Workplace Sabotage and Everyday Sabotage

[VILemon]

Firstly, I'm not sure if I need to do this, but I want to state that this is not incitement to action of any kind.
Now that that's out of the way: A friend and I were thinking that, aside from the possibility of minimizing the profitability of large-employers through intentional or feigned incompetence (radically mislabeling prices on items, selling things for cheap, giving things away, letting expensive wares like diamond rings fall into cracks in the wall etc.) and increased use of piracy of various sorts (illegal downloading or otherwise undermining intellectual property relations), there must be dozens of everyday ways to subtly setback an already weakened capitalism. I was wondering if anyone has any creative methods for a little everyday sabotage.

[Cymru]

Surely little acts of petty sabotage is not enough to actually make an impact on the whole capitalist system?

[VILemon]

I would certainly agree. However, I am not advocating this as a solution to the problem of capitalism. I am merely interested in the small everyday acts of defiance which, in certain cases, can cut drastically into the profits made on a single employee. After all, the majority of strikes don't bring down capitalism but I think that most acts of this sort are potentially progressive if done for the right reasons. If one is going to be exploited for profit, then one ought to know about ways of minimizing the profitability of extracting surplus value. I am interested in people's creative ways of making a "petty" difference. We cannot storm the halls of the major corporations everyday.

If it's not an interesting topic to others that's fine.

[Cymru]

I did not mean to come over negatively, I am very interested in this topic.

All I was saying is that for me, I like the idea of chipping away at my workplace, not for the goal of weakening capitalism but more for self satisfaction. My way of 'sticking it the man' and getting a secret pleasure from sabotaging the company :)

[CntStrike]

surely all you need to do to cut into the profits made on an individual is to cost them as much as possible. I work in the retail sector, so I can do this by 'accidentally' dropping things and claiming for them, or hiding things til past their sell by date. Even just spilling something means you have to use the company's products to clean up, thus using them up otherwise unnecessarily. None of these things are illegal and if you do them sly enough, they can't fire you for it. Nevertheless it wouldn't achieve much and by cutting the profits made by that company (in my case the retail shop), then the company who supplied the cleaning products or other products will still make more of a profit (albeit a minuscule one). thus it is completely petty and I doubt one would get much self-satisfaction out of it. just ideas...

[ArrowLance]

I disagree, I doubt many people WOULDN'T get satisfaction out of lashing out at them. I think that small acts of defiance, when widespread, would be productive (to anti-capitalist movements).

[VILemon]

Ok, I admit that most of this is rather silly, but I've been brainstorming a bit on these sorts of methods.

Some ideas:

1) Regularly letting out cockroaches in major fast-food joints (subtly, of course).

2) Dressing up as an employee of various businesses (ones with uniforms...obviously) and trying to infiltrate/gum up the works.

3)Putting up false signs in businesses telling the employees about a number of new benefits that they will accrue (this might not work, but it could cause workers to make trouble for management)

4)Just taking a day to ruin as many expensive advertisements as possible.

5) This:
Communique posted on internet, reposted here:

5/25/07

Friends,

Early this morning, warriors of the Red & Anarchist Action Network (RAAN) used an industrial bonding agent to sabotage and disable over 150 coin-operated parking meters in downtown Lexington, Kentucky.

That we have provided an unexpected dose of free parking to this city is not to say that we are in favor of car culture, which turns our environment into a dangerous and unfriendly space by removing us from it - or that we want to people to have an easier time commuting to their awful jobs, though we do earnestly hope that our actions have brightened someone's Friday. No, we are always looking towards a world where both coins and commuting are irrelevant. We wished only to demonstrate how easily and instantaneously the militance and ingenuity of those who struggle can alter those same oppressive situations we take for granted day after day.

Our actions are meant to coincide with today's 5th year anniversary of RAAN's diverse radical activity as a dispersed insurrectionary network. We send our warmest regards and heartfelt solidarity to all those around the world who are continuing to build this unique revolutionary tendency, always understanding its cultural significance along the way.

I hope I might have stimulated some creativity...
:D

[Pawn Power]

I think we need to ask ourselves, do these actions give us power? do they give workers a sense of solidarity and collective action?

[CntStrike]

maybe one could leave political leaflets in say staff rooms. Most people's breaks are spent reading whatever crap magazines someone's left their. Work could be a good place to educate the people against capitalism... probably wouldn't have much effect on the employers but it would certainly piss them off a bit and it wouldn't damage the cause

[freakazoid]

I think we need to ask ourselves, do these actions give us power? do they give workers a sense of solidarity and collective action?

Yes. Small, easily reproduced act that everyone can do. It helps build solidarity between coworkers and helps grow anti-boss attitudes instead of letting it simmer and die. But do not just use it as the only method. You need to build up on it and build a class consciousness.

[ArrowLance]

1) Regularly letting out cockroaches in major fast-food joints (subtly, of course).

:D


We don't want to harm peoples health, some people could get sick from cockroach infested foods before they get noticed.

[Pawn Power]

Again, I think we should remind ourselves that we don't necessarily want to destroy production but to control production in democratic structure. Do these action move us towards this goal?

[MilitantAnarchist]

I got fired from a job last year for talk of sabotage...
Well.... i wrote somthing called A Saboteurs Guide To Bankrupting Fat Cats using there supplies and they went through my stuff... well the rest speaks for itself.
But i think sabotage is one of our key weapons against capitalism.

[gorillafuck]

1) Regularly letting out cockroaches in major fast-food joints (subtly, of course).

3)Putting up false signs in businesses telling the employees about a number of new benefits that they will accrue (this might not work, but it could cause workers to make trouble for management)
You'd have to be a total asshole to do either of these.

[Cymru]

I got fired from a job last year for talk of sabotage...
Well.... i wrote somthing called A Saboteurs Guide To Bankrupting Fat Cats using there supplies and they went through my stuff... well the rest speaks for itself.
But i think sabotage is one of our key weapons against capitalism.

You honestly think petty sabotage is the KEY weapon against capitalism?

[Chambered Word]

You'd have to be a total asshole to do either of these.

So where do I sign up? :lol:

[welshred]

You honestly think petty sabotage is the KEY weapon against capitalism?

I think he means large scale sabotage.

[Comrade Ian]

The problem I have with this is when you start to take into account any sort of environmental concern, if you're sabotage is just going to lead to the replacement of the goods without any sort of serious damage to capitalism then you're just going to ensure that more resources are consumned. In order for their to be a socialist world we should aim for their to be as much of that world left to inherit as possible.

I also think in general sabotage is likely to alienate activists from the majority of working people and simply provides a great excuse for witch hunts against the left. I'd prefer to give the state as few legitimate reasons to throw me in jail as possible.

[bcbm]

Again, I think we should remind ourselves that we don't necessarily want to destroy production but to control production in democratic structure. Do these action move us towards this goal?

I want to destroy production at my job... and no, perhaps workplace sabotage doesn't move us towards our goal but damn if it doesn't make me feel a lot better about having to goto such a horrible place every day.

[Verix]

i think the 2 biggest weapons people can use on a daily basis are petty theft and petty sabotage, while most may seem little if many people do them daily it starts to add up and will slowly weaken the system

[VILemon]

I've thought of one more strategy of some promise if done on a wide-scale: downpricing with a pricing gun all kinds of things. "Everything's on sale!" I appreciate everybody's input. It's important to be able to distinguish between actual everyday anti-capitalist strategies and childish-prankster-antics.