In my endless quest to eventually sit down and write some north american history, I'd appreciate if folks could share any libcom discussions they may feel relevant. I know there have been many, though more on the down ABC list as it relates to the pre and, I believe, post "regroupment" period.
While I am not exactly sure what I will come up with it, I don't think anything initial will be exhaustive. As I was heavily involved with the years leading up to and the formation of the Workers Solidarity Alliance (WSA), I will prolly first focus on that. Obviously within these four decades of activities, there will be a number of subjects and events covered.
Anyway, any relevant links to look at here or anything else folks who were active may want to bring to my attention, that would be cool and appreciated. Friends and former friends (and even enemies) are welcome to share approrpiate stuff.
Thanks in advance.
Hey, sorry not really sure
Hey, sorry not really sure what to suggest, however I remember a few times you have said that you would try to write something down about your organising work in the needle trades, which would still be really good… And anything else workplace based (of course political group stuff would be good as well)
Steven, there will prolly be
Steven, there will prolly be some menton of needle trades stuff. At some point before the grim reaper comes, I'll try and write something a little but more specific on that. I can assure you you, it's not earthshaking or shattering antything we did in the needle trades, but we were active.
Going through 40 plus years
Going through 40 plus years of personal and organizational letters, files, documents, etc is daunting, yet very revealing. I am petrified at actually having to sit down and turn all this stuff into some form of written historiography. Damn. The one thing I really knew but really didn't know, was the width and breadth of folks that I corresponded with over the decades. I am grateful for the two woman who years ago were part of the feminist press who kinda squared me away on some stuff. And the amazing amount of correspondence and exchange of things with Bruce Allen (and others). Fascinating that the trail to anarchosyndicalism was early, but never exact. And how much the counter-cultural anti-authoritarianism of my youth, the influence of the Yippies!, the fight to Free the Panther 21, Chicago 68, Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, Viet Nam, Viet Nam and Viet Nam..... I note with sadness that there were never really any old timers who ever played any real role in my development, even though I knew or met many. Hodgepodge as much of it has been, well, it has been an experience. Although there have been many disappointments, I'd say that up to the last few years they have been of value. And as I have said to many a person, that stability in movements and in relationships are always difficult. People will respect you when they agree with you. And trash you when they don't. Perfect, naw, nothing has been. And I can say that I surely have not. But the wealth of experiences, the wide ocean of meeting, of being an intimate part of many things have been something so amazing.
Looking at some of the stuff,
Looking at some of the stuff, prolly my favorite years were the Libertarian Workers Group years. There was a certain newness, freshness, eye opening discussions, adventures, people, group activities. As much as I love some of those folks from then, damn, you all were so freakin unreliable with correspondence and stuff... Really ticked me off that I literally became a secretary for life. We did some great stuff. And although Tony P. went his own way on soon many levels, I will love him forever as a comrade who opened my eyes to so many things. But, damn, he was his own worst enemy and created so much sht for himself and all of us. Here's an early on LWG statement which appeared in an issue of our newsletter, "on the line".... https://libcom.org/files/Scan1291.pdf
Looking at the water damaged
Looking at the water damaged NY IWW file brought back some very odd memories. I guess cause some of the people (by the time I got involved, 75-76ish) were sorta odd. I laugh that at one time I was a caretaker NY branch secretary (early 1980s) and did a few issues of a newsletter. Yet fondly remember the encouragement and small donations of a few of the old timers. Prolly my better IWW experiences back in the 1970s was with the Boston Branch. They were decent folks back then.
We were very lucky to have
We were very lucky to have Room 202 @ 339 Lafayette St for solo many years. Aside from all the local stuff, conferences, etc., it was truly a gateway into the outer world. All the global visitors, all the folks tramping through NYC, really allowed to meet some folks we never would have had a chance to meet. It also allowed us to meet people who we may have had significant political or international differences with, face to face and recognize that some were pretty decent folks with (IMO) bad ideas or practices. And some you just couldn't wait until they left the office.
I've transcribed a couple of
I've transcribed a couple of articles which comrades may find of interest. These poorly written articles appeared in Black Flag of Anarchism: an Anarcho-Syndicalist Newsletter in 1977 and 1978 and were ghost written by myself.
Black Flag of Anarchism: an Anarcho-Syndicalist Newsletter was initially published by MM and various others in Rhode Island. Upon the formation of the NYC area Libertarian Workers Group (LWG) in december 1977, it became its publication for one issue. BFA was superseded by On The Line. The below statement of principles were also superseded by the LWG's own Where We Stand.
---Syndicalist
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Social Revolutionary Anarchist Federation Holds Conference
The weekend of July 29-31(1977) SRAF held its yearly North American conference at Wildcat Mountain in Wisconsin. In attendance were both members and non-members of SRAF and independent Anarchist groups/collectives.
Although this author arrived late Friday night, I was told that a General Assembly was held earlier that evening. Fraternal greetings from Portugal were read.
On Saturday morning breakfast (like all other meals) were provided by the hosts, Milwaukee SRAF. Following breakfast the 2nd General Assembly was held. At this Assembly, the names of the 20 odd workshops were read off and the times decided on. A number of these workshops proved to be worthwhile; overall they clearly lacked a class analysis and perspective. Of all the workshops that dealt with an Anarchist class perspective and analysis was the "Self-Management Workshop."
One interesting development that occurred at the conference was the pre-organization of the Anarchist-Communist Tendency within the SRAF. ACT was initiated by a number of Anarchist-Communists and Revolutionary Syndicalists with the hopes of getting the stagnant and non-revolutionary SRAF on a revolutionary Anarchist path. Although there seemed to be a lack of consensus by some on any one particular [organizational] issue. There was most clearly a consensus that a new declaration of principles should be written. A declaration of principles was submitted by Resurgence, a group of Anarchist-Communists and Anarcho-Syndicalists from Chicago.
It is the opinion of this writer that the ACT may prove to be an answer to the problems that face the non-class struggle oriented SRAF. It is this writer's opinion that all Revolutionary and Anarcho-Syndicalists get involved in this project.
Due to space limitations, I cannot give a full analysis of all the workshops. Overall, however, the conference needed to be better organized, less sexist, less pot smoking and certainly needed to be more oriented towards the class struggle.
--M
Black Flag of Anarchism: an Anarcho-Syndicalist Newsletter
Volume 1 Number 1 (new series)
[ Self-published 8" x 14' black and white mimeographed newsletter.
Previous issues were simply named Black Flag of Anarchism and issued over a period of almost four years. ]
Anarchist-Communist Federation Founded
The weekend of March 18 [1978] is now an historic date for the North American Anarchist movement. On that date Anarchist-Communists and Anarcho-Syndicalists gathered, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to debate the issues that face the North American Anarchist movement and to federate together to create a viable Anarchist-Communist and Anarcho-Syndicalist organization and movement.
The process of federation, which led to the founding of the Anarchist-Communist Federation (ACF), is one that dates back at least three years, mainly through correspondence amongst individuals. However the main thrust for this federation came about at last summer's Social Revolutionary Anarchist Federation's conference in Wisconsin (see last issue of BFA). At this SRAF conference a number of individual's, group's, and collectives met to set up the forerunner of the ACF, the Anarchist-Communist Tendency (ACT). The people who initially responded to the ACT were temporarily based around a document of Anarchist-Communist principles, distributed by Resurgence, a group of Anarchists from Chicago.
The ACT, which up until March 18, served, more or less, as the organizing committee of the ACF. During the interim period between the SRAF and the ACF founding conference, members of the ACT published Peter Kropotkin's Anarchist-Communism: Its Basis & Principles (which now acts as one of the ACF's common points of agreement and basis for affiliation); participated as an organized tendency in demonstrations and revised the ACT document.
The March 18 meeting was merely a culmination of debates and work on the revised document. At the conference, the debates and hard work on the revision lead to a fruitful ending: the creation of an Anarchist organization based on a coherent set of principles and organizational structure.
The ACF stands alone on the libertarian left because it has been founded around revolutionary principles of collective responsibility, mutual aid, feminism and class struggle. Opposed to the ACF in pioneering the way towards economic and political freedom are scattered groups of libertarians who either fail to grasp the issues at hand or who are opposed to collectively working together to bring about social and economic change.
The Libertarian Workers Group of New York City
As of December 1977, a small group of Anarcho-Syndicalists in the New York City area has constituted themselves as the Libertarian Workers Group (LWG).
The aims of the LWG is to promote rank and file unity in the unions against the boss and union bureaucrats; support for independent unions and workers councils; the publication of Anarcho-Syndicalist literature; participation as a group in workers and peoples demonstrations; and building the North American section of the Anarcho-Syndicalist International Workers Association.
The LWG has fraternal ties to most European and Latin American Anarcho-Syndicalist organizations and carries a good many of their publications, inclusinding the 1978 Solidaridad Internacional Anti-fascista calander for $3.00.
The LWG can be reached at: Box 445 Forest Hills Station, Flushing, NY 11375.
Free Workers Union of Germany Reconstructed
According to the informational bulletin of the International Workers Association, the Freie Arbeiter Union (FAU) has been reconstructed.
The FAU publishes Direkt Aktion as well as an informational bulletin about news from Spain, as well as Anarcho-Syndicalist literature.
The FAU's "…objective is the liberation of society from exploitation. The future Anarchist-Communist society, with the use of technology, will assure the distribution of necessities in a free society. The self-managed federalism will come about through spontaneous revolution and movements of councils to face organized reaction, and to counter the formations of authoritarian oppression. The functional organization is continuous in an Anarchist society and is the organization of struggle for the economic existence of our choice, which is workers' self-management and federalism."
(Freely translated by MM from Informacion A.I.T.)
Black Flag of Anarchism: an Anarcho-Syndicalist Newsletter
Volume 1 Number 2 (new series)
This 8" x 14' black and white mimeographed newsletter was published by "members of the [NY] Libertarian Workers Group and the [newly formed] Anarchist-Communist Federation" of North America.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Principles
Black Flag of Anarchism: an Anarcho-Syndicalist Newsletter is based around the following principles:
Support for all autonomous rank and file labor struggles, both inside and outside the trade union movement.
- Support for certain immediate gains by labor to help alleviate poverty and want.
- Socialization and collectivization of the means of production and distribution by the working class. Another words, for a society run and controlled by those who produce the world's wealth.
- For the use of the Social and General Strike to abolish capitalism and the State.
- For the abolition of the wage system.
- For working class internationalism.
- For working class education in the principles and functions of Anarcho-Syndicalist economics, theory and mutual aid.
- For class war defense work.
so is your idea to write a
so is your idea to write a memoir? I think I met you in 1978 at an ACF conference, I'm not sure. Of course there was the 1981 conference we had in New York City. I believe this was just before i moved back to California & I came with Rick De B. from Milwaukee. This is when we agreed to start producing ideas & action, by our network, "Syndicalist Workers Committee".
I recall difficulties I had with Tony P. Partly my fault. I hadn't been an editor before & didn't really do so well in interacting with him. But he wrote a piece that was really incredibly filled with jargon, which didn't go over well with me, as I wasn't thinking of ideas & action as an internal discussion bulletin but as a public journal. He was highly offended at me making suggestions to tone down the jargon.
That's one of the less pleasant memories from that period. On the other hand, the period from 1985 to early '90s was period of slow growth for WSA. Somehow things sort of fell apart in the '90s. For one thing I got really burned out from doing most of the work on i&a. I began to have doubts about where we were going.
Cat.... Not sure if a memoir,
Cat.... Not sure if a memoir, cause I'm personally not that interesting
Perhaps a sort sets of recollections or travelogue of groups, movements,
and so forth.
Been thinking how to present observations, recounting events
should be easier. People are more complex, cause not everyone is black and white.
Some folks have been wonderful, some jerks, many selfish, many absolutely giving
Others brilliant, others really stupid. Some just learning. Others who learned nothing.
Confluence of changing in ideas, lifestyles, world events, internal dynamics, diplomacy and the absolute failure of many to be politically, organizationally and diplomatically tone death or insensitive
Movements, groups, organizations are organized around ideas, yes, but, in large measure, the glue are the participants. And those relations can sometimes be very rewarding, sometime spicy and dicy. Some of that are simple personality clashes, some political differences and some both. Lots if folks have had issues within keeping themselves in check. The last few years I have prolly broken many of my cardinal and guiding principles in dealing with fks. Frustration can do that (particularly when personal and political crash like speeding trains round a bend). Many folks have had these experiances and those are not always known or understood in an organizational or movement context. Makes some things difficult
As much as I respect most of what you say, and you as a human being, you can be difficult
When one writes that, are the positives one brings to the table lost and the negative seized upon by those who simply are take downers and thrashers? Blending in a respectful yet candid way may not always be understood or taken at face value.
I'm not a writer and so how to present the participants may not be the easiest part for me
Oh yeah, your editorial years and debate around where we stand (mainly the last go round)
had their moments.
There are few people who stick to things, to the movement,
to the struggle for freedom. While I may not always agree or ever agree with lifers,
I will always respect them simply for their tenacity and commitment to continue year after year
Decade after decade. Sometimes we need to take breaks, I am at that point now. But the struggle for freedom is a lifetime commitment. And looking back after all these years, this recognition, and
the ability to never propose anything you yourself will not dirty your own hands are my two if my main takeaways
On a cell and suspect I am rambling Anyway, I hope to write something that at least conveys our past realities, successes and failures with some humility but with as much candor as possible
Cat.....Thinking out
Cat.....Thinking out loud.....prolly writing the last 5 or so years will be challenging tho. Still too close and not really fully absorbed in my mind. Though the counters of what I'd prolly sketch out are there. I will prolly drop off in 2015.
I must be senile, I don't recall meeting you in Ann Arbor, March 1978 at the founding ACF conference.
Cat....any sources or links to NAM the might be of interest?
DP
DP
If I would approximate my
If I would approximate my current views, I suspect they are not much different then they were in 1976/77/78...... Of course times have changed and I prolly might tweak some of this, but this is a pretty accurate summation of things......Quotations from above newslterrs.
And ....
And the hopes that a libertarian organization, with strong amarchosyndicalism as one of the main foci and engaged in mass work might have been .....
I'm sure these words stung
I'm sure these words stung Jim and Linda Bumpas...two very nice and hardi working comrades. They poured their all into the formation ands maintanence of the SRAF.
Although pretty true and accurate, it would take some time and practice in conveying the same thing, only a bit more diplomatically.
I just posted this on my FB
I just posted this on my FB page ... It is my hope that I can fill some of my activist void by writing some of the histories I would like to.
This is being reposted here are some folks may not see the FB posting. Or understand some of my motivation in unfriending.
We didn't meet at ACF
We didn't meet at ACF founding conference in Ann Arbor in 1978 because I wasn't there. I wasn't really all that enthusiastic about ACF. I didn't identify as an anarchist back then tho I agreed with syndicalism, libertarian socialism.
I'm not sure where we met. but it was some time before break up of ACF I think. Did you go to the ACF conference in Toronto? I was at that one. Also, I remember being at a conference in Morgantown.
I knew we met later.
I knew we met later.
On the ACF experience, I
On the ACF experience, I would say that many lessons in political / organizational maturity was both learned and lost. Some learned the lessons, others only partially and some not at all. Successive generation was to repeat many of the same things. I suspect all generations do, even when you try to share those lessons concretely and constructively.
syndicalistcat wrote: ....
syndicalistcat
This was the last conference LWG participated in. It was the "end of the end" for some.
I think it was a very tense conference and one that the hosts (who were very pleasant people) didn't "deserve". The late Steve E. (Canada) damn drove a split right then and there, even though one really was in the works by that point. I found him to be bombastic, rude and self motivated to argue until everyone agreed to have a continued discussion on his points post conference. I don't disagree with some of what he raised, but, gdamn, he was obnoxious and problematic (no matter how hard of a worker he was)..
I think written as a memoir
I think written as a memoir it would be more interesting and an easier read. To me at least.
Noah Fence wrote: I think
Noah Fence
Thanks for the interest. Maybe I'll just make it a combo of the two. This way I can give first person opinions. I dunno, I'm not that interesting of a person, but have experienced some stuff that prolly needs some first draft thumb sketches.
I recall staying with Ellams
I recall staying with Ellams in Toronto at a previous conference. Ellams was a councilist as was Ed Clark. There were in practice at least four different tendencies in ACF. There was Resurgence (3 chapters) with its focus on the IWW. Rochester with its focus on radical feminism. Then there were some who were into building extra-union assembly idea, councilism i.e. And the syndicalists who were not to tethered to the IWW (us).
Ironically, Ellams was more a
Ironically, Ellams was more a "platformist" then anything else. This was before most folks had any idea of "the platform" and "platformism". I have his document to the Morgantown conference. I believe he quotes from the platform. certainly references it. But he had no couth or sense of diplomacy, whether his political or suggested solutions might have been right.
The thing about "councilism", I think it was pervasive even amongst some of us "independent syndicalists". As our practice matured, there was a formal move away from the councilist critique of permanent workplace organization.
Although the below statement represented a fusion of the different workplace views of those of us who left the ACF, I would say it represented fairly and accurately where a majority of us were at at that moment in time.
https://libcom.org/library/declaration-anarchist-communist-federation-north-america-1980
Not having much in the way of
Not having much in the way of english language anarcho-syndicalist materials "growing up", the British Syndicalist Workers Federation (SWF) acted, along with old Libertarian League, really, really old copies of the (NYC) Vanguard, as my guide and entry into and developmental growth into the world of anarcho-syndicalism and left libertarian (anarchism, libertarian socialism and anarchist-communism) thought.
40 plus years later it is great to see so much of the Syndicalist Workers Federation, the Libertarian League and The Vanguard on line.
SWF --- https://libcom.org/tags/syndicalist-workers-federation
LL --- https://libcom.org/library/views-comments
Vanguard -- https://libcom.org/library/vanguard-libertarian-communist-journal
Not sure if there's a link to "BF" past publications, so let me use the KSL for those interested in some aspects of BF, the ABC and two of the mainstays for many years, Albert Meltzer and Stuart Christie.
http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/search/?q=Black+Flag+%28ABC%29
In addition to these, I am indebted to the libertarian socialist Solidarity for their many mimeographed pamphlets and newsletters that this (then) young person devowered.
Solidarity - https://libcom.org/library/solidarity-workers-power-journal
https://libcom.org/library/solidarity-pamphlets
And to Freddy and Lorraine Perlman for their efforts at getting out some fine and important texts.
A few which can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredy_Perlman#Selected_publications and on libcom: http://libcom.org/tags/fredy-perlman Mostly indebted to the Pearlmans for republishing Voline's
" The unknown revolution, 1917-1921 "https://libcom.org/history/unknown-revolution-1917-1921-voline And Arshinov's "History of the Makhnovist movement, 1918-1921"
https://libcom.org/history/history-makhnovist-movement-1918-1921-peter-arshinov
in the early '70s it was hard
in the early '70s it was hard to obtain information about syndicalism or what a syndicalist perspective on the labor movement might be. various sections of the IWW in the '60s had gotten enamored of the Situationists and the counter-culture. that is when the IWW developed a strategy to organize cooperatives. since those organizations are outside the class struggle (as a self-employed person is), it hardly makes any strategic sense at all, but seemed to be a desperate move to obtain at least some ongoing dues money.
so I was only won over to an understanding of anarcho-syndicalism by reading about the Spanish revolution in late '70s. so I began to understand the idea of revolutionary unionism that way.
This was the first
This was the first introduction to the "Self-Management Newsletter". I typed this out. I wrote it when I was like 22 years old. Pretty shitty, but funny how some things are still be striven for.
Caught so much sht for this,
Caught so much sht for this, from all angles:
syndicalist wrote: I've
syndicalist
hey, this and the other text you have typed out above, would you be okay to post these to the library? As then other people will be able to find them (people won't be able to find them easily buried in this thread)
just click submit content, then library.
syndicalist
http://libcom.org/tags/black-flag
I'll roll back and see what
I'll roll back and see what and where the stuff is Steven