Europe's trade unions - new radicalism?
by Dominique Mezzi
MEMBERSHIP OF FRANCE'S trade union confederations has fallen by over 65% since 1974. Unions now organise less than 8% of the workforce, the lowest rate of any member of the OECD (club of 25 richest industrial countries). The CGT federation claims only 450,000 members, the CFDT probably has no more than 360,000. Only Force ouvriere (which split from the CGT in 1947) denies the existence of a "crisis", , although it keeps its membership statistics a well-guarded secret.
Union strength is very uneven. "More than half of the CT is concentrated in five professions; energy, metallurgy, rail, post and public services" (Luydia Brovelli, CGT treasurer, May 1994). Except for metallurgy, all these professions are governed by state regulations giving workers better protection than in the private sector. As a result of this concentration, the effective rate of trade unionisation of the private sector is very much lower than 8%. Half of the private sector workforce (six million people working in small and medium enterprises, are virtually ununionised, because of pressure from the bosses and these workers' internalised fear of unemployment. A further five million unemployed, temporarily employed or part time workers are also outside the world of trade unionism. Trade union "confederations" are supposed to reflecting the diversity of the workforce. This is clearly less and less the case.
Mass unemployment over several decades has destroyed old forms of employment, and disbanded the militants who had developed an experience there. Sectors where there have been vanguard struggles of the working class have either been destroyed, or subject to very strong erosion. The collective memory of struggle, victory and aspirations is not being passed on to new generations of workers.
But this does not explain why historic trade unionism has not succeeded in renewing its base. After all, the crisis destroys, but it also produces. The workforce has always been confronted with phases of structural renewal of its social composition and professional
RL structure. Old traditions wear out, but other layers of the working class begin their first experiences.
The massive entry of women into the workforce has been a major opportunty and a challenge for trade unionism. Over the last 20 years, previously unorganised, feminised sectors of the working population have been drawn into militant struggles.
Women now make up almost half the workforce. But there is a great disparity between the various feminised sectors. Areas of the private sector where women's jobs are being created (like commerce) are laboratories for the most anti-worker and anti-social forms of 'flexible working'. On the other hand, massive struggles over wages, recognition of qualifications, and working conditions have taken place in the health sector and other public services where non-unionised women are in the majority. Trade union officials caught up in their tradtional routine have been staggered by the size of this new radical force.
The progressive elevation of the qualifications required of the working population, and of the number of technicians and office workers, obliges
ИРО those of us who cling to a traditional image of the working class to wake up to reality. In the old days, the least qualified layers of workers were the first to be dismissed. Not any more.
Trade unions have traditionaly refused to articulate responses to questions of industrial or technological choice. These were either "the bosses problem" or the responsibility of the reformist politicians workers tended to support. Perhaps the entry of all these new highly skilled technicians into the proletariat obliges us to start thinking about these and other questions of management.
No-one nowadays goes from school to the factory and automatically joins the same union as his father and elder brothers. Today's school leaver is more likely to spend years in unstable or part time labour before she gets a stable job. Trade union activists in private industry (most of whom are over 40 years old) still have to learn how to link up with younger workers whose cultural universe is not the same. And how to reach out to immigrant, and in particular North African, working class, on more than the most basic level.
The working class has never been a homogenous bloc. But the general picture
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International Viewpoint #267 June 1995
Trade Unions - France Collectif in the 1990s is that of a workforce suffering multiple fractures. Trade Founded in 1986, this pluralist magazine for debate on trade unionism has always constructed itself in unionism is animated primarily by the great periods of the productive cycle CFDT militants but also involves and and the transformation of technology. critical CGT members, and activists We are evidently at a comparable turning from the non-confederated unions point. Except that so far, there is a great (SNUI, FSU, SUD, and CRC) lack of any perspective of social change. Address: BP 74, 75960, Paris This problem is common to labour Cedex 20, France movements all over the world, but it takes
New radicalism on a particular dimension in France.Trade AC! unions here have only experienced mass recruitment at very rare moments, Created in autumn 1993 by corresponding to the great phases of militants around Collectif, this new international struggle (1920s, 1936, 1945, social movement, brings together late 60s). And this growth has been the unemployed and wage- concentrated in specific professional earners. Agir ensemble contre le chomage (AC! — "Act together sectors playing a determinant role in the against unemployment") economy (heavy industry, metallurgy, the campaigns for greater social rights newly nationalised industries of the postfor the unemployed including free war boor and so on. The CGT went public transport) a 35 hour week for from 620,000 members in 1914 to 2.4 all, and the redistribution of wealth. millions in 1920, fell with the split of AC!'s largest action so far was a demonstration of 20,000 people on 1921, was back at 4.9 million in 1937, fell May 29 1994. again in 1939, and peaked at 5.8 million in
1946. The increase in 1968 was relatively One of the main concerns of the organisation is how to mobilise not weak, from 1.9 to 2.3 million (the smaller just the unemployed and the CFDT doubled its membership). Since young, but also those in stable 1969, all the union confederations have work? And how to stop repeating been declining in membership the same truths about exclusion The original CGT (1895-1909), was and marginalisation, and go on the dominated by the traditional trades, rather for job creation, and for a greater offensive with concrete demands than the concentrated and Taylorised social control over working industrial sectors. The confederation was conditions? Unions dominated by revolutionary syndicalist The new strategy was unveiled at militants, whose orientation was to use an extraordinary general assembly everyday struggles to build what they on April 4 this year, in the centre of believed would be a decisive, a Paris branch of FNAC, the revolutionary general strike. This founding country's leading book and CD wave of militants injected a political seller. Young people congregating perspective into partial combats, to be into the debate, 15 unemployed in the shopping centre were drawn realised in and through trades unionism itself. The 'double' tradition - fighting activists publicly asked FNAC for a job, and FNAC employees joined in union and friendly, insurance union, with to denounce working conditions, Trade separation of the trade union and political part time work, and contracts giving Europe's Trade tasks of the labour movement by the no job security. The action was creation of a labour party to fight for organised by the FAC trade union
"social laws - characteristic of the North representatives, and AC! activists from the CFDT, CGT and CNT European unions, developed relatively late (anarcho-syndicalist). in the CGT, as a result of the affiliation of Address: BP 74, 75960, Paris concentrated sectors, like the miners Cedex 20, France (1908). The conflict between these two strategies led to the CGT's first internal crisis in 1909. RESSY French trade unionism is unique in
Europe in that it has only exceptionally This is the main meeting place for academic and other researchers been a mass unionism. One can roughly sympathetic to the workers' sum up this historic specificity by the movement. combination of structural factors of the
Revolution of the workforce, by the effects this has had on the trade union demands' Address: 87 rue Villiers de l'Isle made at each stage, and by the workers' Adam, 75020 Paris, France expectation of a political outlet to their partial struggles. This aspiration is the result of the place of "politics" in French 8 International Viewpoint #267 June 1995 life since the revolution of 1789-93, and is latent in the modern-day struggles of the workers movement, even when it is expressed by a rejection of the political parties.
But this 'historic' trade unionism is out of synch with the 'trade union demands' of a working class in full mutation., amid an international and national crisis of political perspective. Trade union activists are faced with a dual problem; at the base, the reconstruction of a mass practice which can unify workers, and at the summit the
AC/
AC! M
COLLECTIF CONTRE L:
DE METZ ripening of a collective political reflection, integrating the balance-sheet of the past century.
Revolutionaries have held on better than other activists in the face of the decline of militancy (even if as a political force, they to have suffered the effects of the defeats of the wider movement) and nowadays frequently find themselves in positions to inspire and propose. But we are obviously not the only ones to recognise the historic crisis in the workers' movement and think about possible responses.
In the CFDT, the theorisation of the "repositioning' of the unions in the centre of the political spectrum, accepting the fundamental economic constraints of the capitalist system began in the late 1970 and accelerated in 1986-87. The big idea was to form a non-communist front with the smallest of the "big three' federations,
Force Ouvriere (FO) and the 300,000 member National Education Federation (FEN). which was heading towards the expulsion of its Communist minority. The hope was that this moderate coalition could then isolate the Communist-led CGT and build a 'new' trade unionism — breaking with militant traditions, anchored on social compromise, offering a range of services to its members, and attracting wider membership through through its material resources and 'unitive' power.
A majority of delegates to the 1989 FO AC/
AL./ HOMEY BAS* ONSEMBLL
ACT TACI RCHE NATIONAL CHOMAGE ET L'EX congress rejected this 'recomposition' and threw itself into a spirited, largely verbal denunciation of liberalism. Under its president Marc Blondel, FO has since consistently blocked both 'reformist reorganisation projects and 'radical' projects for unitary action. The most pro-capitalist of the big three federations, FO played in the 1970s the 'privileged partner' of government and the employers which the CFDT would now like to emulate. The new 'labour' rhetoric results from the realisation that the employers are no longer disposed to come to a gentlemanly agreement, even on the most moderate of demands.
The attempt by the FEN leadership to transform trade unionism resulted in a total fiasco. The radical National Union of Secondary Teaching (SNES) and Physical Education Teachers' unions were expelled
•x CERESS in 1992 using the most "Stalinist' bureaucratic procedures immaginable. Outraged pro-unity currents ('unitaires') in all the FEN unions, the SNES, in primary and post-secondary teaching associations, and in the unions representing non-teaching education workers came together in a "Liaison Committee for Unity" which formed the new Unitary Trade Union Federation (FSU) in 1993. FSU candidates won 39% of the vote in workplace representatives elections in December 1993, confirming their ability to attract the more vibrant forces of the old FEN. The openly anti-left FEN list won only 23% of votes. FSU has since shown its capacities for action with the 600,000 strong demonstration in defence of secular education in January 1994.
In the CFDT itself, the leadership tried to impose its ultra-moderate line and strict discipline on the massive mobilisations that shook the health sector (particularly the nurses) and the Post-Telecom utility PTT. The result of this authoritarian intransigence was the birth of two radical, non-federated trade unions led by militants, in tune with the expectations of their rank and file, and skilled in agitating and organising for the broadest union unity in day to day and major struggles.
In the health sector, Parisian militants expelled from the CFDT created the Coordonner-rassembler-convaincre (CRC) union, which developed quickly accross the country, taking 11.58% of votes in the 1992 elections of workplace representatives.
The Solidaire-unitaire-democratique federation (SUD) in the PTT also developed at great speed, winning 55,976 votes in the December 1994 elections of workplace representatives (a score ten times higher than the number of registered members of the union!). This impressive progression was primarily to the detriment of the CFDT structures in the PTT, but also of the CGT. Group of ten. C no briani topete in the SUD and CRC now participate in the confederated trade unions concerned with union disunity, and opposed to the centralised, distant and abstract unionism of the major federations. The principal component of the Group of Ten is the 20,000 member Unified National Union of Tax workers, which in 1994 came first in the elections of workplace representatives, wining 43% of votes.
Both attempts at a brutal "purification" of the CFDT, and the de-communisation of the FEN resulted in a resounding defeat for those who had initiated them. And yet the leadership of the CFDT engineered a
D'EMP
"in a period shaken by economic crisis, French trade unionism is unconvincing. It hardly matters at the level of struggles for jobs, it does not succeed in defending wage- earners, it is without real influence on the content of work organisation. It has few adherents and above all, it does not attract youth.... It is becoming so marginalised that one could, without fear of sacrilege, question its survival"
Daniele Linhart, sociologist
(CRNS)
'coup' in October 1992, replacing Jean
Kaspar by Nicole Notat as General
Secretary. Notat's "acceptance' speech illustrated the new style when she warned delegates that "it's not necessary to demonise the right"
. Such a declaration, shortly before the resounding success of the right wing parties in the March 1993 parliamentary elections signalled her expectation that the right would remain in power a long time and her willingness to construct the CFDT in the light of this. In other words, a non-aggression pact with the new government.
The problem for the CFDT leadership was that the crushing defeat of the
Socialist Party was not reflected in a blockage of the social movements.
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International Viewpoint #267 June 1995
Trade Unions-- France/USA Significant and unitary social struggles broke out in 1993-94 (in support of secular education, against employment, for the rights of youth testifying to the aspiration of many militants for a rejuvenated trades unionism, unrestricted by the union apparatus. The Notat clique turned Europe's Trade Unions - New radicalism? its back on these struggles, or did all it could to brake their dynamic. Recent regional and federal congresses have revealed the significant weakening of the authority of the leadership which has resulted from this stance. A ill small majority of delegates at the 43rd Congress of the CFDT in March 1995 condemned the national bureau for "insufficient action... in defence of the major social advantages" of the working population. The left opposition tendency won 35% of votes on the major votes, indicating the creation of a 'critical thinking' current within the moderate majority. Congress also approved (by 57%) an opposition motion calling for legislation to move the country towards a 32 hour working week. There was even a warm ovation for CGT General Secretary Louis Viannet, indicating that the rank-and-file of the the CFDT wants unity of action, even if the leadership does not. CGT
The CGT, the largest and most militant federation, will hold its centenary congress in December 1995. Although it has been tied to the disastrous policies of the French Communist Party (PCF) for decades, the CT has not faced the same collapse of support. Support for the PCF reached an all-time low of 6.5% in the 1988 presidential election, but the CGT's role as France's premier trade union federation was confirmed by their 33% score in 1992 workplace elections to the Prud'homme tripartite tribunal for resolving minor disputes. The CFDI came second with 23%. But the conviction is spreading that remaining tied to the PCF will lead to the marginalisation of the CGT. This leads to two types of reaction; some wish to accelerate the process of independence from the PCF and the restating of a radical trade union project, while the identity crisis of some others leads them to cling to the Stalinist apparatus in panic. The final result is by no means certain.
The various radical initiatives we have discussed may prove strong enough to become a new dynamic for the overal! reconstruction of French trade unionism. It could draw strength from the new demands of todays struggles, from the demand for a democratic and relevant unionism, It could consolidate itself by exploiting the success of the new nonconfederated unions, and by amplifying the debate among progressives on the redefinition of an offensive trade union strategy, maping the links between day to day action and a political project which would give these partial struggles a purpose. Such a project would have to be neither self-limited nor subject to any exterior strategy. It could open the perspective of a global unification of trade unionism to all those who fight for the renewal of the labour movement, respecting their different rhythms and their insertion in different cultures and organisations. But only on condition that strong autonomy is respected in the associated structures, and not only in the debates. And there must be not just the right to circulate opinions, but the right to experimentation in action.
The revolutionary syndicalist, Emile Pouget, spoke of a true confederal trade union as "the complete opposite of those United States - Labor The eighth bi-annual Labor Notes conference held on April 28-30 in Detroit attracted over 1,200 activists. The related themes - renewed workplace struggle, cross-union and community alliances, independent political action, and internationalism summarized the direction of the emerging radical wing of America's embattled trade unions. Dave Yettaw, president of United Auto Workers Local 599 at General Motor's Buick City complex in Flint, Michigan, told how his union's strike forced the auto giant to hire hundreds of additional workers to relieve overwork and excessive overtime in those plants. This strike is generally credited with setting off several other plant-level strikes in the U.S. auto industry. Also present were workers from Decatur, Illinois — dubbed the "War Zone" - where A.E. Staley, a subsidiary of Tate & Lyle, has locked-out its workers and those at the nearby Caterpillar and Bridgestone/ Firestone plants are on strike. In all three cases, the issues in conflict included attempts by the companies to impose 12 or 12-hour day shifts. The same issue sparked a strike in August 1994 at the GMToyota joint venture NUMMI plant in
California, with the union stopping this soorganisms who, through their centralisation and their authoritarianism, stifle the vitality of the component units. Here, there is cohesion and not centralisation; impulsion and not desertion. Federalism is everywhere and to each degree, the diverse organisms, the individual, the trade union, the federation, the labour bureau, are all autonomous... It is this which makes the radiant power of the Confederation; the impulsion does not come from above. It starts from any point and its vibrations transmit themselves, amplifying themselves, to the confederal mass". He was describing the CGT in 1908. Can we take up this theme of the libertarian tradition? Why not? *
Notes
Unattributed statistics are taken from Le syndicalisme en France depuis 1945, by Rene Mouriaux, Editions La Decouverte (1994).
The FEN refused to affiliate to either wing of the trade union movement after the cold-war splits of 1947. Dominated by social democratic thinkers, FEN theorised the necessity of abandoning "old fashioned" CGT "class struggle" trades unionism. This provoked a conflict with Communist Party supporters in the FEN, and active in the leadership of the SNES (National Union of Secondary Teaching). The break up of Stalinism accelerated the conviction of FEN leaders that there was no future for the Communist sympathisers in the union, and that the time had come for a surgical strike. * Notes Conference called 10-hour "alternative work schedule." These three groups even ran independent labor candidates for city government in recent elections—one of whom won. Another example of broad-based labor action was presented by leaders of the United Electrical Workers (UE). In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the UE has worked with several community-based organizations to organize African American and immigrant workers in nonunion plants. These organizations work with Progressive Milwaukee, a working class based independent party affiliated with the nationwide New Party. The thrust of independent working class politics was also apparent in the large presence of Labor Party Advocates, a trade union-based organization pushing for a labor party. The cross-border organizing alliance between the UE, in the U.S. and the
Authentic Workers Front (FAT) in Mexico was highlighted in of the main sessions as an exemplary response to NAFTA. *
Labor Notes is a rank and file-oriented monthly magazine associated with the militant wing of U.S. labor. It supports democratic reform and opposition movements in a range of unions.
Email [email protected] *
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