Where has all my money gone you vile insidious woman?
Submitted by working class s... on Nov 19 2011 14:56
The great privatisation swindle has meant that we are indirectly paying twice for some services. Successive governments has trousered trillions from the legalised thievery that was made popular by 'that woman'. Where has my money gone, and can I have it back please?
The issue of privatisation is a contentious issue for many. I constantly ask myself why I want the state to control a variety of services when I actually want to abolish the state. For me the answer is two-fold. Firstly, the society that I want to see is not about to arrive any time soon, although you never known.
Competition, bankruptcy, and the decline of the United Auto Workers
Submitted by John E Jacobsen on Sep 23 2011 23:44
September 21st, 2011: The United Auto Workers and General Motors are wrapping up contract negotiations following their previous contract’s expiration on September 14th.
The UAW has released only an outline of the new contract’s features, lauding the contracts “improvements in health care benefits,” pensions, and “improved profit-sharing” between owners and employees.
La « Garde rouge » raconte
The centre of gravity of the workers’ committee movement in Italy in the late '60s to late '70s was the Milan area, and it was the committee of Magneti Marelli in the Crescenzago factory which was the most advanced expression of the committees in this region, and thus in the whole country. This book by the Italian historian Emilio Mentasti examines the whole history of the committee from its birth during the economic crisis of 1973 to its dissolution under the blows of judicial repression and industrial restructuring.
Unfortunately, there is no English edition available as yet...
Preface to the French edition
United States: Workers on the Move - Fred Pilgotsky
Article appearing in International Socialism, No.70, Mid-June 1974, by auto worker and socialist Fred Pilgotsky. In it he talks about wildcats in the auto industry, the conflicts between the unions and the rank-and-file, and the significance of race in the US.
LAST JULY two black production workers, Larry Carter and Isaac Shorter, climbed over the gate to the power control panel in one of Detroit’s largest car assembly plants, the Jefferson Assembly Rant, and cut off the power to the spot-welding department.
Workers' autonomy strikes in China - Mouvement Communiste and Kolektivně proti kapitálu
A pamphlet by Mouvement Communiste and Kolektivně proti kapitálu about the wave of strikes that swept the industrialised coast of China in the summer of 2010.
PRESENTATION
“The bottom line isn't the whole thing”: Detroit, anti-racism and labour history
New Beginnings interviews a Detroit militant with decades of organizing experience in the area.
Mike Ermler has been a long-time activist in Detroit and he has decades of experience in labor, anti-racist and anti-fascist organizing. He has been a member of several organizations and networks over the years. New Beginnings interviewed Mike in the summer of 2006, covering a range of topics about workplace and community organizing from the perspective of working class self-organization.
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India: Wildcat strike at Maruti Suzuki continues, may spread
Submitted by Django on Jun 9 2011 17:23
The strike at the Indian carmaker's Manesar plant has entered its sixth day, with threats of similar strikes at other plants being made.
The wildcat strike exploded a week ago, with around 2,000 workers demanding the recognition of a new union - Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU) - formed by those working at the Manesar plant, among other things.
Around 1,000 workers from different firms in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt gathered at the gate of MSI's Manesar plant today to express solidarity with the MSEU strikers.
A day in the life of the car: 24 damning facts
1989 critique of the automobile in capitalist society by Steve of Year Minus One Press.
Introduction
Hyundai strike hit with police repression in South Korea
Submitted by Django on May 24 2011 21:50
Riot police have broken up a strike and occupation of Yoosung Enterprise factory in Asan, south of Seoul.
Around 3000 riot police have attacked 500 strikers staging a sit-in at the factory, which manufactures piston rings for Hyundai, Kia, Renault and General Motors in South Korea.
The majority of occupiers have been arrested, with the remaining strikers and their supporters being dispersed by the police.
Death toll mounts after defeat of 2009 Ssangyong strike
Submitted by Steven. on Apr 15 2011 10:44
Two years after the brutal crushing of the Ssangyong Motors strike and occupation in South Korea, an increasing number of sacked workers have died prematurely.
It has been two years since the management of Ssangyong Motor Company in Pyongtaek, South Korea, announced the layoffs of 1000 workers. Shortly thereafter, those workers occupied their plant and held it for 77 days, from May to August 2009, when they finally succumbed to a massive police and army assault.
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