Posted by Phil Dickens on 13/02/2011 · 4 Comments
One statement that I quite often make is that I’m not a trade unionist. This can confuse those who know me, because I am a member and active rep within the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). However, though I believe in worker organisation as a part of class struggle and the challenge to capitalism, … Read more
Filed under Anarchism · Tagged with anarcho-syndicalism, Anton Pannekoek, bottom-up organisation, bureaucracy, Capitalism, class unity, class war, closed shop, collective decision making, CWU, full time officials, industrial peace, labour power, leadership, mass participation, mediation, militancy, partnership with bosses, PCS, rank-and-file, reformism, regulating class conflicts, revolutionary unions, scab, self-organisation, SolFed, trade union, trade unionism, union reps, union scab, worker assembly, working class
Posted by Phil Dickens on 19/01/2011 · 1 Comment
On 26th March, the Trades Union Congress are calling a march in London against the government’s austerity measures. This has reignited one of the longest-running debates in activist politics: that of peaceful protest versus direct action. In particular, the line is drawn between those worried that a violent minority will hijack the event and distract … Read more
Filed under Debate and discourse · Tagged with anarcho-syndicalism, Ben Ali, demobilisation, demonstration, demonstration of anger, direct action, FAU, Gilles Dauvé, International Workers Association, IWA, Liberal Conspracy, march, movement building, passive protest, PCS, peaceful protest, popular discontent, Public and Commercial Services union, reformism, revolt, revolution, safety valve, solidarity, Solidarity Federation, Subway sacked worker, Sunny Hundal, Topy Top sacked workers, TUC, Tunisia, Yarls' Wood, ZSP
Posted by Phil Dickens on 15/08/2010 · 4 Comments
Charity, defined biblically, is an unlimited loving kindness towards others. It’s a virtue, and one that is recognised far beyond the Christian faith. After all, who could argue that giving to those less fortunate is wrong? Anarchist communism would seem to be precisely the philosophy that encourages charity. The basic mantra of “from each according … Read more
Filed under Debate and discourse · Tagged with abolish wage slavery, anarchist communism, Big Society, Capitalism, charity, community organisation, cooperatives, credit unions, CrimeThinc, David Cameron, fire your boss, Infoshop, IWW, LibCom, libertarian communism, Liverpool Solidarity Federation, Merseyside Anarchists, Molly McClure, mutual aid, PCS, politicians, radicalism, reformism, Rolling Thunder, self-managed exploitation, solidarity, Spanish Revolution, the Commune, vultures, workers collectives
Posted by Phil Dickens on 18/12/2009 · Leave a Comment
One of the basic rights of workers in the industrialised world is the right to organise. Under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948,workers “have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organisation concerned, to join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation.” … Read more
Filed under Capitalism · Tagged with anti-worker attitudes, BA strike, class consciousness, communism from below, industrial action, Industrial Workers of the World, IWW, labour struggles, Mr Block, pro-business media, propaganda model, reformism, revolution, strikes, the Commune, trade unions, union militancy
