A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #366 - Trade Unionism - The 1995 Strikes: What Driving Forces for a Mass Movement? (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The major strikes of 1995 are celebrating their 30th anniversary. For 
this occasion, Alternative libertaire lends its pen to Rémi, author of a 
thesis on this historic social movement. A gloomy economic climate and a 
frontal assault on the bourgeoisie are not enough to trigger and sustain 
such a movement. So what lessons can be learned to join and encourage 
others to join the struggle? ---- In 1995, the dreams of seamless 
progress, embodied by flying cars, were fading. Capitalists remained 
grounded, wanted to earn more, and had the welfare state in their 
sights. Governments, both left and right, promised only difficult times, 
a management approach based on austerity. The economic crisis took hold, 
marked by unemployment affecting more than 10% of the working population.

Modernization policies led to stress and a loss of meaning for those 
still employed. The social crisis is illustrated by riots in the 
suburbs, where young people are stigmatized and left without prospects 
for the future. From La Haine to the group NTM, the first cries of 
revolt emerge. Faced with this, President Jacques Chirac, recently 
elected on a platform of fighting "the social divide," appoints Alain 
Juppé, a graduate of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA), as 
Prime Minister. Juppé, known for his technocratic rhetoric, was later 
found guilty of misappropriating public funds. Between September and 
November, his government proposed several measures, including a wage 
freeze, the privatization of public services, raising the retirement 
age, and the nationalization of Social Security.

What are we waiting for? In this context, the emergence of a massive 
social movement in the fall of 1995 was anything but spontaneous. Even 
earlier in the year, the various labor unions were mobilizing for the 
50th anniversary of Social Security through large meetings, conferences, 
and demonstrations. Throughout the year, public sector unions organized 
numerous local and national strikes, often with high participation[1]. 
In September, the intelligence services and employers expressed alarm at 
an imminent third round of social unrest. In October, after an 
unprecedented day of strikes, with majority participation in most 
government departments, a rolling strike appeared likely. Inter-union 
groups at the sectoral and local levels frequently met at the initiative 
of the CGT, and grassroots activists conducted a vigorous campaign in 
November, supporting an inter-union petition entitled "Social Security 
is Life."

Public domain
However, the development of a rolling strike in the rail sector, made 
possible by the series of strikes on November 24, 25, and 28[2], was not 
foreseeable. The decision to strike, even following a union call, was 
not truly anticipated. Workers, apart from a few activists, had not 
considered this possibility. It is through the joy, enthusiasm, and 
determination of a few that the movement takes shape during general 
assemblies (GAs) and union meetings.

This collective momentum spreads through these railway worker 
delegations who reach out to other professions to promote the strike, 
starting with postal workers in sorting centers. The strike, therefore, 
remains, despite all the preparation, a deeply personal experience, much 
like the students in a class at the University of Rouen who decided on 
October 9th to walk out of class, refusing to accept deteriorating study 
conditions: the first to join the movement in the fall of 1995.

Old Skool
The movement grows and endures thanks to the general assemblies of 
employees. Unlike past practices, these are no longer conceived solely 
as union meetings. Many people working in the public sector experienced 
student and high school coordinating committees in the 1970s, followed 
by railway workers' and nurses' committees in the next decade. The union 
secretary is no longer the sole representative of striking workers. 
Voices are now diverse, and rank-and-file strikers share their reasons 
for taking action in the press.

During the 1995 strikes, the national railway network was completely 
paralyzed, to the point that the army was mobilized to transport workers.

The protesters then meet in general assemblies to organize their 
actions. These most often bring together workers from the same sector at 
their workplace. As the movement progressed, the strikers sought to 
encourage everyone's participation by favoring "small" general 
assemblies at the departmental level within public companies, at the 
departmental level within universities, or at the grouping of schools in 
the same neighborhood or small town. For example, at Toulouse train 
station, about ten different assemblies are held every day. Joint 
general assemblies bringing together several hundred people are less 
frequent and are experienced as a moment of collective enthusiasm rather 
than organization.

The movement is diverse, and given the thousands of general assemblies 
that have taken place, it would be inappropriate to generalize. The 
activists who lead them sometimes set their character (self-management 
or directive). They are the democratic space for strike decisions; they 
can be places for discussions, very often about work, less frequently 
about society; sometimes, they become spaces for the practical 
organization of the strike where actions are proposed and discussed. 
Certainly, the word of union delegates is no longer the only one that 
carries weight.

A New School
Outside of Roanne and more rural areas, the general assemblies have not 
led to territorial coordination. The 1995 movement reaffirmed the role 
of trade unions, and particularly the CGT, after some fifteen years of 
criticism and declining membership. Thus, the organization of 
demonstrations remains the prerogative of the departmental inter-union 
bodies.

The coordination of actions most often takes place within the labor 
exchanges, primarily by the CGT teams. The assembly of workers and the 
union organization engage in dialogue, sometimes confrontational but 
often respectful, to build the struggle together. These structures, like 
the strike and the demonstration, are not opposed but mutually 
reinforcing. The 1995 struggle therefore affirms within its ranks the 
popularity of a union model of protest in contrast to that of 
co-management and social dialogue promoted by the CFDT leadership.

Rémi Azemar (historian, author of a thesis on the 1995 strikes)

The Exceptional Roanne Struggle
The city of Roanne experienced an exceptional mobilization in 1995: 
daily demonstrations (35 between November and March), a movement that 
continued locally for four months after the end of the national strikes, 
a tenth of the city's population participating in demonstrations, and 
local victories against the relocation of industry and the closure of 
public services. How can this feat be explained?

First, Roanne is located in a region that was highly mobilized in 1995, 
and the CGT (General Confederation of Labour) was strongly structured 
there. The CGT proposed anchoring the national struggle in the heart of 
local concerns, transforming the rejection of the Juppé plan into a 
defense of the city. Local strike organizers are developing significant 
autonomy from the nationally organized days of action through a weekly 
interprofessional gathering in front of the unemployment offices 
(Assedic) to combat the scourge of unemployment, a cause that fosters 
consensus and connects the private and public sectors.

By organizing meetings between union, employee, political, and community 
networks, they are also building a strong and broad internal structure. 
The movement's main slogan, "All together," is becoming a reality, and 
the diverse actors within social movements are using the strike to forge 
a united front.

Validate

[1]Before November, at SNCF alone, 716 strike notices, including 21 
nationwide strikes, had been filed by railway unions.

[2]Respectively, an inter-union day in the public sector extended by the 
CGT to the private sector, a day called by around one hundred 
organizations for women's rights and a day of strike called by Force 
Ouvrière for Social Security.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Greves-de-95-Quelles-locomotives-pour-un-mouvement-de-masse
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