[Individual-members-EL] unionists VW meeting in Berlin etc.
sigfrido ramirez
sigfrido.ramirez at coditel.net
Mon Jan 22 00:30:10 CET 2007
Hi ULI,
DOWN MY PRECISIONS ABOUT THE PROPOSAL
-----Mensaje original-----
De: individual-members-el-bounces at listi.jpberlin.de
[mailto:individual-members-el-bounces at listi.jpberlin.de] En nombre de
Ulrich Deike
Enviado el: domingo, 21 de enero de 2007 22:51
Para: individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de
Asunto: [Individual-members-EL] unionists VW meeting in Berlin etc.
Hola Sigfrido,
good to hear from you. I didn't know it has been 8 debates already -
impressive!
I don't know much about the unionist working group. Maybe you ask
Stephen Spence or Sabine Wils
about this. The group is very new I think and I haven't read any
documents about their work yet.
Or is it a special Brussels group you were talking about??
I MEAN A EL WG ON TRADE UNIONIST OF THE EL
If you want to get hold of the French-flyer-pdf-file please contact
Joseph.
I WILL
Your proposal:
>a meeting in Berlin
> attended by trade unionists of VW factories throughout Europe. What
would be a better answer to that German presidency which aims
> to justify the re-introduction of the Constitutional Treaty with some
social
> clauses?... We wait for news from German individual members about this
concrete
> proposal for collaboration.
>
...is a brilliant idea. I think I'm just not in a position to arrange a
meeting with German govt. officials if that was the
idea behind it. Maybe you can ask Helmut Scholz about it. Even if it was
just meant to be a meeting of European
VW unionists and EL people it would cause travel expenses. And our
network of 2 active indivídual members in Germany doesn't have any
money. Please give us more details about what such a meeting could be
like.
Do you actually work in the Brussels EL office? Then it's
probably easy for you to contact Helmut.
I WILL CONTACT HELMUT. I DID NOT MEAN TO ARRANGE A MEETING WITH GOV
OFFICIALS. I DO NOT KNOW IF THE PDS-LINK PARTEI HAVE A SERIES OF
ACTIVITIES WHICH SERVE TO SOMEHOW SHOW TO THE GERMAN AND EUROPEAN PEOPLE
THAT THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE EUROPE THAT MERKEL AND THE SPD ARE
PREPARING. I HAD UNDERSTOOD THAT ONE OF THE GERMAN INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS IS
WORKING ABOUT EUROPEAN ISSUES (LENA?)FOR THE PARLAMENTARY GROUP OF THE
BUNDESTAG, WHICH I GUESS IS ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE SUCH EVENTS MAYBE
ORGANISED IN COOPERATION OF THE EL-PARTY ( I MEAN WITH ALL OTHER EL
MEMBERS).
How was your VW event yesterday?
IT WAS GREAT, EXTREMELY INTERESTING AND WE GOT SOME TRADE UNIONIST
CONTACTS POTENTIALLY INTERESTED TO PARTICIPATE IN A WG COORDINATING ALL
CRITICAL TRADE UNIONIST FROM THE VW FACTORIES IN EUROPE. Even the
secretary general of the metallurgists of French speaking part of the
country agreed in the debate that this was something that his own
organisation needs to do, but he obviously will organise this with the
most representative trade unions and not with trade unionist potentially
interested to become members of the EL:-)
I DO NOT HAVE NOW THE TIME TO DO A SYNTHESIS BUT IN FEW WORDS.
I CONCLUDE THAT THE GERMAN MEMBERS OF THE EL SHOULD EXPLAIN TO THE
WORKERS OF THIS COMPANY WHICH IS THEIR MODEL OF STATE-OWNED ENTREPRISE (
VW IS TO A CERTAIN EXTENT CONTROLLED BY THE STATE OF NIDERSACHSEN)
WITHIN AN EUROPEAN SINGLE MARKET, ARE THEY READY TO SUGGEST GOING FROM
MITBESTIMMUNG TO WORKER’S CONTROL ( CONTROLE OUVRIER) OR STATISATION? IF
NONE OF THESE, WHAT THE PDS-LINK WILL DO IF IT COMES TO GOVERNMENT IN
RESPECT TO GERMAN MULTINATIONALS OPERATING IN EUROPE? WHAT WOULD CHANGE
FOR EUROPEAN WORKERS IF A EL-PARTY MEMBER IS, ONE DAY, ELECTED TO RUN
GERMANY ( OR NIEDERSACHSEN IN VW CASE)?
BY CHANCE WE HAD ALSO AS GUEST IN THE MEETING A TRADE UNIONIST FROM
VENEZUELA WORKING IN A NATIONALISED COMPANY OF THE MECHANICAL SECTOR.
THIS WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE MEETING FINISHED WITH THE CONCLUSION OF
THE ITALO-BELGIUM TRADE UNIONIST WHO CARRIED THE MOST IMPORTANT STRIKE
OF THE LAST 25 YEARS IN BELGIUM (FORGES DE CLAVEQ) WHO AS WISE OLD MAN
REMINDED TO ALL OF US THAT WITHOUT THE POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE OF AN
ALTERNATIVE SOCIETY TO CAPITALISM, TRADE UNIONISTS CAN ONLY ACT IN A
DEFENSIVE INSTANCE TO CONTEST RESTRUCTURINGS MADE BY COMPANIES WHICH ARE
PROFITABLE LIKE VW. He said it very nicely, “they keep swimming to avoid
sinking...and one day after so many efforts of flexibility on behalf of
the company, they sink
.. but what do they expect? In last instance,
this is a capitalist society, there is nothing to be sentimental about.”
HE MEANT THAT IT IS NEEDED A TRADE UNIONISM POLITICAL OBJECTIVES AND
IDEOLOGICAL FORMATION TO CHANGE THIS SOCIETY OR OTHERWISE EACH WORKER
WILL TRY TO DEFEND HIS INDIVIDUAL POSITION AND SOLIDARITY AND COLLECTIVE
ACTION IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT
THE WORST, AS OUR GUEST FROM BARCELONA ARGUED IS THAT IN SPAIN THE MOST
RESPRESENTATIVE TRADE UNIONISTS ( INCLUDING CCOO) HELPED TO ELABORATE
THE LISTS OF THE PEOPLE TO BE SACKED IN SEAT, TRESPASSING A REDLINE IN
TRADE UNIONISM: NEVER COLLABORATE FOR DIMISSALS OF FELLOW WORKERS AS HAS
HAPPENED IN SEAT AND VW. It was obvious that the VW management has a
clear strategy to get rid of trade unionists with political and
ideological consciousness and are systematically trying to get rid of
them at any occasion.
This people dismissed needs a hope that other Europe is possible, I hope
that the EL is able to articulate an answer ( even an unsatisfactory
one).
You should definitely publish any of these events on our EL website!!!
It will make a completely different impression then.
WE WILL DO SO,
Hasta luego!
TSCHÜSS!
Uli
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: "sigfrido ramirez" <sigfrido.ramirez at coditel.net>
> Gesendet: 19.01.07 16:19:59
> An: <individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de>
> Betreff: RE: [Individual-members-EL] reviewing the last 6 months
>
>
> Dear Uli,
>
>
>
>
>
> Thank you for your energy and enthusiasm to articulate
> the individual members of the EL.
>
>
>
>
>
> I apologise for not having been active in answering or
> contributing at all to the discussion list. Our activities take all
our energy
> and I am also member of the Brussels section of Izquierda Unida, from
where we have initiated the
> development of the Brussels
> circle of the EL.
>
>
>
>
>
> We have already organised several debates together
> with the local section of Rifondazione Comunista and we just started
to
> collaborate with Attac Brussels and other political-cultural
organisations like
> Une Autre Gauche.We are also attempted to become members of a cultural
and
> social cooperative, the Garcia Lorca centre (wwww.garcialorca.be)where
we have organised most of our
> activities. Our next activity is tomorrow (the information you have it
down
> here) around trade unionism in Europe following the Volkswagen
decision to restructure factories in Barcelona and Brussels.
>
>
>
>
>
> We hold a monthly meeting of members and assistance is
> at most of 10 and at least of 5, but we have starting to have new
members. It
> is also true that we have not done a great effort yet but we did not
have much
> material in French. So great you have a brochure now!
>
>
>
>
>
> Summarising our 8 monthly debates there are three views
> ( not contradictory) about which role such a local section could play
in the Brussels political scene:
>
>
>
>
>
> 1) LOCAL NETWORKING- a place where activists from
> different sections of party members and members of social movements
meet to
> discuss about European issues and inform each other about the
situation in
> their countries and activities developed by their local sections.
>
>
> 2) DIRECT ACTIVISM- We undersand here to carry
> campaigns at local level around issues of European relevance such as
the Bolkenstein
> Directive, the right to dwelling, participating in demonstrations and
> organising debates between activists. I underline that our debates do
not aim
> to be scholarly conferences but activist debates launched by informed
people.
> For example we would like to organise a election night around the
Presidential
> elections in France.
>
>
> 3) EUROPEAN TRANSFER- This is the least explored of
> all the three and consists in seeking local contributions of
individuals and
> specialised social and political movements to the working groups set
up by the
> EL party.
>
>
> I think that this is a fundamental element which could
> serve to attract local activists to the EL Party. It would be great if
the
> working group on trade unionist could develop a subgroup about the
automobile
> industry as this could serve us to bring together local trade
unionists who are
> desperately searching for a political space where to meet other
European colleges
> to prepare European actions against restructuring.
>
>
>
>
>
> Being this month the German, and later the Portuguese
> presidency of the EU, the VW case could appear as an important step
towards
> showing that the EL serves for something concrete to trade-unionists.
But I
> guess that this is a initiative that the German members of the EL has
to launch
> with a meeting in Berlin
> attended by trade unionists of VW factories throughout Europe. What
would be a better answer to that German presidency which aims
> to justify the re-introduction of the Constitutional Treaty with some
social
> clauses?... We wait for news from German individual members about this
concrete
> proposal for collaboration.
>
>
>
>
>
> Comradely yours,
>
>
> Sigfrido
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Fermeture d'entreprises et réponse syndicale
>
>
> Débat autour de Volkswagen
>
>
>
>
>
> Ce
> samedi 20 janvier 2007 au
>
>
> Garcia Lorca (47-49 rue des Foulons 1000 bxl)
>
>
> à partir de 16 h
>
>
>
>
>
> Avec la participation de
>
>
>
>
>
> Diosdado Toledano (Espagne - Conseil Politique Federal Izquierda Unida
-
> Assemblée des Licenciés de SEAT Barcelona)
>
>
> Nico Cue (Secrétaire
> National de la Centrale des Métallurgistes de Belgique -CMB-FGTB)
>
>
> Sergio Raviccini (ex-délégué syndical FGTB de VW Forest)
>
>
> Sandra Goret (déléguée syndicale FGTB de VW Forest)
>
>
> Silvio Marra (ex-délégué
> syndical aux Forges de Clabecq)
>
>
> Guy Van Sinoy (délégué cgsp -
> militant une autre gauche)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Organisé par : Izquierda
> Unida Bruselas - Parti de la Gauche Européenne - Une Autre Gauche
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Mensaje original-----
> De: individual-members-el-bounces at listi.jpberlin.de
> [mailto:individual-members-el-bounces at listi.jpberlin.de] En nombre de
Ulrich
> Deike
> Enviado el: viernes, 19 de enero de 2007 14:29
> Para: individual-members-el at listi.jpberlin.de
> Asunto: [Individual-members-EL] reviewing the last 6 months
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi all,
>
>
>
>
>
> I‘ve had a look at our working schedule from July 19, 2006
> and now, 6 months later, it’s time for a first review. As
> I‘m not informed about everything going on in our group, please
add
> and comment.
>
>
>
>
>
> A. Things we tried to do self-responsibly:
>
>
>
>
>
> 1. There are a couple of British individual members. They
> haven’t launched their website yet. But they are very close to
doing
> it (have prepared everything for it).
>
>
> Unfortunately, Stephen’s attempt to gather the British
> members in London in early January failed as far as I know, but it was
good
> news hearing of the attempt already. Thank you, Stephen! Maybe
it’s
> worth a second trial preceded by a long-term announcement?
>
>
>
>
>
> 2. We have had the link “Join us” on the EL
> homepage for some months now, a real success. Thank you, Martin and
Mike!
>
>
>
>
>
> 3. The passing on of contact data from Brussels to national groups as
> soon as a new member subscribes seems to have worked in a couple of
cases in
> Germany. However, the influx has been very low despite the fact that
we have
> distributed hundreds of flyers especially in and around Berlin. Also
> communication between individual members and the Brussels and Berlin
offices is
> usually initiated by us. And we don‘t always get a response.
>
>
>
>
>
> 4. National groups are still too small to start active political
work
> beyond advertising ourselves.
>
>
> The German network has issued a flyer, printed it and keeps
> distributing it around the 2 spots on the map
>
>
> (Leipzig and Berlin) where we got active members.
>
>
>
>
>
> A French flyer is ready to be printed (Thank you, Joseph and
> Mike!), but – as far as I know – we are still
>
>
> waiting for some money for it.
>
>
>
>
>
> The Brussels group of individual members has run some local
> political events, such as topical discussions
>
>
> and film evenings. This is an example of what our political
> publicity can look like if we have more than one
>
>
> active member in a town. Thank you Martin, Liberté and
> Sigfrido!
>
>
>
>
>
> 5. We haven’t submitted any articles to the EL website since
> my interview with Prof.Mahnkopf in August. This is probably due to our
lack of
> time in the first place. Mike is trying to sort out our options for
our own
> website preferably on a supranational level.
>
>
>
>
>
> 6. Trying to fill the white spots on the EL-map:
>
>
> Lena and I have tried to use our contacts with Danish people, but in
> vain. (Anyway, thank you, Lena!) We’ll have to be present at
more
> international gatherings of unionists and other left activists in
order to get
> people involved. Or we could try out flyers completely in English and
> distribute them on vacation and other trips anywhere in Europe.
>
>
>
>
>
> B. Things we had to sort out with the Executive Board:
>
>
>
>
>
> 1. We didn’t have an international meeting of individual
> members, but there was a meeting of Germans in October. Only 10 people
attended
> it and too much time was spent on sightseeing, too little time on
actual plans
> and exchange of information. But we agreed to have another national
meeting in
> 2007. Thanks to the Berlin office for their support.
>
>
>
>
>
> 2. Congress 2007:
>
>
>
>
>
> As you can read in one of the web-articles from January 17, the
> Congress is scheduled for November. Every national party can send 12
delegates.
> Before we could possibly send delegates to a subsequent congress, the
statute
> will have to be changed, which is what a statute commission has to
discuss.
> This commission again includes only members of national parties.
>
>
>
>
>
> 3. There are membership cards now. Those of you who haven’t
> got one yet, please contact the office.
>
>
> Thank you Martin!
>
>
>
>
>
> 4. Just for statistics: How many individual members do you know there
> are in your country? In order to know where we are going and how
slow/fast, we
> got to measure our size from time to time.
>
>
>
>
>
> That’s it from my side. So, what’s next? And how do
> you think we can improve our work?
>
>
>
>
>
> Best wishes to all of you for 2007
>
>
>
>
>
> Uli
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
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>
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>
>
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>
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>
>
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>
>
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