Weprefer transparency over secrecy whenever possible, but will alwayshonor requests for anonymity .
A Messagefrom theEditors
Between these two classes astruggle must go on until the workersof the world organize as a class, takepossession of the means of produc-tion, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the Earth.
- From the preamble to theconstitution of the IWW.This issue of The Organizer fo-cuses on the protests which may,even as you read this, be swirlingaround you. The Republican party- one of two major capitalist par-ties that rule the political domainof the United States, have brazenlydecided to hold their nominatingconvention in the Twin Cities, oneof the nation's last redoubts of organized labor. More than that,they've decided to hold this use-less circle-jerk on the day desig-nated by this country's govern-ment as 'labor day.'But why in the world are theWobblies, whose constitutionprevents alliance with electoralpolitics, bothering to even takenotice of this insult? There areindeed those of us who see theentire event, delegates and pro-testers alike, as a waste of time.We should, it is argued, spend ourtime and energies organizing our-selves into a working class forcethat can resist the economic, leg-islative, and violent forces arrayedagainst our goals of self-management and freedom. Othersamong us argue instead that bothconventions - the Democratic andRepublican - provide opportuni-ties for militant unions and anti-capitalists to demonstrate ourunity, our positions, and attractthose who are opposed to theneo-liberal regime but may not beaware of the coherent and organ-ized resistance that our organiza-tion provides. Still others seethese events as part of an ongoingstruggle for control over thestreets, our rights to speak inpublic, and our ability to be seenand promote our goals publicly.History has demonstrated overand over again that the organizedworking class will eventually comeinto open conflict with the capi-talists and politicians of the state,spilling into the streets in orderto defend the gains and demandswe have of our labor and its man-agement. 1848 (Europe), 1871(Paris), 1934 (Minneapolis), 1956(Hungary), 1968 (Global), 1980(Korea), 1999 (Seattle)and manyother struggles provide examplesboth inspiring and instructive. Wewill see over the next few weekswhether the current momentpossesses the conjunction of or-ganized labor and street-basedopposition that can build honestrebellion and open revolt againstthe powers of war and capital. Butwe cannot tell the future, onlywork for it.To that end, the Twin Cities Gen-eral Membership Branch of theIWW has sponsored the activitiesof the Anti-Capitalist Bloc. In addi-tion to the ongoing organizingFellow Workers are doing every-where in the Twin Cities, this issuehas several articles on the RNC,where we will be, and what we'llbe doing.See you at work, or in the streets.
The Industrial Workers of the World has been fighting against capitalismand exploitation since its founding in1905. To find out more about how we organize, and our radically demo-cratic practices and goals, visit our website at www.iww.org.
THE ORGANIZER
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Cause TroubleEverywhere: A De-fense of Direct Ac-tion at the 2008RNC
I’m a wobbly because I don’t like work.
I reject thedignity of waged-labor and believe in a fighting unionfor the liberation from rather than of work.
Work under capitalism enables the boss to steal our laborpower and imposes hierarchical and divisive forms of social organization.
It is true that we are exploited onthe job.
It is also true that the capitalist class is para-sitic and unnecessary and therefore requires work asan instrument of social organization.
Workplace organizing is necessary to alter the balanceof power between workers and bosses.
Withoutworkplace organizing our jobs would be even moredefeatingthan theyare now.However,it is notclear thatthe strate-gies weuse toorganizeour work-places arethe in-strumentsof revolution.
History teaches that ruptures and socialtransformations do not actually follow the linear modelof workplace to industry to general strike.
Instead, asStaughton Lynd explained at the 2002 IWW GeneralAssembly, “in the moments of revolution or near-revolution during the past century and a half we findthat poor and working people did not conduct strugglethrough organizations already in existence when thecrisis began…they acted through new institutions, cre-ated for the purpose at hand.”
Furthermore, organizing on the job is meant to alterthe balance of power between workers and bosses, notto prefigure a world beyond capitalism.
We should notblame it for not doing what it does not set out to do.
We should push our organizing strategies beyond our jobs to force a confrontation with the reproduction of exploitation through our social relations.
This confron-tation may be expressed as a refusal to transform thepower of our living labor into capital, or simply as therefusal of work.
In this sense, we evolve from the or-ganization of our workplaces to the disorganization of work.
Mass convergence protests fromthe millennial “Battle of Seattle”to the 2008 Republican NationalConvention express a commonrefusal of the social organizationof life according to capitalistcommand.
This refusal is ex-pressed in a number of ways: anti-capitalist blocs, the formation of autonomous zones, claiming anddefending territory, the destruc-tion of property, expropriation,and other forms of socialtrouble-making.
Such forms of action do more than signify orpublicize the cause of the workingclass—they actively build our ca-pacity to struggle in common fora world beyond capitalism.
These convergences share acommon history with the revolu-tionary tendencies of the IWWwhich challenge the entire socialorder—our his-tory as a revolu-tionary union.
We organizeworkers to startacting like a un-ion on the job;we should startacting revolu-tionary as aunion.
Today,revolutionaryunionism doesnot mean layingsiege to cities anddisrupting the capitalist class fromplanning their liberation fromworkers (as our enemies will bedoing in St. Paul during the RNC).
But one day I hope it will.
I hopewe will be prepared as a revolu-tionary union to use all weaponsin the workers arsenal.
If another world is possible, hell, if this world is possible, it is a worldbeyond capitalism—beyondbosses, beyond the social normsof profit, beyond the democraticfaçade of electoral politics, beyondwork.
And so, during the RNC, asrevolutionary workers, we shouldliberate our desire from the fan-tasy of mastering and dominatingcapitalism solely through industrialstrength.
Instead, cause troubleeverywhere.
-FW Matt May
TheStruggleContinuesin theStarbucksCampaign
Today marks one month sinceworkers at the Mall of AmericaStarbucks donned red-and-black pins and declared their affiliationwith the IWW Starbucks WorkersUnion. Our struggle has just be-gun, but already we have won im-portant victories.There are many issues in ourworkplace that demonstrate man-agement’s disregard for the well-being of the workers. We make apoverty wage, and don’t have anyguarantee of work hours fromweek to week. Chronic under-staffing leaves us scrambling todeal with the workload put on us.With a company the size of Star-bucks, how can we as a union winour demands?
We decided to address our griev-ances one by one, starting withproblems that can be fixed bystore-level management. Foryears, workers at our store havebeen complaining about the heatlevel in the shop during the sum-mer months. After several hoursof cranking out Frappucinnos,baristas are drenched in sweat.The heat level is not only uncom-fortable, it’s unsanitary and unsafe.This is a problem that could beremedied very easily. All manage-ment would need to do is buy usa fan. We asked them to do thisrepeatedly, and were told that itwould be “too expensive” or thathaving a fan would violate healthcode. We got tired of their ex-cuses, and decided to take action.On Monday August 4th, for unionbaristas walked into the back room to talk with our Manager.They told him that they were giv-ing him one last chance- eitherManagement could buy a fan for
THE ORGANIZER
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