cyu
28th November 2009, 22:36
Excerpts from http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23212
Workers in Argentina during that country's crash figured out they needed to go beyond the law to survive. "For workers in Argentina there is no law. It only exists for the powerful... If we were stuck outside [of the factory] asking the judge to keep it open, we would get nowhere. If we were to ask politicians, we'd get even less. Only through occupation could we recover the jobs."
One story of occupation and worker control told in Sin Patron is that of Sime Quarry, located in the province of Entre Rios. The owners of the quarry ran the business into the ground, but it was taken over by its workers and kept in operation under worker-control.
They decided to arm themselves before the takeover in case they ran into any resistance. "We took firearms, and some neighbors lent us shotguns. We announced that we didn't want to shoot anyone, but wanted to defend our workplace and keep the bosses from stealing anything else."
Over time, they formed a cooperative and a judge ordered the plant be given over to them in April of 2003. Now the quarry is back in business, fully operational under worker-management.
The Zanon ceramics factory was also occupied and put under worker control around the same time.
the workers went on strike, setting up tents outside the factory, marching, picketing and organizing a communal kitchen. Local schools, workers and neighbors helped out however they could; even prisoners in jail supported the workers by donating their food. The workers reached out to the community, explaining their plight to passersby. Locals empathized with them because they were hard-working people with families. It was this connection and support from the community that helped the workers of Zanon eventually transform the factory into a cooperative. Ramírez said, "We always said the factory isn't ours. We are using it, but it belongs to the community."
That's a key message at the heart of this book - that these failed factories and businesses should belong to the people, not the wealthy bosses who mistreated workers and then abandoned ship. Such challenges to classic ideas of private property and workplace hierarchy course through every page in Sin Patron. These examples of worker management defy the bankrupt logic of capitalism itself.
Workers in Argentina during that country's crash figured out they needed to go beyond the law to survive. "For workers in Argentina there is no law. It only exists for the powerful... If we were stuck outside [of the factory] asking the judge to keep it open, we would get nowhere. If we were to ask politicians, we'd get even less. Only through occupation could we recover the jobs."
One story of occupation and worker control told in Sin Patron is that of Sime Quarry, located in the province of Entre Rios. The owners of the quarry ran the business into the ground, but it was taken over by its workers and kept in operation under worker-control.
They decided to arm themselves before the takeover in case they ran into any resistance. "We took firearms, and some neighbors lent us shotguns. We announced that we didn't want to shoot anyone, but wanted to defend our workplace and keep the bosses from stealing anything else."
Over time, they formed a cooperative and a judge ordered the plant be given over to them in April of 2003. Now the quarry is back in business, fully operational under worker-management.
The Zanon ceramics factory was also occupied and put under worker control around the same time.
the workers went on strike, setting up tents outside the factory, marching, picketing and organizing a communal kitchen. Local schools, workers and neighbors helped out however they could; even prisoners in jail supported the workers by donating their food. The workers reached out to the community, explaining their plight to passersby. Locals empathized with them because they were hard-working people with families. It was this connection and support from the community that helped the workers of Zanon eventually transform the factory into a cooperative. Ramírez said, "We always said the factory isn't ours. We are using it, but it belongs to the community."
That's a key message at the heart of this book - that these failed factories and businesses should belong to the people, not the wealthy bosses who mistreated workers and then abandoned ship. Such challenges to classic ideas of private property and workplace hierarchy course through every page in Sin Patron. These examples of worker management defy the bankrupt logic of capitalism itself.