2000s

By Sean West

Beginnings and Endings

On May 22, 2006, teachers in the state of Oaxaca, Section 22 of the National Education Worker’s Union (SNTE), went on strike. Section 22 has yearly strikes in Oaxaca to demand a variety of concessions from the state, and this year’s strike included calls for higher wages, the construction of more schools throughout the state of Oaxaca, as well as free lunches and supplies for students.

by Chris, Northwest Anarchist Federation

In September, 2005 several thousand riders of Muni - San Francisco's city-owned transit system - participated in a mass fare strike, to fight service cuts, layoffs, and the second fare hike in two years. More than five dozen people were actively involved in the organizing. The last action connected with the fare strike was a November 10th protest march, initiated by the organized day laborers.

A leaflet written and distributed by some people in the Anarchist Youth Network in the UK in 2003 during the strikes of firefighters for a pay increase to £30,000 and an end to "modernisation" or working practices.

Cologne: 'Barmer Block' occupied. The feeling of great potential...
For over three months in the 'Barmer Block' housing estate an unusual squatting experiment took place.

The struggle against the CPE has mobilised youth in the education system, starting in higher education and then followed by the high schools, with the principal objective of forcing the withdrawal of Article 8 of the 'Equal Opportunities Law'. This article introduced a new punitive employment contract reserved for young workers. The objective of the struggle has been fully achieved.

An analysis of the US-UK war on Iraq which was written just before it began in 2003. Some of the predictions made subsequently proved to be mistaken but the overall picture has proved to be accurate.

Our perspective... was simple: “What will it take to win this strike?”

Behind the Border
It is only a one hour journey from Berlin to the German-Polish border, the supermarkets in Berlin offer Polish food, immigrants from Poland are part of daily life in the German capital - nevertheless there are not many direct contacts (apart from perhaps the punk scene). The ‘iron curtain’ is slow to dissolve, due to languages and the geographical location.

Here is an update on recent struggles in and around Poland. More information in English can be found on a website run by the base-unionist ‘workers’ initiative’ from Poland: http://paspartoo.w.interia.pl/index.htm

Polish seamen on strike for eleven days in the docklands of Travemünde/Germany

Romania after the Transition
Promised Land and Class Struggle

Detailed article about a strike in Italy from 2004 to 2005 against closure of a steel plant.

Article about the agricultural industry in Spain, and the strike of mostly immigrant olive harvest workers in 2005.

A short article about a strike against pay and break-time cuts at a Citroen factory in France, 2005.

Article about blockade by students in Canada striking against cuts in education.

Two short articles on school strikes and occupations in Germany in 2005.

Article on the nationwide movement of school students and teachers against education reform, and on the attacks on student demomstrations which occured by youth from the banlieus.

30 March: Some 12,000 of the 21,000 employees at Skoda walked off the job for an hour on the 30th of March, putting the company 240 cars under its daily quota of about 2,000.

Article about the strike and occupation of offices by IT workers in France, which was co-ordinated by directly democratic methods.