(no subject)
Below is a request from PCASC activist Megan Hise who has been living
in Venezuela for the last year. She has been working closely with the
workers at the Sanitarios Maracay porcelain factory, and urges
immediate action in support of these workers. In this case, we can
honestly make a difference.
Shizuko, PCASC coordinator
From the Desk(top) of Megan Hise
PCASC activist, Caracas, Venezuela
November 20, 2007
Solidarity with Sanitarios Maracay
$2000 dollars by December 4th. Just do it.
In November of last year, 800 workers of a large porcelain
manufacturing facility in Maracay, Venezuela found themselves out of a
job. The boss had come to them, and rather than deliver their required
end-of-year bonuses, announced the closure of the facility. He would
need at least a few more months to come up with the scratch to pay up,
and if he did reopen the plant, there would be some conditions. Like
what? Like rejecting the collective bargaining agreement, all of the
gains of the struggles of recent years after giving the old company
union the boot, and winning a new, rank-n-file driven, class-conscious
union.
Every December, working class Venezuelans receive their "utilities," a
portion of their hourly wage that is reserved for the end of the year.
It’s also a time when everyone takes their holiday vacations.
Christmas, they say, smells like fresh paint. Why? Because that’s when
working people have the free time and disposable income to spend on
house repairs, new shoes for the kids, and la hallaca (the special dish
of the Christmas season). After a year of just scraping by on a
miserable salary, these end-of-year bonuses allow for a fresh start the
next year. But last year, according to the bosses, there was no money
to pay out these bonuses.
Whether the company was really headed towards financial ruin is
debatable. Workers tell stories of years of tremendous exploitation
coinciding with extravagant capital investment in the property. They
describe cooperate decisions that make one wonder, are they just stupid
or are they trying to turn this ship under? Rumors circulate about the
boss's political motives: After all, Alvaro Pocaterra participated in
the bosses’ lockout of 2002 that all but crippled the economy in
November (again, notice the time of year) of 2001, with the aim of
destabilizing the Chavez administration. One thing is certain. When
the workers began to organize and fight for their rights, the
union-busting campaign began.
Back to November 2006. Having recovered from a similar stunt by the
boss earlier that year and a 1942 occupation of the facilities, taking
over the factory again was not a far-fetched plan. Factory occupations
are a common tactic around here, like sit down strikes back in the day.
Gotta make sure the bosses and their lackeys don’t destroy the factory
in the meantime. But the Worker Assembly in November had something else
in mind. Having solicited the expertise of Marxist comrades in the
movement, especially a worker organizer from Brazil's recovered factory
movement, the strategy was kicked up a notch. The workers would not
just maintain watch on the premises. They would resist- by working, by
continuing to produce. They would survive from the sales of porcelain
bathroom suites to the surrounding community. They elected a factory
committee, which included rank-file union leaders.
For nine months this Workers Council managed production, sales,
finances, and mobilization. The 600 manual laborers of Sanitarios
Maracay ran the factory without the boss, without the help of the
government, and with the former office employees and supervisors
continually trying to sabotage the struggle. There were serious
obstacles including the bad debts of the boss, the difficulties of
procuring imported raw material with little capital, and unclear legal
terrain.
For the workers most involved, the installations became home. Four
meals a day served hot, all medical expenses covered as needed, rides
to and from work in the recovered company ambulance. All for one. One
for all. We. Ours. Together. Whether planting grass on company premises
just to make the place look less sterile and more livable, or standing
up to the state police and National Guard trying to repress their right
to protest, the workers most active in the fight developed a level of
political awareness and social consciousness far above the fight for
backwages and retirement pay. Suddenly, their form of resistance,
control obrero (worker control), became in and of itself the goal.
Of course there were setbacks. Big ones. After the brutal highway
standoff with the authorities of the state of Aragua and the subsequent
regional strike by the major union federation, the National Assembly
moved to declare the company of strategic national interest, and agreed
to recommend that President Chavez expropriate the factory. It did not
happen. Intrigue, sabotage, worn-out, beat-down workers. There have
been many setbacks. See
http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/sanitarios_maracay_under_attack.htm
for more details.
But the injustice continues, and so does the struggle. After
successfully exploiting the attrition and internal division between the
manual laborers and white collar employees, fomenting a mutiny against
the worker-leadership, the Ministry of Labor has not made good on its
promises to ensure the boss pays what’s owed. Since August, workers
have not been producing, but have been selling the inventory and
transferring the revenue to the owner. In return, they receive a weekly
stipend. It is a ceasefire until a suitable settlement offer is made.
After such a long, visceral struggle, the past few months have been
depressing. The former workers council and allies within the plant were
banished. They moved across the highway to an independently manageable,
separate part of the Sanitarios Maracay Installations factory. There,
they have been waiting to see what would be the outcome of the
strategy, the mutiny, imposed by the boss and the complicit Ministry of
Labor. But it hasn't worked out. The workers have decided that it is
time to make a move, time to go back to work.
The 60 workers most committed to the struggle, to their socialist
project, to fighting with and for the working class for a decent
quality of life, are ready to start up production in Sani Plasti
(separate from the principal plant). Control Obrero continues.
We are counting on the support of the UNT (major union federation) of
Aragua, rank-n-file workers across Venezuela, other occupied and self
managed factories, and international solidarity activists who recognize
the importance of this historical moment in Venezuela. We need clear
examples of successful self-managed factories, of workers without
bosses, of workers sharing decision-making and profit with their
communities- the collaboration of the community councils and the worker
council.
The workers of MANPA, the neighboring factory to Sanitarios Maracay in
San Miguel were recently in at a stand-off with their boss.
Negotiations were going nowhere. What did they do? They suggested to
their employer that if he didn't sit down and bargain in good faith,
they were going to open up a can- Sanitarios Maracay style. You can
imagine what happened next. He sat down and settled. Likewise in
Cativen, also in Aragua, the workers in a moment of struggle called up
their UNT buddies of Sanitarios Maracay who arrived at the factory and
stood up to the police in solidarity with their brothers and sisters of
Cativen. Trembling at the reputation of the workers of SM, or rather,
the growing solidarity demonstrated in that action, the boss dropped to
his knees. Week after week, the bosses of Aragua are demonstrating a
concerted effort to destroy the organization of workers and the
collective bargaining agreement. The only left to prove is that workers
can organize and fire their boss.
We have the opportunity to contribute now to a Project that has already
made waves in Venezuela and around the world. Let us be relevant to one
of the most important worker's struggles in one of the most exciting
social movements of our time!!!
Today at 11am I received a call confirming that the workers of Sani
Plasti are moving ahead with their plan. They are starting up
worker-controlled production. After a year of struggle and strike pay
used up, their access to resources is limited. We can help.
Solidarity with Sanitarios Maracay.
$2000 dollars by December 4th.
Just do it.
**To donate please write a check to the Portland Central America
Solidarity Committee with Sanitarios Maracay in the memo line. You can
mail checks to: PCASC, 311 N. Ivy St., Portland, OR, 97227. Or, feel
free to stop by and drop off your check or cash at our office to
Shizuko Hashimoto, PCASC coordinator. Time is of the essence! Email
info@pcasc.net if you are interested in donating through PayPal. **
Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (PCASC)
and Cross Border Labor Organizing Council (CBLOC)
311 N. Ivy St., Portland, Oregon 97227
Tel: 503-236-7916 E-mail: info@pcasc.net
www.pcasc.net
Shizuko, PCASC coordinator
in Venezuela for the last year. She has been working closely with the
workers at the Sanitarios Maracay porcelain factory, and urges
immediate action in support of these workers. In this case, we can
honestly make a difference.
Shizuko, PCASC coordinator
From the Desk(top) of Megan Hise
PCASC activist, Caracas, Venezuela
November 20, 2007
Solidarity with Sanitarios Maracay
$2000 dollars by December 4th. Just do it.
In November of last year, 800 workers of a large porcelain
manufacturing facility in Maracay, Venezuela found themselves out of a
job. The boss had come to them, and rather than deliver their required
end-of-year bonuses, announced the closure of the facility. He would
need at least a few more months to come up with the scratch to pay up,
and if he did reopen the plant, there would be some conditions. Like
what? Like rejecting the collective bargaining agreement, all of the
gains of the struggles of recent years after giving the old company
union the boot, and winning a new, rank-n-file driven, class-conscious
union.
Every December, working class Venezuelans receive their "utilities," a
portion of their hourly wage that is reserved for the end of the year.
It’s also a time when everyone takes their holiday vacations.
Christmas, they say, smells like fresh paint. Why? Because that’s when
working people have the free time and disposable income to spend on
house repairs, new shoes for the kids, and la hallaca (the special dish
of the Christmas season). After a year of just scraping by on a
miserable salary, these end-of-year bonuses allow for a fresh start the
next year. But last year, according to the bosses, there was no money
to pay out these bonuses.
Whether the company was really headed towards financial ruin is
debatable. Workers tell stories of years of tremendous exploitation
coinciding with extravagant capital investment in the property. They
describe cooperate decisions that make one wonder, are they just stupid
or are they trying to turn this ship under? Rumors circulate about the
boss's political motives: After all, Alvaro Pocaterra participated in
the bosses’ lockout of 2002 that all but crippled the economy in
November (again, notice the time of year) of 2001, with the aim of
destabilizing the Chavez administration. One thing is certain. When
the workers began to organize and fight for their rights, the
union-busting campaign began.
Back to November 2006. Having recovered from a similar stunt by the
boss earlier that year and a 1942 occupation of the facilities, taking
over the factory again was not a far-fetched plan. Factory occupations
are a common tactic around here, like sit down strikes back in the day.
Gotta make sure the bosses and their lackeys don’t destroy the factory
in the meantime. But the Worker Assembly in November had something else
in mind. Having solicited the expertise of Marxist comrades in the
movement, especially a worker organizer from Brazil's recovered factory
movement, the strategy was kicked up a notch. The workers would not
just maintain watch on the premises. They would resist- by working, by
continuing to produce. They would survive from the sales of porcelain
bathroom suites to the surrounding community. They elected a factory
committee, which included rank-file union leaders.
For nine months this Workers Council managed production, sales,
finances, and mobilization. The 600 manual laborers of Sanitarios
Maracay ran the factory without the boss, without the help of the
government, and with the former office employees and supervisors
continually trying to sabotage the struggle. There were serious
obstacles including the bad debts of the boss, the difficulties of
procuring imported raw material with little capital, and unclear legal
terrain.
For the workers most involved, the installations became home. Four
meals a day served hot, all medical expenses covered as needed, rides
to and from work in the recovered company ambulance. All for one. One
for all. We. Ours. Together. Whether planting grass on company premises
just to make the place look less sterile and more livable, or standing
up to the state police and National Guard trying to repress their right
to protest, the workers most active in the fight developed a level of
political awareness and social consciousness far above the fight for
backwages and retirement pay. Suddenly, their form of resistance,
control obrero (worker control), became in and of itself the goal.
Of course there were setbacks. Big ones. After the brutal highway
standoff with the authorities of the state of Aragua and the subsequent
regional strike by the major union federation, the National Assembly
moved to declare the company of strategic national interest, and agreed
to recommend that President Chavez expropriate the factory. It did not
happen. Intrigue, sabotage, worn-out, beat-down workers. There have
been many setbacks. See
http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/sanitarios_maracay_under_attack.htm
for more details.
But the injustice continues, and so does the struggle. After
successfully exploiting the attrition and internal division between the
manual laborers and white collar employees, fomenting a mutiny against
the worker-leadership, the Ministry of Labor has not made good on its
promises to ensure the boss pays what’s owed. Since August, workers
have not been producing, but have been selling the inventory and
transferring the revenue to the owner. In return, they receive a weekly
stipend. It is a ceasefire until a suitable settlement offer is made.
After such a long, visceral struggle, the past few months have been
depressing. The former workers council and allies within the plant were
banished. They moved across the highway to an independently manageable,
separate part of the Sanitarios Maracay Installations factory. There,
they have been waiting to see what would be the outcome of the
strategy, the mutiny, imposed by the boss and the complicit Ministry of
Labor. But it hasn't worked out. The workers have decided that it is
time to make a move, time to go back to work.
The 60 workers most committed to the struggle, to their socialist
project, to fighting with and for the working class for a decent
quality of life, are ready to start up production in Sani Plasti
(separate from the principal plant). Control Obrero continues.
We are counting on the support of the UNT (major union federation) of
Aragua, rank-n-file workers across Venezuela, other occupied and self
managed factories, and international solidarity activists who recognize
the importance of this historical moment in Venezuela. We need clear
examples of successful self-managed factories, of workers without
bosses, of workers sharing decision-making and profit with their
communities- the collaboration of the community councils and the worker
council.
The workers of MANPA, the neighboring factory to Sanitarios Maracay in
San Miguel were recently in at a stand-off with their boss.
Negotiations were going nowhere. What did they do? They suggested to
their employer that if he didn't sit down and bargain in good faith,
they were going to open up a can- Sanitarios Maracay style. You can
imagine what happened next. He sat down and settled. Likewise in
Cativen, also in Aragua, the workers in a moment of struggle called up
their UNT buddies of Sanitarios Maracay who arrived at the factory and
stood up to the police in solidarity with their brothers and sisters of
Cativen. Trembling at the reputation of the workers of SM, or rather,
the growing solidarity demonstrated in that action, the boss dropped to
his knees. Week after week, the bosses of Aragua are demonstrating a
concerted effort to destroy the organization of workers and the
collective bargaining agreement. The only left to prove is that workers
can organize and fire their boss.
We have the opportunity to contribute now to a Project that has already
made waves in Venezuela and around the world. Let us be relevant to one
of the most important worker's struggles in one of the most exciting
social movements of our time!!!
Today at 11am I received a call confirming that the workers of Sani
Plasti are moving ahead with their plan. They are starting up
worker-controlled production. After a year of struggle and strike pay
used up, their access to resources is limited. We can help.
Solidarity with Sanitarios Maracay.
$2000 dollars by December 4th.
Just do it.
**To donate please write a check to the Portland Central America
Solidarity Committee with Sanitarios Maracay in the memo line. You can
mail checks to: PCASC, 311 N. Ivy St., Portland, OR, 97227. Or, feel
free to stop by and drop off your check or cash at our office to
Shizuko Hashimoto, PCASC coordinator. Time is of the essence! Email
info@pcasc.net if you are interested in donating through PayPal. **
Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (PCASC)
and Cross Border Labor Organizing Council (CBLOC)
311 N. Ivy St., Portland, Oregon 97227
Tel: 503-236-7916 E-mail: info@pcasc.net
www.pcasc.net
Shizuko, PCASC coordinator