transport
News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in transport and distribution around the world.
Traffic wardens sacked over wildcat strike
Almost 30 traffic wardens in Belfast were sacked today after taking unofficial strike action earlier this month.
The wardens had taken the wildcat action at the start of April over pay and conditions, including their rotas and sick-pay. The wardens were initially suspended by bosses, but today were sacked. Those involved make up one-third of Belfast's traffic wardens.
Norwegian train drivers strike for Gaza
Norwegian transport workers engage in short symbolic strike against the attack on Gaza.
On Thursday 8 January all trains in the whole of Norway, and all trams and subways in Oslo, stood still for two minutes in protest against the Israeli invasion. The union issued the following information for passengers:
Notes of a militarised Spanish Renfe rail worker, 1976
The very interesting personal account of a rail worker in post-Franco Spain when the railways were militarised following a strike in 1976.
RENFE: THE TESTIMONY OF A MILITARISED WORKER...
Renfe, through its rail services, spreads throughout the Spanish State, and is the company which employs most workers (72,000). Every Spaniard knows this and also knows that these workers have the job of ensuring a regular service to the country, crucial to its well-being and development.
Alitalia wildcat grounds 114 flights
A wildcat strike by Alitalia workers Thursday forced the Italian flagship airline to cancel 114 flights.
Part of the airline's ground personnel held a general assembly at Rome's Fiumicino airport for several hours early Thursday. The action by workers fearful of losing their jobs when Alitalia is relaunched as a private airline next week caused the cancellation of 63 departing flights and 51 Rome-bound flights.
June 24th 2008: a strike that gave the workers little and didn't harm the bosses (II. KPK Bulletin)
A brief presentation of a strike led by trade unions in the Czech Republic in 2008.
Class struggle is a part of capitalism. If we compare class struggle to a real state of war, we commit, of course, a certain oversimplification. But it makes all the more evident that contention does not only mean open confrontations of armies on the front line: it also entails terrain recognition, mapping the enemy's weak and strong points, as well as those of one's own army.
1951: Barcelona general strike
A brief description of social conditions in post-Civil War Spain followed by an account of the Barcelona general strike of 1951. The events in Barcelona led to strikes across the country and signalled the potential for a return to working class combativity in Spain after over a decade of rule under the Franco regime.
The situation of the Spanish working class at the turn of 1950 was a desperate one. Franco's regime had ruled over the country for the last eleven years, and severe conditions fuelled by austerity measures imposed on workers after the end of the Civil War were becoming rapidly worse.
General strike in Italy against government handling of the crisis
Hundreds of thousands of workers downed tools and took to the streets in a four hour stoppage stating "we won't pay for the crisis".
The strike by the General Confederation of Italian workers (CGIL) shut down postal services nationwide, transport services and airports in several cities and many automobile manufacturers, in some of which strikers were joined by members of other unions.
Greek general strike to go ahead
The planned general strike for later today, 10 December is still scheduled to go ahead, but unions bowed to the government and called off protest marches amidst Greece's worst rioting in decades.
2.5 million workers in the GSEE and ADEDY general unions, comprising around half of Greece's total workforce are to strike today.
They are demanding an end to cuts in public spending and attacks on pay and pensions.
Greece's transport network in particular is set to grind to a halt, as many airlines have already cancelled all flights in and out of the country.
Stockton truckers call out the industry with 400 on strike
Motor carriers are underpaying truckers all over california for diesel fuel. Now they're fighting back...
Independent truckers in California's San Joaquin Valley shut down their rigs on Friday, May 2nd declaring an open-ended strike. At $4.80 a gallon, sky-rocketing diesel prices top the list of grievances. As their main demand, drivers insist on doubling the rates paid for hauling a container. The second biggest demand is a fuel surcharge of upwards of 55%.
The Ecological Challenge: Three Revolutions are Necessary
With a planetary ecological crisis on hand, it can no longer be denied that socialism will be incompatible with mass production and mass consumption. Indeed, even without returning to Malthusian catastrophe theories, we are forced to admit that the planet’s resources are not inexhaustible. These resources could provide for humanity’s needs, but only if they are used in a reasonable and rational way, i.e., in a manner directly opposed to capitalist logic, which in itself is a source of imbalance.
The Ecological Challenge: Three Revolutions are Necessary
by Alternative Libertaire
