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      • Stuff your boss (doesn't want you to know)
      • Stuff your sexist boss (doesn't want you to know) (2018)
      • Stuff your landlord (doesn't want you to know) (2016)
      • Is your cleaning job killing you? A guide to cleaners health and safety (2017)
      • Office worker’s health and safety - your rights and how to use them (2015)
      • A migrant's guide to Manchester (2016) [en es]
      • A migrant's guide to London (2014) [en es pl]
      • Strike - a guide to walking out (2014)
    • Pamphlets and books
      • A history of anarcho-syndicalism (2001)
      • Anarcho-syndicalism in Britain – a little history (2015)
      • Office worker’s health and safety - your rights and how to use them (2015)
      • Anarchism and Anarcho-syndicalism (Rudolf Rocker, 2014)
      • Fighting for ourselves - anarcho-syndicalism and the class struggle (2012)
      • Workmates - direct action workplace organising on the London underground (2011)
      • Health and safety at work - an anarcho-syndicalist approach (1997)
      • The Economics of freedom (2003)
      • Out of the frying pan, a critical look at works councils (1998)
      • Anarcho-syndicalism in Puerto Real (1994)
    • Leaflets and flyers
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social media

Anarcho-syndicalism in Britain – a little history (2015)

Anarcho-syndicalism in Britain – a little history (2015)From the first murmurs of 1894, to the Great Unrest of 1911 and the punchy Direct Action Movement of the ’80s and ’90s, this in-brief pamphlet follows the thread of libertarian union organising in Britain.


  1. 19th century to 1914 - The First International, growth of industrial unionism and the Great Unrest
  2. 1914–1945 - State suppression and the Bolshevik turn – how Lenin’s seeming success drew militants to the Comintern
  3. 1945–1994 - The Anarchist Federation of Britain, Syndicalist Workers’ Federation and Direct Action Movement
  4. Today’s movement - A short look at the strategy and thinking of the modern Solidarity Federation
Attachment Size
Anarcho-syndicalism in Britain – a little history (2015).pdf (331.27 KB) 331.27 KB

Tags

  • library
  • publications
  • pamphlets and books
  • social media
  • history

Office worker’s health and safety - your rights and how to use them (2015)

Office worker’s health and safety - your rights and how to use them (2015)

The office environment is often unhealthy and sometimes unsafe, especially if you don’t know what legal rights you have.

This pamphlet, collated by Bristol Soldarity Federation, offers a simple, easy to understand rundown of your rights, from general laws to specifics around the office environment.

A handy jargon buster is included along with helpful tips for dealing with common problems like RSI, eye strain and stress.

And the final section is possibly the most important of all — looking at how we can organise collectively to make our work permanently safer and healthier.

Struggling? - You aren’t alone.


  • Jargon-Buster
  • Rights and Responsibilities - General Rights | Office Environment | Computer Equipment
  • What are the Risks? - RSI and ‘Muscoloskeletal Disorders’ | Eye Strain and Vision | Stress
  • Other Risks
  • Organising Collective Solutions
  • Further information
  • About SolFed
Attachment Size
Office worker’s health and safety - your rights and how to use them (2015).pdf (1.29 MB) 1.29 MB

Tags

  • library
  • publications
  • guides
  • pamphlets and books
  • social media
  • education
  • hospitality
  • Solidarity Federation Education Union (SFEU)
  • Solidarity Federation Hospitality Workers Union (SFHWU)

Strike - a guide to walking out (2014)

Strike - a guide to walking out (2014)Our 12-page pamphlet on organising for a strike, including tips on the official procedures, ways in which opponents sometimes try and undermine things, what to do for the picket line - and we even added a general "why you should join us on the line" leaflet on the back that you can photocopy.

We ain't putting it online as we don't want bosses to be able to get hold of it too easily from online sharing around etc, but if you want one give us a shout. We'll also be leaving a few at Freedom Bookshop in Whitechapel.

For more updates and suchlike, follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds, and if you fancy getting involved you can email us at northlondonsf at riseup.net.

Tags

  • library
  • publications
  • guides
  • social media
  • industrial action
  • strikes
  • wildcat strikes
  • general strikes

A migrant's guide to London (2014) [en es pl]

migrants-londonSince the beginning of the crisis more and more migrants are arriving in London and the UK. When people come here, they often find their first steps difficult. We want everyone to feel welcome and help them as much as possible. That’s why we have published  a new pamphlet, “London – a migrant's guide”. It is a practical introduction to life in London and the UK.

The following areas are covered in the guide:

  • Using public transport in London as well as trains and coaches in the UK;
  • Where to access the internet and how to get a cheap mobile phone;
  • Libraries and colleges where you may get free English language classes;
  • Where to buy cheap food and other stuff and where to get it for free;
  • How to open a bank account;
  • Accessing health services, regularly and in emergency, including the access to contraception and abortion;
  • Housing including practical issues such as rent and conditions you may expect, your rights as a tenant, and a few words on homelessness and squatting;
  • Work including, pay, taxes, your rights at work, and issues you may encounter such as health and safety, bullying and harassment, zero hours contracts and false self employment, etc.
  • A very basic breakdown of welfare benefits available in the UK;
  • A few words on the police and the law, including when and where you can get free legal advice and support;
  • Where to get support if you are a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault;
  • Contacts for LGBT people.

In order to cover such a wide range of subjects in a short pamphlet we had to keep it very basic. At the same time we tried to put as much information and contacts as possible.

Some of the advice will be useful for everyone, but a lot assume that the reader has the right to live and work in the UK, most likely because they are an EU citizen. We support everyone's right to live wherever they choose to, no matter what passport they hold. Unfortunately things are much more complex for migrants from outside the EU, and we neither have the expertise required nor would be able to fit it in a small pamphlet.

At the moment the guide is available in English, Polish and Spanish.

Attachment Size
A migrant's guide to London (2014).pdf (594.96 KB) 594.96 KB
Londres- la guìa del inmigrante.pdf (650.63 KB) 650.63 KB
Londyn - przewodnik imigranta.pdf (622.87 KB) 622.87 KB

Tags

  • health and social care
  • social media
  • community and housing
  • work
  • North London
  • United Kingdom
  • immigration
  • publications
  • guides
  • español
  • polski

Anarchism and Anarcho-syndicalism (Rudolf Rocker, 2014)

Anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism (Rudolf Rocker, 2014)Rudolf Rocker remains one of the most important figures in the history of anarchism, from his key role organising against sweatshop labour in London in the 1900s to being the moving spirit behind the founding of the largest ever anarchist international — the IWMA in 1921.

In his later years he attempted to chronicle the rise and fall of mass, organised anarchism in Europe. 'Anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism' is Rocker’s abridged version of his major work 'Anarcho-syndicalism' and helps to explain where organised anarchism came from. This book’s lessons are a must for anyone interested in where it is going.


  1. Introduction
  2. Ideology of Anarchism
  3. History of anarchist philosphy, from Lao-Tse to Kropotkin
  4. The origins of anarcho-syndicalism
  5. Socialism and anarcho-syndicalism in France
  6. The role of the trade unions: anarcho-syndicalist view
  7. The struggle in Germany and Spain
  8. The political struggle: anarcho-syndicalist view
  9. Anarcho-syndicalism since the First World War
Attachment Size
Anarchism and Anarcho-syndicalism (Rudolf Rocker, 2014).pdf (2.11 MB) 2.11 MB

Tags

  • library
  • publications
  • pamphlets and books
  • social media
  • Rudolf Rocker

Fighting for ourselves - anarcho-syndicalism and the class struggle (2012)

Fighting for ourselves - anarcho-syndicalism and the class struggle (2012)We are living in times of unprecedented attacks on our living conditions on all fronts, of rising social tensions and sometimes violent eruptions of class conflict. And yet if anything, the surprise is not that there have been riots and the odd strike, but that there have been so few. How are we to make sense of this? How are we to fight back, to take the initiative? Against capitalism, what do we want to put in its place? The 20th century discredited state socialism, and rightly so. But with it, a whole history of international class struggle, of revolutions and counter-revolutions, victories and defeats, spontaneous uprisings and vast workers’ organisation has been eclipsed too.

This pamphlet aims to recover some of the lost history of the workers' movement, in order to set out a revolutionary strategy for the present conditions.


  1. Introduction
  2. The mainstream workers' movement
  3. Radical currents in the workers' movement
  4. Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th century
  5. Capitalism and the class struggle since World War II
  6. Anarcho-syndicalism in the 21st century

    Endnotes
Attachment Size
ffo.pdf (624.53 KB) 624.53 KB
ffo.epub (161.62 KB) 161.62 KB
ffo.mobi_.zip (243.71 KB) 243.71 KB

Tags

  • library
  • publications
  • pamphlets and books
  • social media
  • anarcho-syndicalism

Workmates - direct action workplace organising on the London underground (2011)

Theory & Practice 1 - Workmates - direct action workplace organising on the London underground (2011)In the late 1990s, plans to outsource track maintenance on the London Underground were being pushed through by the government. Workers at one depot responded by forming a new workplace group, both inside and outside the existing union, the RMT. 

This pamphlet charts the highs and lows of the Workmates collective, highlighting their successes and failures, their radically democratic organising method and their creative forms of direct action. We hope it can provide an inspiration to other workers frustrated with the limits of the existing workplace organisations.


Introduction | Privatisation and casualisation | Whither the union? | From official strikes to unofficial Workmates | The delegate council | Job-and-Knock | The Workmates legacy | Conclusions

Attachment Size
workmates.pdf (9.61 MB) 9.61 MB

Tags

  • library
  • publications
  • pamphlets and books
  • social media
  • trade unions
  • workplace organising
  • North London
  • privatisation
  • transport, couriers and drivers
  • Workmates Collective
  • National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)

Don't cross picket lines! Solidarity is the most powerful force in the world

dont-cross-picket-linesThere is a labour dispute in this workplace. It has reached a point where people feel their only option is to strike. Here’s why you shouldn’t cross the line...

SOLIDARITY is the most powerful force in the world

(read more)

Attachment Size
don-t-cross-picket-lines.pdf (1.3 MB) 1.3 MB
don-t-cross-picket-lines-bw.pdf (317.31 KB) 317.31 KB

Tags

  • library
  • publications
  • leaflets and flyers
  • posters and stickers
  • social media
  • solidarity
  • strikes
  • wildcat strikes
  • demonstrations, pickets and protests
  • disputes
  • work dispute

The Economics of freedom (2003)

The Economics of freedom (2003)

This pamphlet has been written by a group of people in the Solidarity Federation. We are actively involved in taking direct action for a better world. However, we are also interested in what this better world might be like and how it might work. In the current world of US-led terror against terror, corporate cronyism and corruption, and widening global and class inequality, we all want and deserve better.

The Solidarity Federation is the British section of the anarcho-syndicalist global movement. Anarcho-syndicalism is about direct democracy – democracy from the bottom up - no party politicians, corporate managers or union leaders. Direct democracy means decisions are made by all those present. Hence, we cannot be prescriptive about what a future, decent economy might work like. It will be decided by the people there at the time. Hopefully, it will happen soon, and everyone will be involved. However, in the meantime, it is rather a cop-out to simply say, “we'll sort that out later” and then, fall back on abstract principles or vague concepts. So, we thought it would be useful to develop a detailed model (but not a straightjacket) of how it could work. This is the result.

Attachment Size
eof.pdf (2.27 MB) 2.27 MB

Tags

  • library
  • publications
  • pamphlets and books
  • social media
  • economy

A history of anarcho-syndicalism (SelfEd Collective, 24 unit series, 2001)

a history of anarcho-syndicalismSelfEd Collective, 24 unit correspondence course, 2001

Block 1

  • Unit 1: Introduction - The origins of Capitalism
  • Unit 2: Britain - The radical period 1750s-1840s
  • Unit 3: The First International
  • Unit 4: France 1870-1918 - Early revolutionary Unions
  • Unit 5: Revolutionary syndicalism in Britain, 1870-1910
  • Unit 6: Revolutionary syndicalism in Britain and Ireland, 1910-1917

Block 2

  • Unit 7: Mexico 1870-1920 - Colonialism and revolution
  • Unit 8: USA 1886-1930 - The Wobblies
  • Unit 9: Anarcho-syndicalism in Argentina 1870-1939
  • Unit 10: Sweden - 1889-1939
  • Unit 11: Russia I - 1850-1917
  • Unit 12: Russia II - 1917-1930

Block 3

  • Unit 13: Going Global - International Organisation, 1872-1922
  • Unit 14: Anarcho-syndicalism in Britain, 1914-30
  • Unit 15: Spain, 1868-1936 - Build-up to revolution
  • Unit 16: Spain - Culture, education, women and sexuality
  • Unit 17: Spain 1936-39 - Revolution and civil war
  • Unit 18: Spain - The Collectives

Block 4

  • Unit 19: Britain, 1930-1950 - The era of reformism
  • Unit 20: Britain, 1950-1990 - Decline of social democracy
  • Unit 21: Global anarcho-syndicalism 1939-99
  • Unit 22: Roots of modern anarcho-syndicalism - freedom, oppression, rebellion
  • Unit 23: Roots of modern anarcho-syndicalism - morality, culture, tactics
  • Unit 24: The spirit of anarcho-syndicalism
Attachment Size
a-history-of-anarcho-syndicalism.pdf (1.66 MB) 1.66 MB
a-history-of-anarcho-syndicalism.epub (463.48 KB) 463.48 KB

Tags

  • training
  • library
  • publications
  • pamphlets and books
  • social media
  • Self education training course (SelfEd)
  • anarcho-syndicalism

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social media

Guides

Your rights at work

About SolFed

About SolFed

Do you sometimes feel your union isn’t listening to you? (Solidarity Federation Education Union - SFEU)

SFEU-flyer-2024-front

What is wage theft?

What is wage theft

This is our flag - it tells you what we stand for

this-is-our-flag

Solidarity Federation Hospitality Workers Union (SFHWU)

sfhwu leaflet front

Stuff your boss (doesn't want you to know)

Stuff your boss (doesn't want you to know)

Why do we organise? Capitalism is shit, oppression is shit - but what can we at SolFed do about it?

Why do we organise?

Stuff your sexist boss (doesn't want you to know) (2018)

Stuff your sexist boss (doesn't want you to know) (2018)

Cost of living - Organise and fight back with the Solidarity Federation

Cost of living - Organise and fight back with the Solidarity Federation

Don't cross picket lines! Solidarity is the most powerful force in the world

Don't cross picket lines

Direct Action #2 (2024)

Direct Action #2 (2024)

Don't just moan - Organise!

Don't just moan - Organise!

Is your cleaning job killing you? A guide to cleaners health and safety (2017)

Stuff your landlord (doesn't want you to know) (2016)

Stuff your landlord (doesn't want you to know) (2016)

Fed up with your landlord? Organise and fight back!

Fed up with your landlord? Organise and fight back!

A migrant's guide to Manchester (2016)

A migrant's guide to Manchester (2016)

SolFed supports trans liberation - transphobia is a workplace and housing issue

SolFed supports Trans Liberation - transphobia is a workplace and housing issue

Office worker’s health and safety - your rights and how to use them (2015)

Office worker’s health and safety - your rights and how to use them (2015)

Solidarity Federation - Where we stand

Solidarity Federation - Where we stand

Anarcho-syndicalism in Britain – a little history (2015)

Anarcho-syndicalism in Britain – a little history (2015)

Strike - a guide to walking out (2014)

Strike - a guide to walking out (2014)

Anarchism and Anarcho-syndicalism (Rudolf Rocker, 2014)

Anarchism and Anarcho-syndicalism (Rudolf Rocker, 2014)

There's power in a union

theres-power-in-a-union

A migrant's guide to London (2014)

A migrant's guide to London (2014)

Fighting for ourselves - anarcho-syndicalism and the class struggle (2012)

Fighting for ourselves - anarcho-syndicalism and the class struggle (2012)

Theory & Practice 1 - Workmates - direct action workplace organising on the London underground (2011)

Theory & Practice 1 - Workmates - direct action workplace organising on the London underground (2011)

The Economics of freedom (2003)

The Economics of freedom (2003)

A history of anarcho-syndicalism (SelfEd Collective, 24 unit series, 2001)

A history of anarcho-syndicalism (SelfEd Collective, 24 unit series, 2001)

Out of the frying pan, a critical look at works councils (1998)

Out of the frying pan, a critical look at works councils (1998)

Health and safety at work - an anarcho-syndicalist approach (1997)

Health and safety at work - an anarcho-syndicalist approach (1997)

Theory & Practice 2 - Anarcho-syndicalism in Puerto Real (1994)

Theory & Practice 2 - Anarcho-syndicalism in Puerto Real (1994)

RSS feed

The Solidarity Federation is an anarcho-syndicalist union, a means for people seeking to improve our lives to organise in our workplaces and communities. SolFed brings together people in all occupations regardless of industry, sector or trade – whether we’re employed or not.

SolFed seeks the abolition of capitalism and the institutions of power that are associated with it, such as the state. Our goal is to create a society centred on needs rather than profit, based upon the principle ‘from each according to ability, to each according to need’.

We believe in the principle of direct action – that means doing something for ourselves and not expecting leaders or representatives to act on our behalf.

SolFed members organise ourselves in a federation of local unions; in education we are in the Solidarity Federation Education Union (SFEU) and our members in hospitality are in the Solidarity Federation Hospitality Workers Union (SFHWU)

Join us!