Wobbly Lifes: My vision of the Union

Presentation

Before starting, please understand that my name and the workplace will not be issued, and this, at my request and to job security purposes. I therefore only describe by saying that I am a man in his late twenties who works, without going to school, for ten years and which campaigns from different associations from left 2014.

My adventure with the IWW began in June after many failures on my part and I an activist groups with which to create a movement of radical left solid, uni, sustainable and constantly growing in Quebec. Questioned by the idea of ​​àrejoindre reach people directly on their workplaces, and to finally get out of the left CEGEPs, the '' Shlag "and Universities where it was by necessity doomed to always remain marginal and insufficient to even maintain that our gains (and so, far from leading us towards revolution or block the current rise of the extreme right !), I decided to contact a representative and sign my card, knowing that I had nothing to lose. I had at that time no idea of ​​the great adventure that I was going to hire me or what REALLY revolutionary syndicalism of the IWW. Just nine months later, I however tattooed on the heart !

My arrival

My first mission, that I trusted myself, was to explore the "wildlife" that this organization was actually quite large and complex, and to understand how that differed greatly from those, smaller, I was used. I then decided to attend at least one meeting of each committee (except the non-mixed woman committee which I could not participate, of course) and many activities as possible in a short period of time to get familiar with the organization and the people who were part. The SITT-IWW appeared to me very quickly unlike anything I had seen so far !

First of all, its constitution, regulations and structure, wrought-e- s after more than hundred years of existence by practice, made this union particularly the test of bourgeois or state recovery that had tamed all other unions that I knew existed except the CNT. Ensuite, culture rich in experience and literature oriented towards practical swarmed historical archives, case studies, organization tools, methods, training (theoretical and practical) and lifestyle habits to adopt more educational and transformative as each other. Furthermore, his vision of the struggle would both get to make gains every day, but also to build an inclusive labor movement and intersectional who actually turned people through solidarity struggle and organizing campaigns rather than believe that they and they were transformed-e- s after reading great theoretical ideas and agree with them, but happen to have the right mindset (and everything goes here, believe me !) to implement. I could not see so good that.

I then decided to get involved more seriously in both committees, either the organization and the communication / translation, then take over the task of building our log (Trade Union fight) when the fellow who took care returned to France. I also followed the organizer of training and organizing 101, then gradually started to organize my colleagues, ami-e- s and (let us say) e-mates disorganized- s who were and still are too many and many. Advocate with the IWW became a real drug, a way of life, a reason to get up every day, but going to bed every night wisely (ok ... I may still be a bit of difficulty with it hahaha) to be on top the next day and organize the damn revolution that continues not to arrive ! I love that I am helping to make a difference in the world and see it in motion on the ground, to myself and to the organization.

Campaigning in SITT-IWW

Advocate with the IWW-SITT, the rest of the world of Quebec radical left, is quite unique in either. It's about, from personal experience, a totally different conception of activism that I had previously practiced and which overcomes many flaws, frustrations and limitations of it (although she has her limits as, hence the importance always as great a diversity of tactics). I also believe that it is impossible to understand what the essence of revolutionary syndicalism as long as one does not become organizer or organizer and that we are not faced-e- s changes within, our own character and personality, that implies ; tou-te- s other organizers with whom I talked to seem totally agree about. I was indeed in the last nine months many taken major consciousness that it now seems to me important to share with the most militant-e- s possible because they will guarantee our success or not :

One of the main things I noticed is that the mindset that request and generates a person trying to organize their environment (not just working, but community, his social circle, all what !) as an e-inevitably create wobblie in it and among other radical changes that will benefit him, starting with being attentive and empathetic rather than talk and judge (this alone might have been able to allow the United States to avoid the election of Donald Trump !), then that of overcoming his embarrassment and fears, or that of learning to "Empowerer" (or empuissancer) others by giving them tasks and responsibilities (and accompanying them through them until they become autonomous and) that will lead them to become more versatile-e- s rather than trying to do everything by yourself and not get anything done or, even worse, recreate informally the hierarchy and dependency structures we slaved to eliminate.

This way to do, when applied, can not help but create a real rather than theoretical and intersectionality us away from what we call the "manarchisme", the "brocialisme", "white feminism", etc. ; to take only my personal example, the first person that I "organized" at my place of work was around the sexism of other employee- s, and just because SHE addressed to me as well. I listened, quite simply ! It only takes to let people talk to them or they tell us by them and themselves what their problems at work, or home, or in their neighborhood or city. Needless to embark on large class struggle intellectual discourse, citing the passage of the bearded old 19 century, to convince someone that her job and the system, this is shit ! But back to the main subject : since it appears to me impossible to advance without fighting against the sexism, He comes bosses or even inside our - possible, for now - Organizing Committee, branch union, or myself, and it is the same for all other causes, and in all other spheres of my life.

The second thing I notice is that industrial democracy, or socialism-libertarian, if you want to call, is much more than the revolution of a political-economic system, but is also a cultural revolution - and intrinsic, not just a lousy police "politicly correct", but a REAL mentality change - which must start now and will both cement, the sinews of war and watchdog revolutionary movements coming to North America. This is what the culture of the Wobblies allows me to spread all around me, I fight or not, and around my comrades fight or not - that is,- ie both with people who do qu'hocher head and agree with me without getting involved only to persons who join directly to the fight and rush headlong to the real sense of the term.

My third observation is that I can now advocate and being PAID to do 40 hours a week because I do it on my / my place(x) working. It allows me among others to overcome the false dilemma common among militant-e- s very dedicated-e- s between work less in order to advocate more or work more to be able to consume "more ethically" (... and let's say, not to live in a shabby slum area of ​​dumpsters !), but have less time to campaign. It also allows me to BRING the class struggle to colleagues or friend-e- s just committed-e- s politically rather than trying to MAKE UPCOMING the class struggle on their own time, they and they obviously have never done-e-s when I was using just the usual Marxist rhetoric - especially good old fetish of the event is a good tactic, but attracts only a very small number of people.

My fourth and final observation is that, although I do not detract from student activism or very marginal cultures (punk, for example) which I come, the real power is in the hands of workers', because it is mainly them and the ones who can actually block the economy (by their direct access to the means of production) and to give the State, but especially, for it is they and they who can appropriate the means of production to self-manage according to their knowledge and experience of these, and nobody else ! This detail is one little larger : all e-revolutionary knows that does not free anyone-e, but he or she is released. It is therefore crucial to organize these people more than anyone, because they will be our best-e- s ally-e- s or our worst enemy-e- s when we will have to emancipate the State claws and capitalists or defend against the reactionary (which will be roughly these people we have neglected to organize in advance). If we fail to remove the capitalists control over key sectors of the economy such as the food and that they work themselves into self when we want to free ourselves, we will go nowhere ! Come to work and organize society !

Generally, so ?

Adhering to SITT-IWW is probably the best decision I've made in my life activist. On the other hand, as is often repeated : " Join a union, is like enrolling in a gym, you have to work it so that something happens ! »

This is the essence of the Solidarity trade union : of Workers (employee- s and employable or not) struggling themselves and themselves in "to empowerant" the a-e- s other and helping each other to a workplace to another, even among union-e- s and non-syndicated- e-s IWW, and not only damaging bosses and not to other workers or to the quality of services offered to the population. We are a big family inclusive, growing, which matures, and made small. We will have, our revolution (or else, we bite hard enough to leave at least a piece of leg =) !

X377131