SolFed & IWW training course and workshops

Hey Devrim, the post office in the UK sounds a lot like the Post Office in Canada. We put on a direct action course through our CUPW local (it was a huge fight to get it in) but when we did we had a base of about 50 militants to plan actions with. Long story short we had a huge struggle around forced overtime over the winter and using these tactics we built a committee based movement that had workfloor assemblies to issue demands and plan actions. We had one mass meeting with 160 workers that planned actions across the city and we won. You can read about it on the recompositions blog. This was largely independent of the union leadership and was very effective.

Honestly I think the course, along with independent blogs, and text message lists were the main developments that allowed us to move beyond isolated wildcats and towards a movement that can win.

Something i came across in the CNT's 'qué es la CNT' is the phrase "the CNT is a tool of the working class". i like the sentiment, and think we're trying to be something similar. we're not everything. movements will always be bigger than our organisation. other forms of organisation will be thrown up in struggles. but we can be a tool, or ideally a weapon for the class to make use of; training, direct action solidarity, ideally industrial bulletins etc.

And tools are suited to some things better than others. An organisation like the CNT, oriented to workplace and community organising may well be less suitable for making 'interventions' in mass movements, since it's not set up with much theoretical unity, nor the capacity to reach collective decisions quickly in response to fast changing events (i think monthly assemblies are sovereign), whereas political groups or informal circles may well be much better suited. We need various tools, but i think a revolutionary union (intiative) is a vital one.

personally can't wait for this.

edit: also maybe beyond resistance should also try to then adopt the organizer training into your recent strategy? i think it is another thing that y'all as a group could eventually offer. just an idea

@JK

the cnt and you are so right about this. as anarchists/communists that is what we should be precisely, a tool. i think this is a better way of framing it than saying we can provide a service like often happens at least in the USA (ie food not bombs, copwatch, etc)

i hope this is the type of thing we can work towards more in USA IWW, also there is talk at least in the northeast about forming at least for now loose network of solidarity networks. this is just personal but i am starting to wish it could all just sorta be the same organization. (i'm in NEFAC, IWW, and a solidarity network)

Do you get an IWA stressball in the goodie bag?
Also looking out for the recording. Where in the uk have sessions been run? And have solfed been in a position to monitor (for want of a much better word) the fruits of training sessions? As in breakouts of informal organising committees.

I'd like eventually to see the approach to workplace mapping, since, despite the managerial directive style language, it's also the thing I felt quite obsessively compelled to start once finding a new job. Studying the official command tree, taking notes on individual staff and their general attitudes, staff category antagonisms, the basics of previous disputes and peoples' actual relationships with eachother at points in working processes. The kind of study that would look almightily creepy to anyone finding it (and one that's at least largely treading water). Is this roughly the basis of 'mapping'?

Tell me more about this (by pm/email or in another thread)... I haven't heard anyone mention it yet... some slightly more solid structure for information exchange, research, support/advice as well as inter-city actions when a boss has holdings in another city would be good. What would you see it as doing?

Wow, lot's going on here. Literally had trainings from Edinburgh to Brighton and everywhere in between. Prob a dozen in the last 8 months. The 'monitoring' aspect has been a bit lacking. It's something we're aware of and have some ideas for better follow up and post-training link up and discussion.

In terms of practical follow-up, I've got a committee going in my workplace. There have also been some small victories (I got an email about one just in the last week), even if a formalised workplace committee didn't come out of it. It's also worth noting that attendees really do leave with a sense of confidence in talking to their co-workers and beginning the conversations that can lead to effective organising. It's still early days, but confidence like that really changes the workplace dynamic.

Organisationally, it's been great for SF as it's really orientated us toward a workplace focus.

Re: Mapping. We do physical and social. After the roleplays*, it's the mapping that comes in as the favourite part of the training.

*Yeah, I know. Everyone's worried about them at the beginning of the training, but--as they're actually useful as compared to most of the roleplays most of us have ever done--people bloody love 'em.

Jared the Wellington Solidarity Network has had a bit of a chat about starting up something like this. It would be good to try and develop something nationally so that we can share experiences, skills etc.

Probably won't be for awhile though, not til the solnet has more of a rep, but still I'll keep you in the loop.

Cool Bootsy, that would be great. In CHCH we want to get the ball rolling on the SolNet that was briefly formed before the earthquake. I'm still keen to form an IWA a-syndicalist network in Christchurch (and NZ), but I lost that debate

And looking forward to the pamphlet Chilli!

We just had the SF workplace organiser training in Liverpool and I think the concensus was it was excellent and very worthwhile. I work in a completely non-unionised industry and am already in the early stages of setting up a workplace committee, but the training will be invaluable in helping me and my co-workers keep the momentum going and develop the group into something that is a source of rank-and-file confidence and solidarity (and hopefully on-the-job direct action!).