Autonomy - Issue 3
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8/14/2019 Autonomy - Issue 3
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Issue #3 Winter 2013
Higher education workers strike
AUTONOMYAUTONOMYAUTONOMYA Scott ish newssheet for socia l change f rom below
The 31st October saw joint strike
action from UCU, Unison and
Unite in universities across the
UK. This was in response to a
real term pay cut of 13% after
five years of a pay freeze. It wasalso in opposition to the culture
of low pay and zero hours con-
tracts which employers seek to
normalize and extend, forever
reforming higher education to
suit profit.
Striking workers succeeded in
seriously disrupting the running
of the universities. In Edinburgh
University, staff were well sup-
ported by students picketing sev-
eral buildings throughout the
campus. Students played a gameof shutting the Old College gates,
the security staff having to re-
peatedly open them. At the li-
brary, we urged others not to use
the building to support those on
strike.
At Glasgow University, manage-
ment were forced to shut down
the library. Cleaners were out on
the picket from 5am, there was a
large gathering of strikers at
the main gate and smaller
pickets elsewhere. Unite even
brought along Scabby the gi-
ant rat.
Not just lecturers but every-one who runs the university,
from caretakers to caterers,
were out and this made it par-
ticularly important. A one day
strike is unlikely to be enough
to force a major rethink from
employers. For that day
though many of us felt an un-
usual sense of control over the
campus. It fostered new ties
between staff and students.
And if it was sometimes diffi-
cult trying to convince some
students and even other work-
ers not to cross picket lines, the
strike itself was an education inclass solidarity.
We want to see this as the first
of more industrial action, to
build on militancy and turn up
the heat. A big part of this is
to make UCUs work-to-
contract, which began on 1st
November, a success.
#fairpayinHE
Free/Donation
Edinburghs
anti-capitalist
& anti-racist
dayschool
Veteran black
panthers visit
Scotland
Events and
groups around
the country
Glasgow feminists protest for reproductive rights
Grangemouth:
what happened?
Every now and again, Glasgow
sees the small pro-life lobby
come out of the woodwork. On
Thursday 24th October, they
planned a vigil in George Square
and then a torch-lit procession to
St Andrews Cathedral. In
response, feminists and allies
decided their own get-together to
argue the case for womens control
over their own bodies. They easily
outnumbered anti-abortionists,
and produced loads of excellent
signs, slogans and chantsKeep
you rosaries off my ovaries!.
Womens access to abortion along
with other reproductive rights
remain a massive issue here and
around the world. We only need to
read the traumatic stories of
women in neighbouring Ireland,
where abortion is restricted.
Those who campaign against
choice need to be opposed.
The counter-demonstration was
organised and led by self-
identifying women, who made up
the majority, and male allies
supported. Hopefully well see
more like it.
Thanks to athousandflowers.net
for the picture.
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8/14/2019 Autonomy - Issue 3
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Floaker in AFed Glasgow draws
lessons from the industrial
dispute, lock-out and threatened
closure of the Grangemouthpetrochemical plant and refinery
last October.
There has been a lot of speculation
about how ready and willing workers
at Grangemouth have been to take
industrial action. Looking at the
actions of the Ineos bosses, Unite the
Union, and the politicians we can
start to see how much of these three
groups vested interests are tied up in
making sure workers on the groundare given the thin edge of the wedge.
First, Ineos themselves - as expected
from the bosses - have been lying
through their teeth. On one hand
they have claimed the site is making
a loss, though when the economic
analyst Richard Murphy looked
through their books he was stunned
to find they were
7million in the black
while at the same
time the costs to the
company for site
assets and a public
loan they were paying
back have been
written off. Money
from the site is also
being moved into an
offshore tax haven.
All of this makes the future of
Grangemouth look hugely profitable.
The only other way Ineos can
squeeze more money out of the plantwould be to cut staffing costs and
benefits, and that is just what they
are doing.
Michael Connarty, the Labour MP
who covers Grangemouth, claimed
on the BBC's Daily Politics show
that Unite had been "conned and
that it was "quite clear [Ineos]
prepared for this conflict quite well".
However, the workers of
Grangemouth have not beenoutsmarted by their bosses as much
as they have been ill-represented by
the Unite bureaucracy and their
tired and predictable way of reacting
to negotiations. The union's
willingness to keep the peace by
giving a three year no-strike deal
means the bosses can do what they
want for that time with no real way
for workers to come back at them;
that is unless the workers take the
decision to act outside of Unite's
hands and back into their own.
Some have claimed that rank-and-file
action may not have been possible,
but if that's the case then it raises
the question of how the workforce got
into that state, and what was the
union's role in creating this
situation? Back in 2000, workers atGrangemouth were striking in
solidarity with truckers blockading
the plant as part of the fuel price
protests, then again in 2009
hundreds of Grangemouth workers
took wildcat strike action to stand
shoulder-to-shoulder with striking oil
refinery workers at Lindsey. Have
they really
given up this
strong will to
fight in justfour short
years? Or
have Unite
(and the
other trade
unions) been
quick to
dampen any
militancy in
an attempt to show the bosses that
they are in control of militancy and
keep their own slice of the pie?
However, The Scotsmanreported
that 665 workers did notsign the
survival plan agreement, indicating
that workers on the shop floor are
still up for a fight. How has Ineos
reacted? They are going to sack these
workers and have them rehired as
new employees, putting them on
contracts with lower pensions than
those who where forced into giving in.
Those who did sign the contract will
also get a sweetener of between2,500 and 15,000. Unite, rather
than fighting this blatant attack to
divide the workforce, had already
tied their hands in preparation by
signing that no-strike agreement
and are complicit in worsening
conditions for its members and
breaking the bonds of solidarity
between different workers. It is
clear that they have no interest in
protecting the working class, just so
long as they get their place at the
bosses table.
Over in Holyrood, the SNP have
been only too willing to play into
the hands of the bosses, giving
Ineos support in the calls for
compromise to be reached. The
thought that a Scottish government
(either further devolved or fullyindependent of Westminster) will be
any friendlier to workers, the
unemployed or anyone else is an
assertion without any backing. The
state will always behave in the
interests of the state. Holding hope
that someone else can fix things for
us is only going to lead to half-
measures and disappointment. It is
only by building up our ability to
take action together at the heart of
the problem that will give us anyreal measure control of our lives.
The way in which the unions and
the politicians have behaved is not
the victory for common sense that is
being billed; it is a stitch-up
against all of us as a class. Bosses
are pitting worker against worker
while the trade unions and
politicians are only too happy for
this to happen as long as their
power remains intact. The people on
the shop floor know their business
better than anyone else. We should
learn the lessons from past fights
such as the 2009 Lindsey strikes
where worker stood in solidarity
with worker and won the
reinstatement of 698 workers and
an agreement of no retaliation from
the bosses: a victory through shared
struggle. By helping to empower
one another by showing support
when action is called for we can
take a degree of power forourselves, and to hell with the
bosses, union bureaucrats and
politicians who stand in our
way.
Grangemouth: the rank-and-file against the world
PAGE 2 AUTONOMY
The union's willingness to keep the
peace by giving a three year no-strike
deal means the bosses can do what
they want ... unless the workers take
the decision to act outside of Unite's
hands and back into their own.
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8/14/2019 Autonomy - Issue 3
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PAGE 3 AUTONOMY
Veteran black panthers visit Scotland
On 6th October, JoNina Abron
Ervin and Lorenzo Komboa Ervin,
two long-time grassroots organisers
from the United States and former
Black Panthers, kicked off their
speaking tour of the UK at
Edinburgh University. They spoke
on the subject of The Rise of the
Ku Klux Klan, new confederacy
movements and the anti-racist
movement for this period to an
audience of nearly 100, standing
room only. The following day they
travelled to Glasgow for another
packed talk this time on the
1960s/70s US black power
movement.
In the Edinburgh talk, Lorenzo
gave background on the history of
the three rises of the Ku Klux Klan,
and both he and JoNina spoke
about the recent mobilisation
against them in Memphis,
Tennessee. JoNina told us about Ida
B. Wells, a pioneering investigative
journalist who visited the UK in
1893 and 1894 to raise awareness of
lynchings in the United States. In
her memory JoNina and Lorenzo
introduced the new Ida B. Wells
Coalition Against Racism and Police
Brutality, and invited groups in the
UK to join.
Lorenzo and JoNina are both
founding members of the Black
Autonomy Federationbased in
Memphis, promoting class-based
grassroots anti-authoritarian
struggle, self-determination for the
Black community and autonomy and
liberation for the oppressed world-
wide. You can like them on facebook.
JoNina is the author ofDriven by
the Movement: Activists of the
Black Power Era, and Lorenzo
is the author ofAnarchism and
the Black Revolution.
Edinburgh dayschool: building working class resistance
to capitalism and racism
Edinburgh Anarchist Federationinvite
you to a day of discussion on
contemporary anarchist and
communist strategy and organisation.
Focussing on practical experience of
organising above abstract theory we
want as many people as possible to
come together on November 30th.
In the aftermath of the largest
economic crisis in decades and the
collapse across the world of the
legitimacy and membership of social-
democratic parties, the opportunity
should exist for a re-emergence of the
communist movement. Despite this, we
remain marginal, disorganised and
lacking in strategic direction. The left
remains in thrall to outdated ideas and
tactics unable to adapt to current
conditions, to offer any effective
opposition to neoliberal attacks or build
the organisations
necessary for working
class power andautonomy.
Too often self-described
revolutionaries and
communists meet only to
discuss abstract theories
or to analyse historical
events, divorced from any
material relation to
current struggles in the
UK, and unwilling to
consider new
organisational methods. This
gathering aims to be different. Wewant to discuss practically how we
create a culture of resistance and
organisation in our own workplaces
and communities, to smash the
growing threat of fascism and racism
from the EDL to the UKBA.
Though we remain weak at present,
reasons for optimism do exist, from
the wave of spontaneous workplace
occupations and wildcat strikes in
2009 to the student movement of
2010, the arrival of the anti-fascist
network as a serious, militantalternative to the UAF, the
innovation of the pop-up union at
Sussex university and the growth ofsolidarity networks. We want to draw
out the successes and failures of
these nascent formations and
consider where we go from here. Do
these ideas offer the basis for a new
workers movement or another dead
end? We invite everyone who opposes
capitalism and fascism to present any
ideas and discuss the future of our
movement.
Lineup to be confirmed. Contact
@ScotAFed for more information.
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8/14/2019 Autonomy - Issue 3
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Autonomyis produced byAnarchist Federation (AFed) Scot-
land. It aims to promote and link
together campaigns that empower
working class people and that
challenge capitalism and irrational
systems of power. We want to re-
port on positive, inspirational ex-
amples of struggle but also storieswhich motivate us to act. We will
focus on things happening in Scot-
land and also report on events in
Britain, and around the world.
Upcoming Events
The Anarchist Federation organises for social
change through solidarity, direct democracy
and direct action. We have groups and
members across Scotland including Dundee,
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.
Meadbowbank Sports Centre, 7pm.
24th November: STUC St Andrews Day
Anti-Racism march and rally. Assemble:10.30am at Glasgow Green. Rally at 12
noon at the Glasgow Film Theatre, RoseStreet.
26th November: Glasgow Reclaim the
Night 2013. Assemble 6pm at BotanicGardens entrance. March off 6.30pm toSTUC.
30th November: AFed Edinburghs
dayschool Building working class resistance
to capitalism and racism. The Pleasance,9.30am-5.30pm.
2nd December: start of the Week ofAction to Stop Workfare and Sanctions.
Watch out for protests against workfare in
1st November:UCU members start work-to-contract.
6th November: Day of action against depleteduranium weapons. Dundrennan Range,
Kirkcudbright. 12.30pm.
10th November: IWW Scottish Assembly, Stirlingfrom 11am-6pm. For members and radicals in
education, health, call-centres etc. Contact theIWW below fore more info.
10th November: Scottish Education WorkersNetwork, a sub-meeting of the IWWs Scottish
Assembly, 3pm-5.30pm.
11th November: IWW Edinburghs AGM, at theAutonomous Centre of Edinburgh from 7pm.
20th November: Trade unions: in whose
interests do they act?, AFed Glasgow talk and
discussion. Fred Paton Centre, 19 CarringdonStreet, Glasgow. 6.45pm-9pm.
22nd November: Public meeting: Edinburgh CityCouncil to cut 36 million next year: what are the
alternatives? organized by local anti-cuts groups.
Housing
Glasgow Solidarity Networkglasgowsolnet.wordpress.com
Edinburgh Private Tenants Action Groupeptag.org.uk
Work
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)iwwscotland.wordpress.com
Scottish Education Workers Network
iwwscotland.wordpress.com/scottish-education-
workers-network/
Call Centre Workers Network
callcentreworkersnetwork.wordpress.com
Welfare
Edinburgh Coalition against Povertyedinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk
Contribute your article or
let us know about a
grassroots initiative!
Get involvedWest Glasgow against Poverty (WestGAP)westgap.co.ukAsylum/Refugees
Unity Centre Glasgowunitycentreglasgow.org
Feminism
Glasgow Feminist CollectiveSearch on facebook!
Hollaback! Edimburgh
edinburghhollaback.org
Social Centres
Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh
autonomous.org.uk
Disability rights
Black Triangle
blacktrianglecampaign.org
Crutch Collectivethecrutchcollective.blogspot.co.uk/
Anti-cuts & Bedroom Tax
Edinburgh Anti-Cuts Allianceedinburghagainstcuts.org.uk
No2BedroomTax Campaignno2bedroomtax.co.uk
Greater Leith against the Cuts
On facebook
For regular updates on Glasgow events,
subscribe to:
facebook com afed scotlandScot Fed
afed org uk scotland