Syndicalist Workers

Un recordatorio rápido: si tienen la capacidad de contratarte o despedirte, no son sus amigos, sin importar lo "simpaticos" que parezcan. Asociate a un sindicato
🌐 https://www.iwa-ait.org
🌐 https://www.cnt-ait.org

Bangladesh .....

Seemingly a preemptive move by the bosses. ------

My favorite two lines:

>> "BGMEA leaders held a meeting with the union leaders on Saturday and asked them to be more responsible during the crisis so that the garment factories could remain safe."

Meaning: make sure the workers don't strike and join the protests. As in:

>> "The garment exporters fear that if their workers join the ongoing movement across the country"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The owners announced closure to save their factories and other assets, he said.

Nazma Akter, president of Sammilito Garment Sramik Federation, a workers' platform, said that the BGMEA leaders held a meeting with the union leaders on Saturday and asked them to be more responsible during the crisis so that the garment factories could remain safe.

The owners are announcing closure of the factories fearing spread of violence in the sector, she said.

The garment exporters fear that if their workers join the ongoing movement across the country, it will further dent the sector, which was hamstrung for four days when factories were completely shuttered due to violence in mid-July."

Garment factories shut down for indefinite period Out of fear of vandalism and subsequent losses amid the current spell of violence, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) yesterday instructed all the factory owners to keep their units shut until further notice.

Please help out if you can

Black Coal and Red Bandanas – A Graphic Novel An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars. By Raymond Tyler. Illustrated by Summer McClinton.

Bangladesh arrests more than 10,000 in crackdown on protests Student protests that began over government-job quotas have led to mass roundups, says families of detainees

"Arif Sohel কোথায়?

বৈষম্য বিরোধী ছাত্র আন্দোলন জাহাঙ্গীরনগর বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের একজন অন্যতম সমন্বয়ক, 'আরিফ সোহেল'কে গতকাল ভোর রাতে আমবাগান তার বাসা থেকে CID পরিচয়ে তুলে নেয়া হয়েছে। তার হদিস এখনো পাওয়া যায়নি।

Arif Sohail, one of the coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement of Jahangirnagar University, was picked up from his house in Ambagan in the early hours of yesterday night by the CID. His whereabouts are still unknown.''

- Debashis Chakrabarty (Poster and caption)

Workers Solidarity
SOLIDARITY WITH THE BANGLADESHI STRUGGLE!

Workers Solidarity stands in solidarity with the student protesters, workers and peasants of Bangladesh who are facing brutal repression and terror from the government aligned thugs who have killed 201 people since the protest against university quotas began in early July. We further stand in solidarity with over 4,500 others who have been arrested.

Global solidarity! Forward with the struggle!

Send a message to learn more

Please find four new articles which appear on the US on-line publication “Worker Solidarity”.

“‘Worker Solidarity’ is an independent worker journal. Our goal is to provide a platform for reports, analysis and debate about working class struggle, both workplace-based struggles and other forms grassroots social movement resistance, and to promote syndicalism as a strategy for social transformation.”

1. “Uprising Against Autocratic Regime in Bangladesh” by a member of the Bangali anarchist Auraj network - https://eastbaysyndicalists.org/uprising-against-autocratic-regime-in-bangladesh/

2. “Steve Ongerth On The Bombing Of Judi Bari And Redwood Summer Interview on the It’s Going Down podcast” - https://eastbaysyndicalists.org/steve-ongerth-on-the-bombing-of-judi-bari-and-redwood-summer/

3. “Against Productivism” by Tom Wetzel - https://eastbaysyndicalists.org/against-productivism/

4. “A History of Class-Struggle Anarchism - A review of Means and Ends by Zoe Baker” By Tom Wetzel -
https://eastbaysyndicalists.org/a-history-of-class-struggle-anarchism/

A History of Class-Struggle Anarchism – Workers Solidarity A History of Class-Struggle AnarchismTom WetzelJune 20, 2024Anarchism, Labor, Syndicalism A review of Means and Ends by Zoe Baker By Tom Wetzel Zoe Baker’s book Means and Ends is a comprehensive look at the revolutionary class-struggle anarchist movement as it existed and developed in the period f...

Bangladesh police kills. Everybody now knows what the Bangladesh Police did in the last week, how they killed and injured hundreds of protesters. How they killed students, workers and even children. Actually this is the charachteristic of Bangladesh police. Now, they are doing it on a massive scale, but they have been always trained and used to kill anybody who is ''inconvenience'' to the ruling class and ruling party Awami league. Bangladesh Police must be brought to justice.

Today we also remember Anzura Khatun along our recent martyrs.

On 8 november 2023 A female garment worker, Anzuara Khatun, was killed in Bangladesh when police used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse stone-throwing protesters during a garment workers' demonstration for an increase in minimum wage.

24 July 2024 - Bangladesh
Received today from the comrades of the Auraj group:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
People’s uprising against an autocratic state: The present, past and future of Bangladesh

As I am writing this statement, I don’t know the whereabouts of most of my comrades who participated in the ongoing protest of students in Bangladesh. All I know is that they were on the streets, trying to fight back against the police, against the fascist goons of the autocratic party. As only people from some parts of Bangladesh have regained internet access after five days of state ordered nationwide internet blackout, connecting to people back home from abroad has been tough. As new photos and news unveil the unprecedented violence of the police, where they are torturing and killing unarmed people, I go through feelings of anguish and anger. I think about my comrades back in the country, but it’s not only about them, it’s about the entire country. I only know that my comrades are part of the resistance where thousands of others joined, where people are protesting against the fascist and autocratic state, which has killed at least 197 people, detained hundreds, and left thousands injured in the hospitals.

All of this started with a peaceful protest by the students and government job seekers in demand for quota reformation. The quota system in Bangladesh reserves 30% of the jobs for the descendants of the freedom fighters who took part in the liberation war against Pakistan in 1971. This 30% quota leaves most general people with very little chance to secure a government job. The problem of unemployment and recent economic crises have made government jobs very competitive, and most people consider this 30% quota discriminatory and unfair. Even though the ruling party describes the quota system as a way to show respect to the family of freedom fighters, in reality, the ruling party used it to have an obedient group of people in bureaucracy. First of all, the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971 against Pakistan was a people’s war; people from all walks of life helped the freedom fighters through various means. Second, many of the poor freedom fighters belonging to the working class couldn’t manage any certificate of being freedom fighters. Third, there have been claims of corruption and nepotism in issuing freedom fighter certificates by the ruling party. So, this 30% quota allows the government to consolidate their power. Furthermore, reserving 30 % of government jobs for the third generation of freedom fighters, which is less than 5% of the population, stands against the central ethos of the liberation war: equality, freedom, and justice. As anarchists, we supported the just demand of the students. Still, we also believed that mere quota reformation could not solve the problem of the capitalist economy maintained by an autocratic ruling party. However, things escalated when the government responded to the peaceful protest with unparallel violence from police and their fascist goons. The state violence against protesters completely transformed the current movement. Before, moving to this part of the current stage of the movement, it’s necessary to describe the current political scenario of Bangladesh.

For the past 16 years, Bangladesh has been ruled by Prime Minister Sheikha Hasina and her party, Awami League. Even though they first came to power by gaining an electoral majority, they soon became an autocratic party and retained state power through three rigged or staged general elections. Furthermore, Sheikh Hasina and her party boast of being the only party in favor of the spirit of liberation war. In reality, they have appropriated the spirit and gains of liberation war from the masses. They have tried to portray the liberation war from only a nationalistic perspective while it was a peoples’ war led by aspiration for equality, freedom and justice. Post-independence, the class characteristics of the state did not transform, as one group of domestic rulers just replaced another group of foreign rulers. The state apparatus and legal
systems also continued to carry the legacy of the Pakistani and British colonial ruling system. Awami league in their last 16 years of rule has utilized all of these organs of the state ruling system to wipe out opposing views. They have justified it by using their nationalistic rhetoric and tagging everyone else as anti-liberation force.

Even though Bangladesh has achieved high GDP growth in the past decade, it mainly came through the expense of cheap labor in readymade garment sectors and exporting of low skilled labor in middle east. Both of these groups have suffered from inhumane working conditions. While the collapse of Rana Plaza, which killed 1134 people in 2013, managed to gain coverage in international media, other killings from fire and police crackdown have gone unnoticed. The government has cracked down on many labor unions (including the abduction of a union leader), took control of most of the other labor unions, and banned union activity in some areas. Even in the last year, garment workers were killed and arrested for demanding an increase in minimum age. Recently, Bangladesh's economy has been facing a crisis as its short-term development strategy financed by borrowing money is having repercussions. Imperialist and expansionist powers such as the United States, China, and India consider Bangladesh to be a geopolitical region of interest. India, the country that shares borders with Bangladesh, has been most influential in the politics of Bangladesh as they offer the government “legitimacy” to the West in exchange for contracts that only satisfy the interest of the Indian government. Although the ruling party has managed to be reelected for another term without a fair or inclusive election, people are suffering from unemployment, inflation, inequality, and oppression by the ruling party.

The current economic condition and lack of fundamental human rights have created mass discontent among the people of Bangladesh, especially the youth. However, the government, ruled by Hasina, after the recent re-election, considered it to be virtually unchallenged in continuing its regime of corruption and exploitation. So, when the students started peaceful protests for a fair quota system that would prioritize merit, the ruling party resorted to violence. First, they employed the students league, the fascist foot soldiers of the ruling fascist party. They mercilessly beat students and protesters and even attacked them in hospitals. However, this time, the students soon created resistance and managed to regain control of the dormitories from this fascist student wing for the first time in 16 years of Awami rule. Then, the government called the police force to stop the protest. The police used brutal measure and started killing protesters on July 16. That failed to stop the resistance, and it only grew in numbers. The coordinators of the movement called for a complete shutdown of all public activities in the following days.

On July 18, the police and ruling party goons used unforeseen levels of violence as they attacked students protesting inside and in front of universities and high schools. However, the students showed immense courage and tried to fight back. They organized themselves, coordinated with each other and used their limited resources to hit back against the state violence. In different areas, the foot soldiers of the regime and the police force were compelled to leave the area as the protesters fought back. The government also multiplied violence in response and went on a killing spree. By the afternoon of July 18, confirmed news of the killing of many University and high school students were circulated on social media. Mass people started joining the movement, and violent clashes took place between them and armed forces (and ruling party goons). Later that day, the government completely blocked internet access to the entire country to quell the protest. That did not succeed, and protesters continued the resistance the next day, July 19.

Different political party members also joined the movement at this point, but the participation of the mass people and students continued. The armed forces shot and killed at least 70 protesters that day. Most of the people killed were students, but photographer, rickshaw puller, transportations workers were also killed. 2 policemen were also killed by the protesters during the clash. From Friday night, the government enacted a curfew and employed the military. However, clashes and death were also reported on Saturday.

As only some of Bangladesh regained internet access after 5 days of internet blackout from government, it’s difficult to obtain reliable news. The media operating within the country is heavily controlled by the government. The government is also not providing any information on the number of deaths, nor is it allowing medical officials to do so. There have been claims of police seizing death registers from hospitals. According to one leading newspaper in Bangladesh, at least 197 people have been killed in the ongoing protest. However, the actual number is estimated to be way higher. People and news reporters state that they haven’t witnessed such a massive scale of violence in years. Photos and videos are emerging where we can see piles of dead bodies lying on the floor of a hospital, the police continuously shooting at unarmed people from point-blank range. As reported by DW news, UN vehicles for peacekeeping missions have also been used by the armed forces to attack protesters in Bangladesh.

Aside from resistance on the ground, the youth are rejecting and tearing down every narrative of the fascistic party and the authoritarian state. The mass people of Bangladesh have shown immense solidarity with the student movement as they view it as a rightful resistance against the autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina. Local people provided free food and shelter and helped the injured people to reach hospitals. People have expressed mass disobedience and non-cooperation with the state during the movement. The working-class people have shown incredible solidarity with the students in the protest. They have actively supported them and, in some areas, participated with the students. During the movement, the students used various tactics of direct action and mutual aid that helped them to resist successfully.

On July 21, the supreme court gave a verdict in favor of quota reform. Even though the suggested distribution reduces the quota for freedom fighters’ descendants which the protesters demanded, it also reduces the quota for disadvantaged groups of citizens, which is unfair. Furthermore, after the mass killings in the past week, the situation has gone well past quota reformation, and a large number of people now demand the resignation of the Prime minister Sheikh Hasina. However, through controlling media, communication, and excessive force, the government has retained some ground. The police have detained hundreds of students. One of the coordinators was also abducted and tortured by the armed forces. The government is trying to portray that things are getting normal, and soon they will probably have to resume internet connection in the entire country and bring an end to the curfew as businesses are going through heavy losses due to shut down. When the internet gets back, the coordinators and protesters will have to face a tough battle against an unmasked dictatorship that has blood of hundreds of people in its hand.

I don’t think that Bangladesh can go back to being normal again after this killing spree and violence of the ruling party. The people of Bangladesh must decide if totalitarianism by a fascist party will be the fate of the country or will people regain their power. The movement, which started as a protest for fair opportunity in jobs, has transformed into a mass uprising against fascist Hasina’s rule and state violence where the people of Bangladesh are expressing their urge to live with freedom, rights, and dignity. However, to reach that destiny, we need a democratic transformation of the state, we need to dismantle elite armed force which commits extrajudicial killing, and we need to restructure every institution so that nobody ever can gain the power to commit such atrocities. We need to throw away neo-liberal policies and move towards an economy for the people and workers, not for the capitalist class. However, for all of this to happen, we need a strong working-class movement and civil rights movement. So far, the people and society have shown incredible resistance against state violence. The resistance marks a new beginning for the struggle towards a more equal, just, and free Bangladesh. The future is uncertain but if this movement shows anything, it has shown that organized people fighting for just cause can show unthinkable resistance. We reject a future of totalitarianism, and we expect nothing less than a people’s revolution.

24 July 2024

The writer is a member of the anarchist group Auraj network

About Auraj: Auraj (Auraj means anarchy in Bangla) is an anarchist network of Bangladeshi students and other people from different professions. Auraj has published various translations of Anarchist thinkers such as Bakunin, Kropotkin, Rudolf Rocker, and others in Bangla. Auraj also frequently publishes articles on Bangladesh's political and economic scenario. Auraj has shown solidarity with the recent labor movements (movements of garment workers, jute mill workers), student movements, and civil rights movements in Bangladesh. Although members of Auraj have individually taken part directly in many of these movements, including the ongoing current resistance, the activity of Auraj as a group is mainly limited to publication.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/auraj.bangla

Website: https://www.auraj.net/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2uBES6GMRwXToHxfsDJSmWtmqberHxFbGwe7nBBl1lsewklG_u1oy5sTE_aem_br-v3HuqkMMdF7jt2iydmw

অরাজ গণসংগ্রাম জো লাটিও।। নৈরাজ্যবাদী হওয়া প্রসঙ্গে ডেভিড গ্রেইবার: একটি সাক্ষাৎকার অরিত্র আহমেদ

AAsia Pacific IWA- "Our comrades in China are working hard under arduous circumstances to build IWA in China. Solidarity!
ASC on Strikingly"

ASC on Strikingly 积极参与争取工人团结、缩短工作时间、立即增加工资和改善工作条件的斗争。积极反对一切对工人的攻击，例如征兵、破坏罢工、要求增加产量和延长工作时间、削减工资或失业。

Bangladesh, July 2024

Send a message to learn more

CNT-AIT Paris Banlieue (Machine translation)

"Tal Mitnick, a young Israeli "refuznik" (1) who refused to do his military service (compulsory in Israel for both boys and girls) for refusing to participate in the Israeli army's massacre of the Palestinian population in Gaza, announced on his Twitter account that he was released from prison on July 10 and exempted from service in the rush:

"I finally breathe a sigh of relief: after six months in military prison, with no chance of getting out of it, I received a discharge of service today." The last few months of incarceration have not been particularly easy and I want to thank all the support I’ve received from the environment, family, friends and a network of refractors who have accompanied me through this process. «
He will have spent a total of six months (185 days), in six consecutive convictions, incarcerated under increasingly difficult conditions in order to make him "crack". (see article "Direct action against the ongoing massacres in Gaza! Let's support the young Israeli deserters http://cnt-ait.info/2024/05/06/refuzniks )

He has served the longest prison period of any Israeli conscientious objectors in the past decade.

Nevertheless, this failed to break his determination to refuse to be complicit in the ongoing massacre of the Gazans. Therefore, the military administration decided to exempt him from military service, so as not to give more publicity to his case caused by repressive incitement. On the contrary, Tal Mitnick's case shows that direct action against war can win, and we hope his victory over military barbarism will inspire other young people in Israel and around the world!

If Tal Mitnick is free, other refuzniks will remain prosecuted. In other words, Hamas hostages are still being held captive.
Also the struggle to demand an end to the ongoing massacres by the Israeli army and the release of all hostages by Hamas continues.

Stop the ongoing massacres in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Congo, Burma etc..

Not a penny, not a man for military groups and the army, neither here nor anywhere else,

Peace among us, war against tyrants!

the activists of the CNT-AIT (International Workers' Association)
(1) It is customary in Israel to call refuznick those who are not subjected to military service, a term borrowed from Soviet-era dissidents to whom the Communist government refused to emigrate. Conscientious objection is forbidden for men in Israel and just tolerated for women."

http://cnt-ait.info/2024/07/21/tal-mitnick-libre/
===================

http://cnt-ait.info
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Email mailing list:
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http://cnt-ait.info/2024/07/21/tal-mitnick-libre

Actualité de l'Anarchosyndicalisme Tal Mitnick est libre, la lutte pour l’arrêt des massacres à Gaza et pour la libération des otages du Hamas continue ! Tal Mitnick, jeune « refuznik »(1) israélien qui refusait de faire son service militaire (obligatoire en Israël pour les garçons comme pour les filles) par refus de participer au massacre par l&rsq…

From young Bangladeshi comrades -

Anarcho Bangla (@anarcho_bangla) • Instagram photos and videos 1 Followers, 5 Following, 2 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Anarcho Bangla ()

19 July 2024 - Bangladesh

Bangladesh updates:

1. Except some media outlets (Prothom Alo, Manob Jomin), the entire Bangladesh is still out of internet. It has been around 24 hours of internet shutdown for the people living in Bangladesh.

2. People continued to protest against the government on Friday and police attacked them by firing bullets and tear gas. At least 56 more people have been killed today . It takes the death toll to at least 105 (AFP) .

3. An Associated Press reporter witnessed that border guard officials fire at a crowd of more than 1,000 protesters who had gathered outside the head office of state-run Bangladesh Television ( Assosiate Press) .

4. The government has banned all kind of gatherings and protests.

5. People in Bangladesh living in different countries in US and Europe have organized protests against the police brutality in Bangladesh.

6. All India Student Association (AISA) and other student organizations have organized protests in Delihi and Kolkata in India.

Photo: People protesting infront of the parliament building on Friday.

88 years on .... the struggle for freedom continues .....

"July 19th , 1936 --the beginning of Anarchist resistance to fascist coup in Spain. It was also the beginning of the anarchist transformation of society by the take over of land and industries and a widespread social transformation. In the photo we see women from the group Mujeres Libres"

July 19th , 1936 --the beginning of Anarchist resistance to fascist coup in Spain. It was also the beginning of the anarchist transformation of society by the take over of land and industries and a widespread social transformation. In the photo we see women from the group Mujeres Libreshttps://files.libcom.org/files/Ackelsberg%20-%20Free%20Women%20of%20Spain%20-%20Anarchism%20and%20the%20Struggle%20for%20the%20Emancipation%20of%20Women.pdf

From Bangladesh - 18 July 2024

Bangladesh

অরাজ স্বাধীনতা-সংহতি-সৃজনশীলতা

Spanish Revolution, July 19, 1936

88 years onward, the struggle for freedom and libertarian socialism continues!

“Por una educación que nos enseñe a pensar, no a obedecer”

¡Feliz Jueves! 💜🖤🔥

Bangladesh student strikes

FB removed original post on student strikes over the quota system and the forceful dispersal of these peaceful demonstrations.

অরাজ স্বাধীনতা-সংহতি-সৃজনশীলতা

Coming upon the 88th Anniversary of the July 19, 1936 Spanish Revolution
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Spanish Revolution"

Published in New York City by the United Libertarian Organization in solidarity with the Spanish libertarian workers movement of the CNT, the anarcho-syndicalist international the AIT/IWA/IAA and the anarchist FAI.

Spanish Revolution bulletin PDF archive of Spanish Revolution, a newspaper published in New York by United Libertarian Organizations, a coalition of anarchist groups. Published 1936-1938, it reported on the Spanish revolution and the working class's attempts to introduce libertarian communism in Spain.

Perhaps in the Fall 2024?

Started thinking about some form of anarcho-syndicalist reading/discussion group for folks in the US. . This would cover the full gamut of authors. Perhaps interspersing the readings and discussions on specific workplace struggles and organizing. My thoughts are short readings. Maybe getting together once a month on video chat.

I’ve not done something like this before. And I’m not even sure if it’s more than a momentary thought. Just putting it out there.

Feel free to contact me here, PM or email (syndicalistworkersATgmail.com)

Send a message to learn more

Not an advertisement, but well worth the purchase.
Classic and well produced volume ...... on sale .... very reasonable......

Anarcho-Syndicalism In 1937, at the behest of Emma Goldman, Rudolf Rocker (1873–1958) penned this political and philosophical masterpiece as an introduction to the ideals fueling the Spanish social revolution and resistance to capitalism the world over.

Emma Goldman: A New Declaration of Independence In an essay published in July 1909 in Mother Earth, Goldman—a lifelong radical—reminds readers that all humans were created equal.

The latest edition of Barricade Bulletin is available online at the following link: https://derryanarchists.blogspot.com/2024/07/barricade-bulletin-no26-out-now.html

Share if you can

Not an advertisement, but well worth the purchase.

Classic and well produced volume ...... on sale .... very reasonable......

Anarcho-Syndicalism In 1937, at the behest of Emma Goldman, Rudolf Rocker (1873–1958) penned this political and philosophical masterpiece as an introduction to the ideals fueling the Spanish social revolution and resistance to capitalism the world over.

On June 29-30, the IWA Plenary took place in Bogota, Columbia.

More than 60 delegates and observers took part from all around the world. Read more on the IWA website:

https://iwa-ait.org/es/node/1085

June 28, 1936, Alexander Berkman dies.

Remembering "Sasha" on this fateful.

"Life of an anarchist: The Alexander Berkman reader"

"Featuring a new introduction by Howard Zinn, Life of an Anarchist contains Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist, Berkman's account of his years in prison; The Bolshevik Myth, his eyewitness account of the early days of the Russian Revolution; and The ABCs of Anarchism, the classic text on the nature of anarchism in the twentieth century. Also included are a selection of letters between Berkman and his lifelong companion Emma Goldman, and a generous sampling from Berkmans other publications." .......

Life of an anarchist: The Alexander Berkman reader Featuring a new introduction by Howard Zinn, Life of an Anarchist contains Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist, Berkman's account of his years in prison; The Bolshevik Myth, his eyewitness account of the early days of the Russian Revolution; and The ABCs of Anarchism, the classic text on the nature of an...