Catalyst #22 Winter 2009 - Newspaper of the Solidarity Federation

The new-look Catalyst 8-page tabloid from the Solidarity Federation.

Submitted by Joseph Kay on October 26, 2009

Available as a pdf download.

In this issue: Crisis, cuts and class struggle; Interview with a Tower Hamlets College striker; Cleaners struggles; Lewisham Bridge school occupation, Know Your Rights and more!

Files

Catalyst22.pdf (5.24 MB)

Comments

petey

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by petey on October 26, 2009

that link don't link

Joseph Kay

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Joseph Kay on October 26, 2009

fixed!

martinh

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by martinh on October 26, 2009

If anyone wants real life copies to give out, PM me with a real life address and I'll bung you some in the post,

Regards,

Martin

Devrim

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Devrim on October 27, 2009

I have just downloaded the pdf and haven't read any of it yet (I plan to), the layout looks good, as does the choice of topics for articles.

How are you distributing it?

Devrim

Farce

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Farce on October 27, 2009

And there ends Resistance's short-lived reign as the only anarcho paper with good layout (2009-2009, I think). Organise should start doing their paper entirely in crayon so I can feel smug again.

Joseph Kay

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Joseph Kay on October 27, 2009

Devrim

How are you distributing it?

in Brighton, mostly at the train station during the morning commute, capitalising on the ubiquity of the Metro etc and the fact that if people drop it they drop it on the train where others will pick it up. but also all the usual cafes, pubs and lefty haunts.

Devrim

have just downloaded the pdf and haven't read any of it yet (I plan to), the layout looks good, as does the choice of topics for articles.

the article choices reflect the fact this was slightly more bookfair-oriented than it would normally be, but are pretty close to what we have in mind for it. we'll probably cut some of the 'about SolFed' blurb and detailed contacts in favour of expanding 'know your rights' (i'd like to see it cover housing and benefits too), plus we'd like a bit more social content (like the drugs article).

Rob Ray

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Rob Ray on October 27, 2009

With the know your rights stuff it might be an idea to run more detailed stuff as a series, one in each issue, with a small column with minimal info outlining what's already been in, but pointing to those previous issues online (or by order from solfed)? That way it's drawing people to go a bit further, look at the site, engage with their local etc.

Devrim

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Devrim on October 28, 2009

in Brighton, mostly at the train station during the morning commute, capitalising on the ubiquity of the Metro etc and the fact that if people drop it they drop it on the train where others will pick it up. but also all the usual cafes, pubs and lefty haunts.

Do you think doing it at the train station is effective? We have never given away free stuff to the general public in Turkey. At big demonstrations we give out thousands of leaflets (leaflets are much rarer here. You don't go home from a demo with half a forest's worth of paper in your pocket, and people are much more willing to take them, at times queueing up to receive a leaflet), and could always do more. We also gave away a free copy of a special issue of 'Gece Notlari' on the demonstrations around the general strike last year.

We could give out thousands of leaflets in the morning at the main minibus station in Ankara for example. I am just not sure whether it would be worth it financially. On a demo or a picket line there is much more chance that the person you give it too will be interested in socialist politics.

How many do you give out? Do you think that it is effective?

Devrim

Joseph Kay

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Joseph Kay on October 28, 2009

The marginal cost of tabloids is negligible once the initial setup costs are paid, hence why it's free. Now it's not an either/or, but to be honest the people on demos usually aren't very interested in our politics because there's a large and well-established leftist/activist ghetto in Brighton from which demo attendees are drawn (outside of upsurges in protest like the anti-war movement).

In any case it's not mutually exclusive and we do hand them out at demos, put them in lefty/activist places etc, but our politics aren't aimed at the left. The limited feedback so far from non-politicos has been good, and if people are happy to flick through the metro while commuting I see no reason we can't create something just as readable with our politics in it, and enough practical 'know your rights' type stuff to make it worthwhile holding on to. but of course we'll keep it under review, we're not martyrs who want yo get up early and give out prop for the hell if it.

Devrim

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Devrim on October 28, 2009

The marginal cost of tabloids is negligible once the initial setup costs are paid, hence why it's free.

Surely only if you are printing a huge amount, which you can do with a national organisation distributing it. We only have two branches. Also we can't print on tabloid without legal permission, so it is more difficult for us.

Now it's not an either/or, but to be honest the people on demos usually aren't very interested in our politics because there's a large and well-established leftist/activist ghetto in Brighton from which demo attendees are drawn (outside of upsurges in protest like the anti-war movement).

On workers' demos in Turkey you get a lot of people who aren't in that sort of scene. Also for leftist demos the trade unions will mobilise their members and get people out unlike they do in Britain. Maybe it is also connected to the size of the cities our groups are in. Ankara by far the smallest has a population of about 4.5 million, whilst İstanbul has upwards of 15 million.

In any case it's not mutually exclusive and we do hand them out at demos, put them in lefty/activist places etc, but our politics aren't aimed at the left.

I have only read one of your articles so far, but it seemed in a pretty similar style to the way we would write about industrial disputes. Of course you want to aim at workers in struggle, but I don't think there is anything wrong with addressing yourself to the left too. We have a paper and a theoretical journal, and they serve different, and, hopefully, complementary roles.

The limited feedback so far from non-politicos has been good, and if people are happy to flick through the metro while commuting I see no reason we can't create something just as readable with our politics in it,

I am not criticising here. I am just genuinely concerned about a 'cost benefit analysis'. We have had people in our organisation talk about doing similar things. Of course, you can give out endless copies, particularly when you are talking about the size of the cities we are. I just wonder if it is the best way to spend our resources, which of course are limited like those of all revolutionary groups.

Devrim

Joseph Kay

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Joseph Kay on October 28, 2009

Devrim

Surely only if you are printing a huge amount, which you can do with a national organisation distributing it. We only have two branches. Also we can't print on tabloid without legal permission, so it is more difficult for us.

yeah i guess, it's one of the benefits of being part of a national organisation. mind you without having the numbers to hand, i know printing 7,000 of the 8-page tabloid only cost about £70 more than printing 3,500 4-page A4, so it's a bit of a no-brainer for us. obviously if there's legal obstacles that changes things somewhat.

Devrim

On workers' demos in Turkey you get a lot of people who aren't in that sort of scene. Also for leftist demos the trade unions will mobilise their members and get people out unlike they do in Britain. Maybe it is also connected to the size of the cities our groups are in. Ankara by far the smallest has a population of about 4.5 million, whilst İstanbul has upwards of 15 million.

like i say we do leaflet/distro at demos, but - and this is perhaps peculiar to brighton - it's usually the same faces from the lefty/activist scene (outside of wider protest movements like the anti-war stuff). the last trade union march was 75% SWP, they hired trains and bussed in their student sections from around the country.

Devrim

I have only read one of your articles so far, but it seemed in a pretty similar style to the way we would write about industrial disputes. Of course you want to aim at workers in struggle, but I don't think there is anything wrong with addressing yourself to the left too. We have a paper and a theoretical journal, and they serve different, and, hopefully, complementary roles.

yeah the new Catalyst opens up a discussion about the role of DA (SolFed's magazine, for anyone who doesn't know). thing is i think lefties and anarchists will be interested in the paper anyway because of the content, so targetting it at angry/struggling workers doesn't sacrifice anything imho. i think DA should be more aimed at lefties, anarchists, militant trade unionists and the like, with a more analytical/theoretical slant aiming to win people to our strategy (it's a bit of a mixture at the moment, but does this already to an extent).

Devrim

I am not criticising here. I am just genuinely concerned about a 'cost benefit analysis'. We have had people in our organisation talk about doing similar things. Of course, you can give out endless copies, particularly when you are talking about the size of the cities we are. I just wonder if it is the best way to spend our resources, which of course are limited like those of all revolutionary groups.

like i say the marginal cost is negligible, so as long as we don't mind giving up an hour every issue to distro it costs us little more than the old A4 one. personally i was surprised by how cheap it is, we might even go full colour for the next one.

knightrose

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by knightrose on October 28, 2009

The AF also distros Resistance at places like train stations - though we tend to do it in the evening :) people going on to trains are used to being given free stuff to read, We often see them having a look in the paper as they are walking along. I'd say it's worth the effort, but you have to keep going back to the same places at the same times every month.

Devrim

14 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Devrim on October 31, 2009

yeah i guess, it's one of the benefits of being part of a national organisation.

Yes, we have a nation wide organisation. We just only have two branches so far :)
Actually though the two cities we have members in include nearly a third of the population.

obviously if there's legal obstacles that changes things somewhat.

Yes, there are two problems I think about. Firstly would it be effective and justify the expense, and secondly would our members get arrested doing it.

Devrim

Why did we risk it all? Because we won't go down without a fight.

In August and September 2009, about 250 members of teaching staff at Tower Hamlets College went on strike over compulsory redundancies and cuts to course provision. Catalyst spoke to one of the strikers, Rachel, in the aftermath of the strike, about the up and downs of the battle against the bosses.

Submitted by Choccy on November 7, 2009

While the recent media spin is suggesting that we're 'on our way out of recession', the reality on the ground is that workers are still facing attacks across sectors in the forms of job cuts and community provisions. Education has been one of the sectors worst hit in this period, with £65m slashed from higher-education (HE) budgets, schools closing left, right and centre, and jobs to go at approximately 100 of the 150 HE institutions in the UK . The situation is as bleak as ever.

In August, around 250 members of teaching staff at Tower Hamlets College (THC), East London went on indefinite strike over threats of compulsory redundancies, and cuts in provision of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses. We spoke to Rachel, a member of the striking staff, about the background of the dispute, the issues at hand, and the feelings after the strike came to an end in late September.

We began by discussing the background to the strike, going back to June of this year, – “There was new management, a new principal, new senior managers … and in June they issued a document 'Securing the Future'.” The nature of this document turned out to be a plan for “very brutal cuts in provision and jobs, and on June 5 there was a 30 day notice for consultation”, with the projection in June being that “40-60 jobs in THC would be cut, while approximately 50% of ESOL course places would also be lost, and some in A-level teaching.”

Prior to the attack on jobs and provision, Rachel said that she had experienced “good working conditions with a strong union … we were comfortable”. But that all changed, and with a suddenness typical of many disputes, the plans to cut jobs and ESOL provision were an aggressive assault on the workers and students. Management were strategic in their timing – “proposing to do it all at once, and at the end of term so it was hard to do anything about it… coming up to exams, most of teaching finished for the summer” – indeed the choice of timing had put the workers in a more difficult position to fight back, but they had no choice.

Campaign against cuts

“A campaign started against the cuts, they were talking about 60 people being made redundant but they offered voluntary redundancy and a lot of people took that – which was unfortunate but meant fewer compulsory redundancies”. The campaign began right away, and on 27th June in Bethnal Green, a demonstration of workers, students, and supporters marched to Altab Ali Park in Whitechapel. In addition, staff and students were writing letters in anger at the proposed job and course cuts, but it was clear that direct action would be the only way of fighting back if the workers were to have any hope of defending themselves.

In early July, the attempts to formalise the redundancies had become more concrete. Rachel told us of a “letter sent by courier at night” which targeted 19 people at that stage for compulsory redundancy, which had made a ballot for indefinite strike action all the more vital. In the meantime, over the summer weeks, some people accepted voluntary redundancies, and some appeals had continued between July and August.

Strike ballot

The teaching staff, who were members of the University and Colleges Union (UCU), decided to step-up the fight-back. “We balloted for strike action in late-June and we had a series of one-day strikes toward the end of term”. While feeling that in and of themselves they were ineffective in combating the cuts, Rachel says this was a useful process; “it was a way for people from the different sites to meet and discuss things… we then had an unofficial union action – we refused to take part in a staff development event that we had been required to do- this brought people together”. The same day, staff voted for indefinite strike in September.

The strike was due to start on 27th, August, before students began to enrol for the new academic year – “were we going to be able to carry it out from first day of term?...we had a union meeting first day of term” and they affirmed the strike from then on. Rachel described some of the debates and internal dynamics involved – “some people thought we shouldn't do it during enrolment because of students, since the college has competition from other 6th forms, but we decided to do it anyway”.

Student support

From the beginning of the campaign students were on-board with the staff action – “students did show support…at Poplar [another THC site] students respected the picket line and on the adult sites they mostly didn't cross the picket line. We took great pains to make sure they could understand. The students knew us and they knew what it was about.” The initial demands of the strike at that point were solely around the issue of compulsory redundancies. “We were down to 13 compulsory redundancies because others had won appeals or taken voluntary redundancy under pressure. Other things were dropped… saving some of the jobs did save some course provision.”

The strike

During the strike Rachel says feelings of solidarity were high - “morale was fantastic… there were so many on picket-lines and doing other things and people feeling good… busking, collecting, daily meetings, not much problem with scabs”. The busking and collecting helped the strikers to support themselves financially during the month they were out. “We got strike pay from national union (UCU), but we don't quite know how much for full-time staff. There were 250 people on strike; we were able to collect a lot of money, about £20-25k, through colleges and workplaces, especially FE colleges, and places like local fire station. There was a hardship fund and any striker can say 'I need this much money' on the basis of trust and solidarity.”

Mixed results

“In the end officially there were no compulsory redundancies, but in a few cases I saw them as compulsory because certain people were selected through a scoring process, put through a meat-grinder, going over summer, in the end offered redeployment/demotion or voluntary redundancy.” Basically some had been forced into taking "voluntary" redundancies.

“Six teachers got their jobs back… seven people I believe took voluntary redundancy. Nothing else was included in negotiations about what happens next.” Rachel was very honest about the shortcomings, but she does feel that the gains that had been made, which were mostly in confidence terms, are worth building on. Despite the feeling that they could have achieved more, she says, “we are strong going back, heading to more of a shop-steward model. If we keep that going where we can meet and continue the feeling of strength.

“I think people thought we couldn't stay out too much longer. If we carried on we'd be divided. I think people want to feel good about it and we did accomplish a lot. It could have been much worse without our action.”

So was it a ‘victory’?

In the immediate aftermath of the vote, Rachel had written on the class struggle website libcom.org that “this deal was sold through with the most outrageous manipulation of the mass meeting where discussion was suppressed before and during the meeting as far as possible, with members being shouted down by union officials.

“In the short time there was for debate, many people spoke against accepting the deal but in the end there were 24 votes against, many abstentions and the clear majority voting to accept and go back to work. (though the meeting was of course smaller than our usual weekly meetings).” Having had a few days to reflect on the outcome by the time we spoke, Rachel was acknowledging that there were positive elements in the outcome. While compulsory redundancies were defeated, and this would also mean some ESOL provision would be saved (though not nearly as much as the 1,000 places under threat), Rachel and many of her fellow strikers are not getting carried away in the euphoria expressed by some on the left and higher up in the UCU.

“It was quite a bittersweet thing. A lot of people don't wanna talk about it as a victory – we could have done more heading back to work , but we feel great about what we did… I think at Poplar you've got an SWP branch, they were the ones that kind of ended it when it ended. They wanted that result and got it in the mass vote – 'This is a great victory lets go down to the Brighton Labour party conference.' But cracks have started to appear very quickly in those celebrations.

“People feel it's a mixed bag. It's not just me – 24 of us voted against going back. I didn't think we could stay much longer, but the vote wasn't done in the spirit that other meetings had been done.”

The action by teaching staff has had a ripple-effect in terms of other staff – “the Unison people were promised no compulsory redundancies because we were on strike.” So despite the mixed feeling concerning the outcome, the are definite positives that should not be under-emphasised.

Rachel made clear that while she felt the THC workers could have held out for more, it was only through taking their action against the bosses that they were able to make the gains they did. A feeling among many of the THC staff that were on strike is that they learned the value of fighting back and standing side-by-side in solidarity with each other – had they allowed these attacks to go unchallenged, they'd certainly have been in a considerably worse position.

While there are many lesson to be learned from the strike, Rachel felt that many of her colleagues gained a sense of confidence in what they could achieve when they took collective action, and in times when indefinite strikes are almost unheard of, the THC workers have set an example for workers everywhere.

The fight-back in education is on, and there have been glimmers of hope. From THC to the victorious parent-led occupation at Lewisham Bridge Primary School (see page 3 of Catalyst # 22, Winter 2009) winning an education for their children, examples are being set for workplaces and communities under attack: the only way we can defend our interests is to fight for them. One of the lessons learned has been that it was not the union that 'won' this 'victory' for the Tower Hamlets strikers; it was the collective action and solidarity of the workers themselves.

In a support leaflet for the strike, the London Education Workers' Group said, “The Tower Hamlets strikers have set a fantastic example for the rest of us in education to follow. Through their direct action and solidarity they have shown [principal] Michael Farley and all those seeking to make cuts in education that we will not go down without a fight.”

Rachel has been very honest about the shortcomings after the strike, but the most important thing coming out was the sense of confidence and solidarity they felt going back to work, and no-one can take that away from the Tower Hamlets College workers.

Choccy

This article originally appeared in Catalyst # 22

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