Workers of the World Unite has never been truer than today. With globalization and the spread of free trade and the power of transnational corporations growing even greater than most national governments workers face a daunting task of organizing not only locally but globally. In order to build global resistance to capitalism we must start to think and act globally in solidarity with our fellow workers around the world.
The Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA and the GATT have proven that what happens to workers in other countries directly affects us as workers here. The austerity programs of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank tested in the Third World have now been used to roll back wages, privatize public services and create deficit hysteria in Canada and other industrialized countries.
A new workers international is growing, and its home is the World Wide Web on the Internet. While the current talk about the information highway is directed towards making it more commercial and business friendly unions across the world have discovered that the World Wide Web is a great organizing tool as well as a direct communications vehicle for getting information out about their struggles, especially strikes.
In Canada trade unionists have had access to e-mail and computer communications through CUPE’s SOLINET for several years now. However in the past year, the explosion of public access to the World Wide Web (WWW) and the Internet has seen more advanced graphic/multi-media application based programs develop that have left SOLINET behind. Once on the cutting edge of the information highway, SOLINET now falls into the category of a BBS or news group. While still useful to Canadian activists, the WWW has seen the development of groups such as LaborNet, PeaceNet, WomenNet, and EcoNet, whole pages of links and sites that use graphics and links world wide that can include scanned images etc. that are not capable on SOLINET. SOLINET has recently broadened it’s access links to the WW via a cooperative project with a Web service company in Ontario.
In the past two years the Internet has shown that it can be an effective tool for political activism and solidarity. Two issues that have shown the public the power of the Internet were the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, supporters used the Internet to release information to the media and launch e-mail protests against the Mexican government. Last summer a massive e-mail campaign was organized to halt the state execution of Mumia-Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther and reporter who had been falsely accused of killing a Philadelphia police officer. Mumia was facing an eminent death sentence, when activists used the WWW to gain publicity and support for a re-trial. While his death sentence has been put in abeyance he has not yet been given a new trial.
In the past year the Internet has been the source of up to date information on a series of strikes. Most recently it has been used by the Dockworkers in Liverpool to organize a world wide hot cargo action in support of their strike. In the following thumbnail descriptions we will look at unions that are using or have used the net to get their message out to workers around the World, wide web.
LIVERPOOL DOCKERS STRIKE:
"The World is Our Picket Line"
On September 28, 1995 the Mersey Docks & Harbour Company laid off 80 members of the Liverpool Dockworkers union. In response the workers set up a picket line, which saw a walk out of the remaining 500 unionized dock workers.
The Liverpool port is the last unionized port in England. Under the Thatcher government port authorities were privatized and the right to union representation was outlawed. The Merseyside docks are the home of the oldest and most militant dockers union. They faced down the Thatcher government in 1989 and retained their right to union representation. In 1957 there were over 16,000 unionized dockworkers in Liverpool today there is less than 1500.
The dock workers face not only layoffs but scabbing and contracting out being organized by a Canadian company: DRAKE International, owned by Canadian Robert William Pollock. DRAKE International prides itself on it’s ability to provide companies with "outsourcing solutions", and in it’s 1995 business report included articles on how to "effectively fire" workers and replace them with "contract out" service’s, services of course provided by DRAKE. DRAKE has been bringing scabs into the port by sea, in an attempt to avoid confrontations on the docks.
Realizing that they needed to overcome their isolation in order to win their strike, the dock workers accessed the Internet/WWW via Labournet. They have regularly issued their strike magazine; Dockers Charter, and regular strike updates on the Web. In response longshore unions around the world have hot cargoed ships arriving in their ports from Liverpool. From Montreal to New York, from Australia, Greece, Japam,Spain and Sweden workers responded to the struggle of their brothers in Liverpool. The Mersey Dock and Harbour Company was appalled, they had not expected the workers to get truly international direct action to their strike. The Company is losing money by being unable to unload ships leaving its port, and has lost contracts with several shipping companies that had have had their ships refused port access.
Embolden by the response on the Internet, the Liverpool dock workers called for a rank and file International Longshore Union Conference in Liverpool this past February. Over 53 delegates from 35 countries and 15 different unions showed up to discuss building a new Workers International. The delegates challenged the status quo of the British Transportation Workers Union (which represents the Liverpool workers) and the International Federation of Transportation Workers, the International beuracracy representing Longshore workers. In their challenge the workers talked about common problems, the globalization of capitalism, containerization, the use of contracting out. Resolutions in support of the Liverpool workers were passed as well as the call for the creation of a new Dock Workers International Commission be formed, the first since the International Longshore conference held in Detroit in 1947.
The Liverpool workers are still out, but their actions are having a resounding impact across the world and are part of a rebirth of a militant longshore workers movement.
The Dockworkers can be contacted on the WWW at: http//www.gn.apc.org./labournet/docks
Letters of support can also be sent to: Liverpool Docks Shop Stewards Committee, c/o 19 Scorton Street, Liverpool. L6 4AS (ph. 01-51-207-3388)
To Protest against the Scabs Call Drake International: 1-800-GO-DRAKE.
The Pool Man's Lament
THE CURSE OF CASUAL LABOUR
by J. Maynsbridge, Millwall Docker in 1952
Down at Millwall one gloomy morn,
Stood a docker, grim and forlorn,
Like a jungle-cat, with muscles tense,
Waiting for the call to commence.
At a quarter to eight, he sprant at the gate,
But alac and alas, he was too late,
For drenched with dew, tired and worn,
Men had waited since early dawn.
Six days by the gate, and along the wall,
They fought like tigers, around the call,
With tooth and claw, and eyes abright,
They fought and struggled, with all their might.
The chosen few were radiant and glad,
Those that were left were gloomy and sad,
For to each man there the truth was plain,
That a `bomper' would be his only gain.
The moral of this simple ditty,
Is a docker's life is not so pretty,
On four pound eight to live and eat,
Frankly brothers, it's got me beat.
DETROIT NEWS STRIKE
Six different unions representing workers at two Detroit Newspapers have been on strike since last July. In the heartland of the American Labour movement, this bitter strike still continues against the Detroit News published by Gannett and the Detroit Free Press published by Knight Ridder.
Gannett is one of the largest media monopolies in the U.S. and publishes USA Today. While the two papers claim to be competition they share the same printing and distribution company. They have lost over $46 million in order to try and bust the Detroit newspaper unions. Gannett is notoriously anti-union while many of Knight Ridder’s papers have unions.
The issues of this strike are common: Unlimited sub-contracting of maintenance work, elimination of 3000 carrier jobs, elimination of 80 mailers with part time staff, elimination of work jurisdiction for printers, forcing new department staff to pay health insurance premiums, merit-pay instead of contractual wage increases.
Behind it all is the attempt to bust the unions. " We’re going to hire a whole new work force and go on without unions, or they can surrender unconditionally and salvage what they can." Detroit News publisher Robert Giles.
The workers have hurt the Detroit papers which are now being run by scabs. The striking workers have issued their own Sunday paper called the Detroit Journal, which cut into the advertising base of the News and Free Press. The Sunday edition was their most popular.
The union paper; Detroit News is available on the World Wide Web at http//www.gn.apc.org./labornet/Detroit News. It is updated weekly and gives a history of the strike and what is happening now. Letters of support can be sent by e-mail to the paper at the above address. Letters of support can also be sent to the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO at 2550 West Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI. 48208. Ph. (313) 896-2600
The strikers have received wide public support in this union town. As well they have received support from such public figures as Gordie Howe and Bruce Springstein. Springstein issued a press release condemning the publishers and donated the moneys he received from souvenir sales from his Detroit concert.
The strike continues in Detroit and across the Internet.
BOEING STRIKE
Boeing workers, members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) went on a 65 day strike against Boeing last winter. During that time they created a Strike Home Page on the World Wide Web, and published their strike bulletins and newsletters. The Boeing workers were again facing a greedy corporate boss who after recording record profits and giving its CEO a multimillion dollar raise demanded that it’s workers take pay cuts, pay increased health premiums, wanted to cut health care benefits to retirees and wanted to increase contracting out.
By fighting hard and gaining wide spread community support the Boeing workers won their strike against Boeing. Their home page is still accessible. With typical cheekiness they have included a link to the Boeing Company home page with e-mail direct to the company President. The Boeing Workers point out that they at least have a WWW link to the Company and ask how come the company doesn’t have a link to the Union’s home page.
Boeing workers can be contacted at: http// www. gn. apc./labornet. Currently striking workers at Yale university are communicating through the WWW at a variety of sites. Graduate Students who were unionized were out on strike in February, they have since returned to work. Service, maintenance and other workers at Yale are fighting against contracting out and lay offs. These strikes are rotating and all Yale unions are honoring each others picket lines. Information on this strike can be found at the Labornet site as well on their Strike Page.
Recently Lockheed workers have created a pre-strike Home page listing the companies profits and its current refusal to bargain in good faith.
The advantages of using computer technology by unions is only beginning to be tapped. As the world becomes more globalized and the Internet becomes a popular form of instantaneous communication, workers struggles can be communicated instantly and support information can be circulated more widely.
With e-mail letters of support can be sent to striking brothers and sisters and letters of protest can be sent directly to company Presidents and politicians. When the whole world is watching we are no longer isolated in our struggles. A new International is forming and it is being created by Workers in Cyberspace.