A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #361 - International - Union Action: Prevent STMicroelectronics from Arming Israel (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On April 10, the CGT and Urgence Palestine organized a rally in front of 
the STMicroelectronics company in Crolles, Isère, as part of the "Stop 
Arming Israel" campaign. The company's CGT union called on employees to 
walk out and join the rally. STMicroelectronics is a Franco-Italian 
company that exports chips that could be used for military purposes. The 
CGT and Urgence Palestine denounce the sale of these chips to Israeli 
companies that use them to produce drones or sensors for weapons 
applications.
The CGT then established demands and communicated them to employees: 
suspend all collaboration with Israeli defense companies, disclose any 
partnerships with an Israeli company, and finally, commit to no longer 
working with intermediaries that allow criminal states to procure 
components. As with any mobilization, the CGT sought to build a balance 
of power through a walkout and a rally in front of the factory on April 
10, an action that resonated even in the press. A call was then made to 
generalize these initiatives and oppose the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

We observed several obstacles that must be overcome during these 
mobilizations: at STMicroelectronics, the CGT had to carefully manage 
its communications and source all information provided to their 
colleagues to avoid being accused of sabotaging the company. This 
complex investigative work requires partnerships between unions and 
collectives specializing in the arms industry. Furthermore, opposing 
Israeli policy exposes union members to exploitation and accusations of 
anti-Semitism by their bosses, Zionist associations, or the state. For 
example, the general secretary of the CGT departmental union in the 
North was convicted last April[1].

The CGT union's position at STMicro against the presence of chips from 
their company in Russian drones, as well as the CGT's historical actions 
against colonial wars and, more recently, against the war in Yemen, 
serve to reiterate internationalist union values and place the action 
within a broader and coherent commitment, leaving no room for these 
accusations. However, we can regret the fact that when the strike came, 
only CGT members and a few non-unionized employees joined the strike. 
The balance of power within the company is therefore not on a par with 
the horror currently unfolding in Gaza, despite the goodwill of the 
unionists.

However, this in no way constitutes a failure. On the contrary, while 
the employees did not seem determined to mobilize en masse, the union 
received a great deal of enthusiastic support within the company. To 
make mobilization possible in the future, we must increase these joint 
actions between pro-Palestinian collectives and unions from the affected 
sectors through the "Stop Arming Israel" campaign to revive concrete 
internationalism in our classrooms.

So, trade unionists and activists for Palestinian rights, let's work 
together and take back control of what we produce against the 
militarization of our world.

Emile (UCL Grenoble)

Validate

[1]In April 2024, Jean-Paul Delescaut was sentenced to a one-year 
suspended prison sentence by the Lille Criminal Court for condoning 
terrorism following a press release published on October 10, 2023. The 
CGT Departmental Union of the North and Jean-Paul Delescaut appealed 
this decision.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Action-syndicale-Empecher-STMicroelectronics-d-armer-Israel
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