On May 8, a court hearing took placein the case of a comrade from the CNT-AIT union in the Complutense University of Madrid against her dismissal in November 2011. This union had previously organized a series of actions to support her and others who were dismissed, among them our old union delegate.
Given the refusal of the Rector and management to meet with this union to negotiate, it was decided to stop waiting and Monday, May 7, first thing in the morning, a dozen comrades appeared at the office of the Rector, José Carrillo, to meet with him. He was not there at that moment as the meeting of the Governing Council was about to begin, so we went to the entrance of the Graduate Hall and, in the presence of various security agents, chanted slogans against the dismissals, cuts, the unions taking part in elections and subsidized and in favor of giving contracts to the teaching fellows. After a few minutes, the Rector came. He did not deign to speak with the workers and students in struggle and went escorted to the Graduate Hall. Union representatives who are part of the Governing Council also passed by, eager to pay homage to their friend Carrillo.
The CNT will not stay quiet in the light of the offensives against workers' rights, many of which were won through the union struggle over a century. The 1 of May is a celebration of this hard struggle, which cost four lives in 1887 but which raised awareness and international solidarity which continues until today.
Throughout the Spanish state, the CNT went on the streets to remember the spirit of Chicago of these years and to remember Spain at the beginning of the 20th century, when working only 8 hours a day was a dream (although not too far off), to remember those who perished and those who resisted. The CNT took to the streeks to also gather strength to resist today. From Galicia, where demonstrations were organized in 5 cities, some with other organizations, some only by CNT, to the Canary Islands where days of struggles were called in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, having nothing to do with a walk in the street. From Murcia where a dinner took place after going through the city accompanied by live music to Madrid where, because of its size, there were three demonstrations, one in the north, in the sierra another on the traditional route through the capital and the third in Alcorcón, where the CNT could be seen in the streets under a tide of red and black. We could also mention Toledo, Granada, Bilbao...
The local section of the USI-AIT, together with some other libertarian organizations, held a May Day demonstration in the city of Parma. According to the organizers, ¨Workers from different sectors, immigrants and students wanted to show that another type of union movement (militant and based in the class struggle)is not only possible, but necessary¨. About 600 people took part in the demonstration.
One group of immigrants participating in the demonstration also demanded the right to housing. One activist, a Tunisian immigrant, spoke about labour issues and related this to the right to decent housing.
There was mention of a recently squatted building, of the anti-TAV struggle and antifascism. The demonstration stopped to remember Antonio Cieri, participant in the antifascist barricades of Parma in 1922, killed during the Spanish Revolution.
May 1st was, of course, Mayday, International Workers’ Day, held in memory of the six anarchists executed after the Haymarket riot, a protest in Chicago way back in 1886 over the 8 hour working day. Despite it falling on a normal working day this year, both London SF branches called an anti-Workfare roving picket through central London, as well as attending an electricians’ picket and, least interestingly, the official, Trade Union Congress (TUC) march.
The electricians’ picket – called by the Sparks rank and file group – was in response to employers trying to block rank and file activists from even attending the ongoing negotiations over the JIB agreement. We braved the bleak, grey early morning for a couple of hours befire retreating to a café for a break and a caffeine fix.
On May 1, 2012 the Russian section of the IWA and other anarchists and social activists held a rally in Moscow and the monument to the revolutionaries of 1905-1907.
The anarchosyndicalists decided not to participate in the so-called "Left March" together with different Stalinist and Leninist groups – in opposition to a number of other Moscow anarchists. The anarchosyndicalists tirned out to be absolutely right, even just because among the speakers at the pseudoleft rally were such nationalist leaders like Limonov and Delyagin, and at the event, without any interference from the organizers, far-right literature was being sold.
The IWA Days of Action concided with a general strike and were marked by campaigns against capitalist exploitation in concrete workplaces and by protests against capitalism, austerity measures and other attacks against the working class. Actions of different sorts took place in many countries. Below is a summary of different actions which we have received accounts of. Some of these actions are described in more detail in separate articles in this bulletin.
Day One: March 29
Without a doubt, the most extensive action held that day was the general strike in Spain, called by the CNT-AIT. (See the separate news on the strike in Spain)
Comrades from dozens of cities took part in blockades, pickets at workplaces where the CNT have conflicts, offices of political parties, municipalities and other places. Some unions held their own demonstrations, some went as blocks in joint demos. There were many successful blockades of scabs and closures of some businesses for the day, there were clashes with police, there were actions day and night.
Solidarity actions were organized internationally, in Lisbon, Warsaw, Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Nurnberg and Oslo.
From Friday March 23 - Sunday March 25, 2012, the XX national congress of the Italian Syndicalist Union, USI-AIT took place near the self-managed space „Free Factory” in Modena. Dozens of delegates took part. They represented sections from Modena, Bologna, Trieste, Parma, Reggio-Emilia, Florence, Livorno, San Vicenzo, Trento, Ancona, Brescia, Carrara and Sarno.
International greetings were given from the Secretariat of the IWA by Rolf-Petter Larson (Secretary of the IWA) and Einar Nyomen. The Free Workers' Union from Germany (FAU) also gave greetings and wishes for successful work from the comrades present, Lars Rohm and Julia. The work of the congress, as always, was highly intensive, broad and open for discussion.
This year’s May Day has special significance as it marks the 125 Anniversary of the murder of the Haymarket Martyrs by the government of the United States in 1887. In 1886 an international campaign was launched in support of the 8 hour day. As part of that campaign a strike was called in Chicago on May 1st 1886. On May 4th during a demonstration called in support of the strike, a provocateur bomb exploded. The state sought to blame the anarchist who had been at the forefront of the campaign.
The government arrested 8 Anarchists, Parsons, Fischer, Engel, Spies, Lingg, Schwab, Neebe and Fielden. Though clearly innocent, Parsons, Fischer, Engel and Spies were hanged November 11 1887 and Lingg died in prison. The murder of the four men, who become known as the Haymarket Martyrs, sparked a massive international protest and lead to May 1st being declared International Workers Day. A day born out of the brutality of the state and the heroic struggle of the workers and one that belongs to the international proletariat.
The CNT-AIT called for a general strike against the Labor Reform and held direct actions and mass rallies and demonstrations all around the country. The extent of the actions were so vast and the actions so varied that it would take a whole bulletin to list them all. In many cities, the comrades went around all night, many starting their actions on March 28 or midnight March 29. Many workplaces where the CNT has current conflicts were visited.
In Madrid, the comrades, starting at midnight, visited many workplaces like the Post Office, Indra (which outsources IT workers), the National Library, the Complutense University, Roche, Carrefour, Atento, RTVE, Telecinco and others. In the evening a large demonstration of the CNT was held. The CNT-Comarcal Sur visited an industrial poligon, some local bus companies, the municipality, Riva Madrid TV station, Humanus and other places before joining a demonstration in the south of Madrid.
The CNT union of SOV Madrid has seen a satisfactory conclusion to a conflict it had maintained for several months with PIZZA JARDÍN.
At the end of December last year, members of the SOV Madrid union formed a union section of the CNT in the restaurant PIZZA JARDÍN. It started to carry out intense union activity from the beginning, (presenting a list of demands, making denunciations to the work inspectorate) with the goal of improving some work conditions which were like those in the 19th century: no possibility to have sick leave, the obligation to make up vacation days by working extra, etc....
