Kidnap Your Boss

[Pawn Power]

Enraged About Corporate Greed? Kidnap Your Boss (http://www.alternet.org/story/139052/enraged_about_corporate_greed_kidnap_your_boss/)

The French have taken to bossnapping -- "sequestering" their bosses while keeping them comfortable and safe -- to protest economic unfairness.


In answer to their own economic crisis, the French have taken up "bossnapping."


Here's how it works: An executive of a company, perhaps the CEO, stands before a group of his employees, puts his hands together, sighs, and then, with regret as smooth as brie, explains the fact that downsizing is needed to meet the exigencies of economic crisis (read: the preservation of profits in downturn).


The employees get pissed off -- and bum-rush the boss. They trap him in his office, barricade the door, feed him espresso and baguette, and demand a fair deal.It's a sort of soft-touch storming of the Bastille.


And lo, it works. A few weeks back, this happened at the FM Logistics Co. in Woippy, France, as 125 workers charged into a meeting of five company managers and held the poor creatures hostage for a day. At least 475 workers at FM Logistics, which is owned by Hewlett-Packard Co., were facing the specter of "redundancy" as HP sought to move its printer packaging operations to the cheaper labor pool in Malaysia.



I don't know how smoothly this would go over in the US (I would for see criminal prosecution for those workers who engaged in such acts and the calling in of SWAT teams to protect the bosses.) However, if nobody get hurt and it works (for the workers) why not?

Is this the worker militancy that is on the horizon and is it a good tactic in other countries or just specific to France?

[Communist Theory]

Awesome.
That would be cool if it happened here.

[Killfacer]

Fuck that. I reckon here in the UK the courts would throw the book at your face and it would bleed.

[Andropov]

Brilliant tactics.

[bellyscratch]

The French seem to be really good at protesting in the numbers they seem to get on the streets, the imagination of how they do it and their militancy.

Did anyone hear about their 'springtime of chairs (http://libcom.org/news/french-universities-revolt-over-education-reforms-26042009)'?:thumbup:

We need more stuff like that over here in Britain, although I suppose it has been improving quite a bit recently.

[BogdanV]

They certainly don't lack imagination :lol:
Then again, this may work for small businesses, but when talking about big corporations... I don't think it would be feasible, unless this happens to the corp's main HQ.
For instance, in Siemens, unions are banned.It happened sometime ago, that in Brazil, a workers strike erupted (I think it was probably just the "Medical" branch).
What was the company's reaction ? They sacked all their employees from that branch.

[Dooga Aetrus Blackrazor]

Why are the French so badass anyway? Historical precedent has something to due with it, I imagine. Whatever the reason, how can we teach their attitudes to the rest of the world?

[cyu]

Why are the French so badass anyway? Historical precedent has something to due with it, I imagine.

Yeah, they did guillotine their head of state once, after all...



However, if nobody get hurt and it works (for the workers) why not?



While I would support this as opposed to just taking it in the head and lying down, I don't think its a good mindset to be in. The assumption made by actions like this is that the boss has the power, and you need to convince him or force him to do something, or else you're helpless.

The actual fact of the matter is that the boss is irrelevant. You don't need to change his mind or force him to change his mind to accomplish anything. The employees can simply assume democratic control, and ignore the boss altogether - don't grant him any power by assuming you have to change anything about him.

The only thing you have to worry about is if the boss attacks (or hires minions to attack) the employees, in which case, you can simply respond as you would to any common criminal. Have him arrested.

[PRC-UTE]

I'm lovin it :cool:

Hope it catches on.

[jake williams]

The fact is I'd just like to see anything happen in North America. Without any fucking teabags.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

feed him espresso and baguette

:laugh:

[Bitter Ashes]

I know Gene. It's almost like the Spanish Inquisition in Monty Python isnt it?

"Cardinal Fang! Bring forth the comfy chair!"
*Cardinal Fang looks horrified* "The comfy chair?!"
"Yes! The comfy chair!" *turns to the little old lady* "Now you will repent, or be placed in the comfy chair!"
I guess they've got to cover thier backs though until the revolution. Potential revolutionaries bieng jailed before the revolution even starts isnt exactly a positive move forwards.

[Wakizashi the Bolshevik]

Damn!
I don't have a boss, I still go to school.
Ok, I'm off kidnapping the school rector then:laugh:.

[Chambered Word]

Not sure why they don't just prawn Sarkozy in the head and get on with it.

[jake williams]

Damn!
I don't have a boss, I still go to school.
Ok, I'm off kidnapping the school rector then:laugh:.
State schools in capitalist societies are training centres for capitalist oppression, and they emulate the authoritarian structures of capitalist production. They should be major loci of class struggle.

[disobey]

I've always thought it to be true: the French workers take shit from nobody.

[Comrade B]

State schools in capitalist societies are training centres for capitalist oppression, and they emulate the authoritarian structures of capitalist production..
I am graduating in less then 30 days from the public school system and I have to say I completely agree. The main thing taught to the students is obedience. Independent thought is disliked, reward is only given to those who do the requested work. The most disturbing thing I see at these schools is the "school pride" shit, it is small scale nationalism. They teach the students, though you hate your school, your schools administration, and everything about it, you owe it loyalty. You will support it just because you are there.

[Black Sheep]

At which boss kidnap count do you achieve communism again?

That part from Das Kapital is kinda blurry to me.

[Drace]

And I like to joke on how the French surrender easily :rolleyes:

[Post-Something]

trap him in his office, barricade the door, feed him espresso and baguette

I wish I was a boss :(