What defines a union?

[bricolage]

In contrast to say syndicalists certain anarchists, left communists, council communists etc deny that trade unions (or craft unions, or any type of unions I assume) can ever be revolutionary vehicles. Instead they often speak of alternative workplace organisations where syndicalists would talk about revolutionary unions. What I want to know is what distinguishes a revolutionary union as advanced by syndicalists from workplace organisations as advanced by others. Is it just whether they are legally recognised or not? Is it whether they enter into any negotiations with the state/business leaders or not?

[Paulappaul]

What distinguishes Workers' Councils from Trade Unions?

For one, Trade Unions are connected with capitalism itself. Their existence is bent on the existence of Workers and Capital, that is too say, the Class Struggle between the too. No struggle, No Trade Unions. Thus for Council Communists as myself, we view Trade Unions to anti-revolutionary.

Trade Unionism is an action of the workers, which does not go beyond the limits of Capitalism. Its aim is not overturn the existing relations of production for Socialism, but to secure a good living condition within Capitalism. It's character is thus not revolutionary, but conservative.

Trade Unions organize for the revolution, they prepare for the struggle when it isn't there. Thus they are not Spontaneous acts of Labor. This is what separated Rosa Luxemburgs theory of the Mass Strike with the Syndicalist theory of a General Strike.

Workers' Councils on the other hand are created by the Working Class in movements of struggle to combat Capital by means of Mass Strike. They start out as Wildcat strikes when their Unions and Parties fail them, as simple Strike Committees, but as they connect with other business' and their Strike Committees they develop into Workers Councils, which in turn connect with Workers Councils. It's a self directed means of Direct Action.

Furthermore, Workers Councils fight on two landscapes, Political and Economic. Embodying both the theoretical nature of Unions and Parties, while still being organically connected to class :thumbup1:

[bricolage]

I wasn't necessarily talking about Workers Councils which are develop during struggle and the embryonic form of a future society but organisations of workers that can develop prior to revolutionary moments. What differentiates them in practical terms from unions? For example there is the Platform of Struggling Workers in Turkey that was recently formed with (from what I can gather here) the support of the Turkish ICC but what makes an organisation like that different from a union? Is it just to do with legality?

[revolution inaction]

In contrast to say syndicalists certain anarchists, left communists, council communists etc deny that trade unions (or craft unions, or any type of unions I assume) can ever be revolutionary vehicles. Instead they often speak of alternative workplace organisations where syndicalists would talk about revolutionary unions. What I want to know is what distinguishes a revolutionary union as advanced by syndicalists from workplace organisations as advanced by others. Is it just whether they are legally recognised or not? Is it whether they enter into any negotiations with the state/business leaders or not?

this depends on the syndicalist, in some cases it seams nothing at all, some recent discussions on libcom between solfed and afed members seem to suggest this, and it may be worth you looking there.

[bricolage]

this depends on the syndicalist, in some cases it seams nothing at all, some recent discussions on libcom between solfed and afed members seem to suggest this, and it may be worth you looking there.
have you got a link?

[Fietsketting]

have you got a link?

http://www.solfed.org.uk/ Solfed
http://www.afed.org.uk/ A-Fed

Topic: http://libcom.org/forums/organise/why-dont-solfed-afed-merge-30052010

I think thats the one

[revolution inaction]

have you got a link?

ok was feeling lazy last night

edit i see i am a bit slow

there's this document produced by Brighton Solidarity Federation

http://libcom.org/library/strategy-struggle-anarcho-syndicalism-21st-century

i think now they have come to the conclusion that what they are advocating here was always the view of solfed and other IWA groups but expressed in different terms, and that this document is wrong about some of the history of anarcho syndicalism?


discussion about what is meant by union
http://libcom.org/forums/solfed/anarcho-syndicalist-strategy-meaning-union-10112008

i think this thread has some releven stuff in it

http://libcom.org/forums/organise/why-dont-solfed-afed-merge-30052010

and this one

http://libcom.org/forums/organise/role-anarcho-syndicalist-organisation-role-anarchist-federation-24092009

this is the work place strategy of afed, it may be relevant

http://libcom.org/library/frontline-anarchists-work