sabotage
Sabotage in the workplace
Sabotage is the generic term for a whole host of tricks, deviltry, and assorted nastiness that can remind the boss how much he needs his workers (and how little the workers need them). Here are some examples
The term "sabotage" derives from French factory workers throwing their wooden shoes ("sabots") into machinery to jam them and stop production. Sabotage refers to all activities which workers can undertake to reduce production or rate of work.
These can be minor activities such as making personal phone calls on work time to major destruction of property or information.
Stagecoach bus driver's strike a success
An initial strike by bus drivers at Stagecoach North East has been praised by the unions, with further strike action planned for tomorrow.
More than 700 Stagecoach workers walked out on Monday following a row over pay. The workers belong to the T&G.
Top ten things to be doing at work instead of working
libcom.org presents the top ten things to do while at work, instead of actually working.
10 Walking around. Not very glamorous, but in some workplaces it's the easiest way of getting a few minutes to yourself. If necessary, carry some documents or look purposefulIsrael: electricity workers take action against privatisation
Workers at the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) have been taking strike and sabotage action against electricity market reform.
Workers halted the unloading of coal from IEC ships and prevented the removal of ash from power stations, likely to paraylze coal fired stations within 3-4 days. They also cut management off from computer, telephone and electricity services and blocked offices in what has been a series of activities designed to disrupt the company's activities using "all legal means".
Sabotage and striking on the job - Louis Adamic, 1931
Louis Adamic immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia at age 14 and was naturalized in 1918. This essay describes his experiences as a casual labourer in a variety of jobs during the 1920s, including his meetings with fellow workers who were members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the 'Wobblies'.
(This text is Chapter 32 of the Rebel Press reprint of Louis Adamic's classic book 'Dynamite! A Century of Class Violence In America 1830-1930'.)
Sabotage in a saw mill
An account of everyday sabotage in a saw mill by Crawdad, a mill worker.
The Fort Bragg Redwood sawmill is owned by Georgia-Pacific, a large company with interests in building materials and chemicals. Workers used to call bomb threats into the company. They waited until 1:00 pm on Fridays, in spring, when it was balmy and glorious.
Sabotage of police data collection
Zeke, a records clerk, recounts his and workmate's sabotage of the Arizona police car registration information.
A long time ago, in the pre-computerised days, I got a job with the records department of the Arizona Division of Motor Vehicles. I thought I'd be doing mindless filing from midnight to eight, but when I got there, I found that I was sitting there looking up vehicle registration numbers for cops who were investigating people.
Sabotage in a food factory
A short account of a brief and minor rebellion of three bottle stackers, by Patrick, a palletizer.
I worked in a food production factory that made thousands of bottles of warm goo a day. I stood at the end of a conveyer belt where boxes with a dozen bottles of this warm crap came whizzing down to me, about one per second. I would stack them on pallets and the forklift driver would take them away.
Employee sabotage in a conservative think-tank
A brief account of sabotage of a right-wing think-tank by one of its employees, Reggie, a mail room clerk.
I worked at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank on Capitol Hill [in Washington DC]. It's a group of attorneys, columnists, whatever, who crank out - daily or weekly or whatever - information. It's printed downstairs, in the Xerox room, and distributed to senators, congressmen, and other influential people. In a couple of cases I delivered packages addressed to Ed Meese.
Worker sabotage in a Honolulu pineapple factory
Everyday sabotage and work-reduction in a Hawaii pineapple plant, by Lance, a pineapple packer.
In Honolulu, most people start working at Dole Pineapple right out of high school. They usually end up staying there for the rest of their lives like my grandparents did. If you don't have a good education, it's hard to find any other job in Hawaii. I'd have to say that for most people, it was just a shitty job. The work was hard and the factory was noisy and hot. No one liked it.
