A-Infos (en) Britain, Anarchist journal Direct Action #42 Spring 2008 - Letters + Comment

Your letters ---- If you have any comments about the content, or any other 
issues, please e-mail or write to us. ---- Footie Fans Bite Back! ---- Dear DA,
Since your article on the colonisation of football by capitalism (’Take Back the 
People’s Game’, DA 40), there have been some interesting developments.
Recently, Manchester United announced annual profits of £212 million, officially 
making themselves the second richest club in the world. The visit of the club’s 
much-maligned American owners the Glazer brothers, to Manchester didn’t go 
unnoticed, however (as you pointed out, season ticket holders were stumped with 
a 12% hike in prices and a compulsory retainer scheme charging them for cup games).

Some disgruntled fans, having been tipped off about the brothers’ flying visit, 
greeted them by discharging the contents of an industrial ketchup container onto 
their limo as they attempted to beat a hasty exit from a city centre restaurant.

Rebel club FC United’s fans also underlined their anti-corporate credentials by 
boycotting a game against promotion rivals Curzon Ashton, after the company 
televising the match forced a change in kick-off time.

And, on the 12th of February, 2 fans invaded the pitch at the Burnley v QPR game 
and unfurled a banner bearing the message “Campbell Causes Leukaemia”. This made 
reference to Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell and his previous 
justification of “smart” uranium-tipped bombs being dropped on Iraq by allied 
forces. There has since been an increase in leukaemia rates in affected regions, 
but by a further twist of irony the King of Spin, a big Burnley fan, has since 
become Chairman of fundraising for Leukaemia Research.

With Liverpool fans mounting a vociferous campaign against the club’s American 
owners, commercial forces certainly aren’t getting things all their own way!

Dan, the Terraceman

(Disclaimer: DA in no way condones such naughty behaviour!)

------------------------------------------

Letters

If you have any comments about the content, or any other issues, please e-mail 
or write to us.

Reject Respect

Dear DA,

Further to your article on the split in Respect. In February Councillor Ahmed 
Hussain (right) defected from Respect-SWP to the Conservatives, making them the 
official opposition on the council.

It came about after initial talks with the Lib-Dems broke down. Councillor 
Hussain had joined the SWP and initially they vehemently denied that anything 
was happening only for him to appear in a local paper shaking hands with the Tories!

The SWP then did their best to make light of Hussain’s transfer of allegiance 
but the move just underlines the paucity of the SWP and other left parties 
forming front groups. It is also part of the farce and now collapse of the 
scheme that the SWP, supposedly the vanguard of Britain’s working class 
theorised as ‘a united front of a special kind’.

As you said Respect was bound to come to grief as it was written into its 
political DNA from its inception. What the SWP has witnessed is the logical 
consequences of its decision to wind up the Socialist Alliance so that it could 
realign itself with George Galloway and sections of the Muslim community in an 
attempt to get their ideas and policies accepted by default. They thought they 
could manipulate the ‘united front’ to their own ends only to find themselves 
with egg on their faces.

In solidarity, Leon.

-----------------------------------------

Comment

With Friends like These...why union bosses fail to protect our interests and 
what we can do about it

The experience of sacked nurse Karen Reissmann, and the inability of industrial 
action to achieve her reinstatement, serves as a timely reminder of the 
shortcomings of today’s unions in their ability, desire and commitment to 
effectively support workers in struggle. But all is not lost and for the 
anarcho-syndicalist solution to the tyranny of capitalism and yet more 
sell-outs, read on!

Despite the tenacity of Karen’s local Unison branch, who remained on strike up 
until her appeal, the response of the union nationally in promoting solidarity 
for her cause was pitiful. In fact, the wholly inadequate response from the 
Unison leadership contributed to the defeat of the strike every bit much as the 
actions of the Primary Care Trust bosses themselves.

During the strike, solidarity and support from other workers was largely gleaned 
through word of mouth and tireless campaigning by rank and file activists. But 
did we at any time hear the Unison big wigs calling for local or national 
industrial action in support of Karen? Did the Unison hierarchy at any time 
discourage other members from scabbing and thus undermining the brave strikers‘ 
resolve? And, for that matter, against a tide of creeping public service 
privatisation and cutbacks, do we see Unison campaigning for robust action to 
counter this? The answer to these questions is, predictably, ‘NO’. When public 
sector workers were offered below inflation pay rises for the third year 
running, did we see Unison standing firm for a better settlement? Not on your Nelly!

That Unison still serves political funds to a New Labour regime at the forefront 
of attacks on workers’ rights, pay and conditions is quite frankly, laughable. 
At least the cash-for-honours brigade get some payback for their investment. 
With Unison’s full-timers sitting on committees with the very bosses responsible 
for destroying workers’ livelihoods, any faint hope that our welfare is being 
protected looks, at best, fleeting. But if the unions (particularly those with 
the membership and resources that Unison commands) are so unwilling to resist 
attacks on our living standards, and are actively colluding with the forces 
behind these attacks, what hope is there? Very little, it appears. This 
indictment explains in a snapshot why the workers’ movement has been so 
demoralised and put firmly on the back foot. Bosses like those who sacked Karen 
Reissmann for daring to speak out must be rubbing their hands in glee. The 
politicians will no doubt also see this test case as further vindication of 
their NHS privatisation program and firm anti-union stance.

the anarcho-syndicalist alternative

Karen Reissmann and her colleagues’ experience shows exactly why we need 
syndicalist rank and file unions. So, why would syndicalist unions be so much 
more effective?

Well, in a nutshell, the power structure of most of today‘s unions mirrors that 
of capitalist organisations. This fact, in itself, is part of the problem. Rank 
and file unions, in contrast, retain direct workers’ control through workplace 
based organisation and mass assemblies. Rather than operating a band of 
(corruptible) boardroom based careerists, a system of instantly revocable, 
mandated delegates is preferred. This ensures that delegates do not become 
divorced from the needs and aspirations of the rank and file, and accountability 
is maximised. Syndicalist organisations, unlike traditional unions, do not 
divide workers by trade. Instead they recognise that workers, both 
internationally and in any particular region, have similar interests and common 
adversaries. Eventually, therefore, syndicalism aims for the ultimate in 
workers’ solidarity; one big union.

Syndicalists hold no hope whatsoever that New Labour, Respect, the Socialist 
Workers Party or any other self-proclaimed vanguard can represent our interests 
in any way. History has continually borne this out. But unions must also 
actively involve communities and those who use the services and products of our 
labours to be truly inclusive. We also recognise that the interests of the 
worker and boss will always be at odds, so efforts to co-opt delegates on to 
management boards and seek compromises are fruitless. For these reasons, we see 
syndicalist unions as eventually giving workers the confidence to assume 
complete control of their workplaces through continued struggle. This will be 
achieved using proactive methods of industrial direct action. The ultimate tool 
in our armoury is the general strike, with popular workers’ councils taking hold 
of the means of production as a prelude to operating these for the general good 
of society. Rank and file unions therefore also provide a means to build the new 
society within the shell of the old. This new society will be one based on 
libertarian communist principles, wherein we all enjoy the full fruits of our 
labours and have direct control over the day-to-day decisions affecting our 
lives, livelihoods and communities.

In a climate of rising fuel and food prices, cutbacks in jobs, wages, affordable 
housing and vital public services, as workers we are now bearing the brunt of a 
chaotic economy which threatens to spiral into freefall. Now, more than ever, we 
need powerful unions run for workers by workers, not career-minded fat cats who 
kow-tow to our sworn enemies.

The time for change is well overdue.

     Solidarity Federation - Industrial Strategy. Solidarity Federation's 
ultimate aim is a self-managed stateless society, based on the principle of 
'From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs'. It is 
a society where we are no longer just used as a means to an end by bosses 
wanting to make money from our labour. for free copies or bundles contact: 
Solidarity Federation, PO Box 29, South West D.O., Manchester, M15 5HW; 07 984 
675 281; solfed@solfed.org.uk www.solfed.org.uk/strategy
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