events and reports

For our third reading group we will be moving away from history and theory and looking at modern forms of anarcho-syndicalist practice, and instead of reading a single book we will be reading three pamphlets that cover different struggles, with the aim of discussing what kind of tactics are needed to build a truly radical working class movement.

For our second reading group we will be reading Fighting for Ourselves. Written by members of SolFed, this book looks at different currents within the workers movement, what went wrong during the 20th century, what we can learn from those failures, and chart a possible way forward in the 21st century.

We are starting a new reading group, and for our first book we will be reading Anarcho-syndicalism: Theory and Practice by Rudolf Rocker. Written during the Spanish Civil War, this book is a short explanation of classic anarcho-syndicalism at its height, and is a good introduction to the general tradition of politics that the Solidarity Federation comes out of.

On Sunday, 12th of November, members of North London Solidarity Federation and Hackney Anarchists, who can be contacted at HackneyAnarchists@riseup.net, held a solidarity picket outside of the Greenwich IKEA in support of our comrades in CNT-AIT Madrid who are in dispute with an IKEA contractor; Foldeco Development S.L.

Foldeco uses racist abuse against its workforce in an effort to keep them in line and squeeze more productivity out of them. We handed out over 150 flyers to customers going in and out of IKEA detailing this abuse, and encouraged them to take their custom elsewhere, as IKEA is directly profiting from Foldco’s bullying of its workforce. The reaction to our picketing was generally positive and some people stopped for a longer chat with us.

Solidarity to everyone internationally who suffer under a system that puts profits ahead of human dignity.

leaflet (see attached) -

The North London Solidarity Federation is running an introduction to the group with the aim of getting more people involved and becoming more active. All are welcome to come along and discuss what syndicalism is, what SolFed is, what we have done, what we would like to do, and why you should get involved.

London Solidarity Federation - Workplace Organiser Training
12th Of August, 2023 12:00 to 18:00
London Action Resource Center 62 Fieldgate Street, London, E1 1ES.
The London Solidarity Federation is running organiser training, free and open to all.
The training will include case studies of previous workplace organisation and actions, how to map your own workplace, role playing through a first meeting with your co-workers, and more!
Any questions? Email us at solfednl@riseup.net
SOLIDARITY FEDERATION - INTERNATIONAL WORKERS ASSOCIATION

At Easter, Liverpool-SolFed made a call out to protest against working conditions at Sandemans, a company who offers “Free Tours” in Liverpool and across Europe. “Free Tour” does not mean that guides are volunteers. In Sandeman’s case they are ‘self-employed workers’ and their incomes are based on the tips that are given at the end of the tour and out of those tips workers have to pay a variable amount of money per tourist to the company. This is, according to Sandemans, a “marketing fee”.

On 23rd November 2016, the Treasury announced in the Autumn Statement that they “will ban fees to tenants as soon as possible”. So, right now fees are still legal in England & Wales, and it is not very clear when they will be outlawed.

Last Saturday several actions took place in different countries against the Jails for Migrants (AKA detention centres). Brighton Migrant Solidarity organised a coach to protest outside the two centres in Gatwick.

Last weekend, Brighton-SolFed organised different activities to commemorate May Day, the International Workers Day.

Although the Working Class has not so much to celebrate these days, we used this opportunity for discussion, to give visibility to our struggles, and to invite our members and collaborators to have a good time together.