Split within the IWW?

[Spanky Longhorn]

http://iww.org.uk/node/771

It has become clear from statements put out by Alberto Durango and Chris Ford that they intend to create a break away organisation from the IWW. This is not only in breach of our constitutional rules and principle, not least the core Industrial Unionist principle of the One Big Union, but places the workers who leave in a very vulnerable position as they will no longer be afforded the protection which members of the IWW benefit from.

The IWW has committed much time and effort in supporting the cleaners in their struggles, with Fellow Workers from all branches becoming actively involved. The union as a whole has invested a great deal to ensure the success of their campaigns. In light of this unconstitutional break away and formal complaints of alleged irregular, undemocratic and unconstitutional running of the IWW London Regional Committee and IWW Cleaners' Branch lodged against Chris Ford and Alberto Durango, The Britain and Ireland Regional Administration of the IWW feels that there is no alternative but to suspend Chris Ford and Alberto Durango from their positions within the Union with immediate effect pending further investigation.

The decision about how we as a union approach this however, must be taken by the union as a whole. With this in mind, we will release a further statement announcing the decisions taken at the BIRA Annual Conference to be held (24/25th of august), hosted by Sheffield General Members Branch.

IWW Britain and Ireland Regional Administration
17.08.2012

 

[the button]

Aye. Ford & Durango took the opportunity of the victory at John Lewis to annouce the launch of the "Industrial Workers of Great Britain."

 

[Jon-of-arc]

Why are these two people doing this?

 

[JHE]

...unconstitutional break away... irregular, undemocratic and unconstitutional running of the IWW London Regional Committee and IWW Cleaners' Branch...

Was their grasp of the rules a bit wobbly?

 

[Random]

Bloody hell

Aye. Ford & Durango took the opportunity of the victory at John Lewis to annouce the launch of the "Industrial Workers of Great Britain."

 

[DaveCinzano]

One! One Big Union!

Two! Two Slighter Smaller Unions!

 

[the button]

Bloody hell

Apologies for long c & p, but here's the announcement from Wednesday:

CLEANERS SUCCESS AT JOHN LEWIS HERALDS

A REBIRTH OF INDUSTRIAL UNIONISM
The dispute of cleaners at the John Lewis Partnership’s flagship at Oxford Street store has ended with significant success for the workers who took strike action in July.

The members of the IWW Cleaners' Branch announced a resounding mandate from its members to take strike action, the strike ballot had an 80% turnout with 90% voting in favour of industrial action.

The cleaner took strike action on 13th July and on 20th July in protest at a planned cuts in jobs and hours, a further strike set for Thursday 26th July as the Olympic Torch passed the store was cancelled following fresh talks with the cleaning contractor ICM (Compass Group) and the facilities company MML hired by John Lewis Partnership.

Our union has reached an agreement with the employers that members have voted to accept that has halted the compulsory cuts in jobs and hours for the cleaners. Chris Ford Secretary of the cleaners union Industrial Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) said: ‘First 50% of cleaners hours were to be cut, then nearly a third of the work-force were to be made redundant, now after a courageous struggle not a single cleaner at John Lewis Oxford street will be forced to loose their job. In an age of austerity this is no small achievement’.

In addition to defending their jobs, the cleaners at John Lewis turned the situation of cuts around to one where they have secured a 10% pay increase backdated to the start of the contract in March 2012 with increased shift allowances. Hours of work have been re-organised to reduce the excessive shifts cleaners’ workers, some being available for work during unpaid breaks.

Whilst considering the pay and allowance increases a significant step forward from the £6.08 per-hour cleaners earned the IWGB consider it still a stepping-stone towards the London Living Wage of £8.30 per-hour set by the Greater London Authority. Defending jobs does not mean the Living Wage has ceased to be a key objective. In recent months, the IWGB has increased in membership of cleaners across the John Lewis stores and many workers are looking for real change. Cleaners now know they can win; the IWGB will be holding the John Lewis Partnership and its contractors to account in the coming months with regard to the ongoing discussions to lift the cleaners out of poverty pay.

The John Lewis Partnership and its sub-contractors need to take note of the widespread solidarity the cleaner gained from across the Labour Movement. Steve Hedley, Assistant General Secretary of RMT and Chris Baugh, Assistant General Secretary of the PCS both addressed pickets at John Lewis, Chris said: "The PCS fully supports the John Lewis workers' demand for the living wage. Employers who sub-contract poverty pay, like the government and John Lewis, need to be both exposed and taken on." Twenty-four MP’s signed an Early Day Motion 301 submitted by John McDonnell MP showing their support for the John Lewis Cleaners, many writing directly to Charlie Mayfield, John Lewis Chairman.

The IWGB extends heartfelt thanks to all the members of the labour movement who gave solidarity to the cleaners and the countless customers of John Lewis who wrote in support of the cleaners struggle.

http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/commercial...-lewis-cleaners-fight-for-the-living-wage.cfm

http://www.redpepper.org.uk/a-new-dawn-john-lewis-cleaners-strike/

http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/301

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/knowingly-underpaid-john-lewis-hit-by-cleaners-protest-7888976.html

http://www.redpepper.org.uk/a-new-dawn-john-lewis-cleaners-strike/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/video/2012/jul/13/john-lewis-cleaners-strike-video


INDUSTRIAL UNIONISM A NEW FORCE IN THE BRITISH LABOUR MOVEMENT

Building on its recent successes in a series of disputes with employers the IWW London Regional Committee has in conjunction with a range of other members of the labour movement taken the decision to re-launch as the Industrial Workers of the Great Britain. The IWGB was originally founded in January 1909 with the aim of creating a new force in the British labour movement the re-launched IWGB adheres to the same goals advanced then – ‘the immediate object of the Industrial Workers of Great Britain is to build up a militant Industrial Union’.

The IWGB sets as a goal organising the unorganised with its militant organising drive a springboard for future expansion.

The IWGB recognises we live in tough times - austerity policies are reducing our standard of living. Everywhere employers are seeking to maximise their profits by job cuts, making people work harder, longer and paying them as little as possible. But there is an alternative. Our union stands on the principle to get workplace justice. Solidarity wins!


IWGB is an independent union. We are a voluntary association of workers fighting only for the interests of workers. We are not in ‘partnership’ with bosses, held back by bureaucrats or pleasing establishment politicians.



WINNING A FUTURE FOR HUMANITY



Such is the scale of the problems we face today we cannot afford to address them separately - piecemeal solutions are not enough because these problems are a product of the system we live under. This dog eat dog system cannot work in the interests of the majority. Industrial unionism links the struggles of today with the need for a new society fit for human beings. This ideal has nothing in common with the totalitarian ‘communism’ proclaimed in Russia and China! Or even the old Labour Party model of state-ownership. We want more freedom and democracy not dominated by party bosses and state bureaucrats. We seek a co-operative, sustainable society that puts a decent life for people before profits, for democratic self-management and social ownership, instead of control of our lives by corporations and their politicians.

Despite the many problems working class people face, the potential to change things for the better is within our reach, but we can only do it if we organise together. Join the fighting union for the 21st century.



- END -

 

[treelover]

couldn't make it up, very sad...

 

[BigTom]

Why are these two people doing this?

I don't know them, nor do I get involved with national IWW stuff, but my impression of it is that there were some people who didn't like IWW becoming a certified union (which happened before I joined), and I'd guess that this comes from that.
I don't understand it though, SolFed still exists in the space IWW used to be in as well, and anyone who didn't like the structural change enough to split could/should have left to SolFed imo.
I also doubt that we would have seen the victories the cleaner's branch have achieved without being certified and thus able to legally strike & become recognised in a workplace, these were the first IWW strikes for some silly amount of time, and I doubt that's unconnected to being able to access legal protection for workers who are not politically committed to an anarcho-syndicalist vision of radical, militant worker organisation.

When I saw them talking about IWGB in the release and not IWW I was wondering what was going on, and I guess this is it. Very sad and I hope that it doesn't take away from any organising momentum amongst cleaners in and outside of london, but I can't see how that can be avoided, though in all honesty I have no idea how important Chris & Alberto are now (though Alberto was very important in getting the cleaner's branch going afaik).

 

[Libertad]

Why would they do this?
What is the point? Totally contrary to the core values of the IWW, empire building anyone?

Edit, just read your post Tom.

 

[Libertad]

Fuck certification

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

I also doubt that we would have seen the victories the cleaner's branch have achieved without being certified and thus able to legally strike & become recognised in a workplace, these were the first IWW strikes for some silly amount of time, and I doubt that's unconnected to being able to access legal protection for workers who are not politically committed to an anarcho-syndicalist vision of radical, militant worker organisation.

No the reason they haven't struck previously has been lack of density any where

When I saw them talking about IWGB in the release and not IWW I was wondering what was going on, and I guess this is it. Very sad and I hope that it doesn't take away from any organising momentum amongst cleaners in and outside of london, but I can't see how that can be avoided, though in all honesty I have no idea how important Chris & Alberto are now (though Alberto was very important in getting the cleaner's branch going afaik).

Chris Ford is ex-AWL, and Alberto Durango is a stalinist/Chavista who was the secretary of the Unite cleaners branch iirc that split after Unite made them too many promises they couldn't keep.

Solfed is a political organisation which demands a level of political unity these two would not be able to sign up to.

 

[BigTom]

Yeah, I don't know but that's my slightly informed speculation anyway. There are definitely people who are unhappy with the centralisation that has had to happen as a result of certification, and that the IWW is moving away from a purist anarcho-syndicalist position, and aren't happy about it.
But I don't know them personally, they could both be egoists out empire building for all I know.

edit: written before spanky's post above

 

[the button]

I don't know them, nor do I get involved with national IWW stuff, but my impression of it is that there were some people who didn't like IWW becoming a certified union (which happened before I joined), and I'd guess that this comes from that.
I don't understand it though, SolFed still exists in the space IWW used to be in as well, and anyone who didn't like the structural change enough to split could/should have left to SolFed imo.
I also doubt that we would have seen the victories the cleaner's branch have achieved without being certified and thus able to legally strike & become recognised in a workplace, these were the first IWW strikes for some silly amount of time, and I doubt that's unconnected to being able to access legal protection for workers who are not politically committed to an anarcho-syndicalist vision of radical, militant worker organisation.

When I saw them talking about IWGB in the release and not IWW I was wondering what was going on, and I guess this is it. Very sad and I hope that it doesn't take away from any organising momentum amongst cleaners in and outside of london, but I can't see how that can be avoided, though in all honesty I have no idea how important Chris & Alberto are now (though Alberto was very important in getting the cleaner's branch going afaik).

A lot of the anarchos in the IWW wouldn't join SolFed for a variety of reasons. Just to be clear, this split has been initiated by a faction in the IWW that was pretty hostile to anarchism -- to the extent of attempting to ban red & black flags from demos outside John Lewis.

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

I would be amazed if Ford or Durango were opposed to certification.

 

[Onket]

This is a shame. I only sent off my membership form the other day.

 

[Libertad]

Certification=Sell out, fucking cunts

 

[the button]

I would be amazed if Ford or Durango were opposed to certification.

Exactly. It's a split led by people who wanted the IWW to be more like a conventional union, not less.

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Workers_of_Great_Britain

 

[BigTom]

I would be amazed if Ford or Durango were opposed to certification.

well given that, I really don't know what's going on here..

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

Certification=Sell out, fucking cunts

Thanks for your sophisticated and naunced political analysis.

 

[Random]

well given that, I really don't know what's going on here..

isn't it obvious? They've split from the IWW because it's full of anarchos.

 

[Libertad]

My Red Card stays right here, let these fuckers have their moment of self-aggrandisement and good luck to the cleaners but this is not progress.

Spitting blood and feathers here

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

well given that, I really don't know what's going on here..

Fordy and Durango are both fairly astute organisers and Durango has been professionally trained by Unite in organising, both would like to be kings of their own castle and are far more astute than the IWW majority and felt held back by the IWWs radicalism and lack of ability to organise effectively, whether splitting will help them move towards their goals I doubt.

 

[Libertad]

Thanks for your sophisticated and naunced political analysis.

Who are you calling a naunce?

 

[Pickman's model]

Chris Ford is ex-AWL, and Alberto Durango is a stalinist/Chavista who was the secretary of the Unite cleaners branch iirc that split after Unite made them too many promises they couldn't keep.

Solfed is a political organisation which demands a level of political unity these two would not be able to sign up to.

what, solfed are democratic centralists?

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

what, solfed are democratic centralists?

There are other forms of political unity

 

[Pickman's model]

There are other forms of political unity

Groupthink

 

[cesare]

The splitters will need to get certificated too, now, if they don't want JL to try and renege.

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

My Red Card stays right here, let these fuckers have their moment of self-aggrandisement and good luck to the cleaners but this is not progress.

Spitting blood and feathers here

Get out of the hen house then.

Who are you spitting them at though?

The IWW pro-cert wing, the pro-cert and lets go less radical wing, or the anti-cert wing? Do you know?