Because of their strategy change towards hierarchical representation and increasing participation in co-management, a minority within the International Workers‘ Association (IWA) caused disruption and expulsions inmany cases.
This culminated in the abandonement of anarchosyndicalist principles by such groups as the CNT, FAU and USI. As these groups had violated internal regulations and started founding a parallel international, they were expelled from IWA at the Warsaw congress in 2016.
Since several syndicates did not go along with this change toward reformist policies, some of them had been expelled from FAU or left by themselves in the years 2002 and 2003, some of which now associated to found the „Anarchosyndikalistisches Netzwerk“ (Anarchosyndicalist Network) as an initiative with the aim to found a new IWA section in Germany.
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Anarchosyndikalistisches Netzwerk (ASN),
http://asn.blogsport.de
Not that it would matter
Not that it would matter much, but just for the minutes. In 2002/2003 a part of the FAU Bonn split from their local federation and formed a so called Educat in a violation of the FAU statutes. After they rejected to rejoin the local federation, the FAU confirmed that the members of the so-called Educat had intentionally left the FAU. Another tiny local (Kassel) was excluded that same year by their regional federation because they rejected to expell a member that constantly worked against the federation including causing financial damage to the federation. Another local (Koblenz) stopped paying dues and therefor was no longer a member in good standing until they rejoint the FAU a couple of years later.
Thus we are talking of about less than a dozen of people in total. That was a small percentage of the FAU membership even in 2002/2003 (Since then the FAU membership has raised by three or four).
Some of those former FAU members in Bonn and Kassel later started a blog and over the years maintained there contacts mainly with family members like in CNTs SOV Madrid and with some of the IWA sections they got friends in, like the KRAS. The interests of the six or seven people remaining has been more in international contacts ever since than in any involvement in industrial activities. Pretty much like the NSF for instance.
For us it was always obvious that once the FAU should leave the IWA, those guys and the girl would apply for a membership. I personally do not have any problems with this and wish them all the luck they will need. They will just form another isolated micro-section without any potential for growth and thus fit well with quite a couple of other IWA sections.
Having read all the previous
Having read all the previous discussions about the IWA split, I didn't see anything to do with CNT etc becoming reformist, adopting hierarchy or participating in comanagement. So what is that allegation about?
From an outside perspective, making those allegations after you've split makes it seem like mudslinging due to organisational rivalry rather than principled objection…
Well exactly. None of these
Well exactly. None of these accusations were ever made against the CNT before.
Quote: As these groups had
Wait. I thought they left? Looks like someone is going off message.
It's nice to see a that IWA
It's nice to see a that IWA is substituting trade unions of thousands with tiny groups of friends of less than 10.
The whole point is the relationship of power inside the organisation. CNT was led during 80s and 90s by a tendency, and at the end of 2000s by another one. The displaced got mad and found refuge in the International, as they virtually did nothing about workplace struggle. The 'syndicalist' tendency as it was based on strikes and workplace organising... it was a matter of time they were bigger than the other one.
Those applying to IWA are a group of unions in Levante (East, mediterranean coast) with a few dozens of members. Even worse, they're fighting each other over the direction of their new flamboyant pro-IWA union, alienating other unions they could haver attracted. Toxic people attract only other toxic people making the internal environment crazy
Nowadays the secretary of CNT is in Bilbao, and they expect to put the union in the path of a steady growth. In CNT there's a new view of revolutionary syndicalist, connecting to all days CNT. To us revolutionary syndicalism is not only a workplace organising but also a type of socialist society, in which trade unions may control the whole economy. So, as unions are the backbone of the future society we need to be serious and prepare for it (we need technical knowledges in economy, law... our members need constant formation, so on). "Anarchosyndicalism" had become a mantra for dogmatics. Thought CNT also recognises itself as an anarchosyndicalist union it is begging to claim its revolutionary syndicalist origins (1910-1918) as well.
robot wrote: After they
robot
I'm curious as to the basis for their rejecting rejoining the local federation? And was Educat a sort of education syndicate or something like that?
syndicalist wrote: robot
syndicalist
The FAU is a federation of local unions (Syndikate). If there is more than one Syndikat at a place, all those unions form a local federation (Lokalföderation). The Educat once founded out of the general Bonn syndicate declared itself as "autonomous" and refused to join the Bonn local federation. They did not give any reason for that and rejected every moderation by the western regional federation and by this kicked themselves out of the FAU.
Though the term "Educat" sounds a bit like an education syndicate, in fact it wasn't. As far as I remember, they claimed, that they choose that name because they wanted to educate themselves. Though there was a least one long-term university student in Educat, they had as well the owner of a motor vehicle repair shop in their ranks, just like a kinder-gardener and others that had nothing or little to do with the education industry.
Quote: They did not give any
So no one knows why they did this? I mean, it's sorta odd, no?
Salvoechea wrote:
Salvoechea
Do you mean in Spain or globally?
Juan Conatz wrote: Quote: As
Juan Conatz
as far as I understand it, they did not officially leave, but they didn't pay their dues in a long time. They then organise the conference to "re-found" the IWA (meaning start a new international). Then the IWA Congress happened, where I believe none of the rebel sections turned up, and the Congress had no choice but to expel them
Spain. In fact I reckon
Spain.
In fact I reckon there's quite a lot of FORAism (considering the trade union as essentially the same than an anarchist collective) in the side of those people. The local unions they manage are quite the same as any other Social Centre or anarchist collective, focusing in culture, history and some social/communitarian stuff. Syndicalism is not a priority, and some militants are even anti-syndicalists, rejecting the capacity of the working class to become revolutionary. So they are mainly based in small propaganda groups waiting for better times.