Direct Action www.direct-action.org.uk Spring 2008 contents Direct Action is published by Solidarity Federation, British sec- Inside this issue: tion of the International Workers Association (IWA). 3: Editorial: Them & Us - the class war and economic slowdown DA is edited and laid out by the DA Collective, and printed by 5: Letters - respect / football fans bite back Clydeside Press. Views stated in these pages are 6: With Friends like these - what we can do about not necessarily those of the Direct unions failing to protect us Action Collective or the Solidarity Federation. 7: S. London SF Act against Underpaying Restaurant We do not publish contributors’ 8: London Coalition Against Poverty names. Please contact us if you want to know more. 10: Tenant Privacy Breached / Education Workers 11: No Such Thing as Class? - poverty / education / health Subscriptions (for 4 issues ) 14: War is Murder for Profit - Iraq, Afghanistan & the War Supporters – £10 on Terror Basic – £5 16: The First Casualty of War - Harry, the Media & Afghanistan (Europe – £10; rest of the world – £15) 17: International - Colombia / Poland cheques payable to ‘Direct Action’ 18: The ‘May Days’ - a turning point in the Spanish Revolution – return to: DA, PO Box 29, S.W.D.O., 22: International - Mexico / Iran Manchester, M15 5HW. 23: Unione Sindacale Italiana - interview with Italian anarcho-syndicalist To contribute - beyond bullets / making a killing / the anarchist past If you would like to help out or 26: Reviews contribute articles or photos, work / my revolutionary life / red mutiny is entirely voluntary. 31: Anarchism, Sex & Freedom - a closer look at the We welcome articles of between 250 and 1,500 words on industrial, fight against capitalism, patriarchy & repressive religious morality social/community and international issues; on working class history; 35: Contacts Directory and on anar- chist/anarchosyndicalist theory and history. Articles may be sent as hard copy, Aims of the Solidarity Federation on a disk or by email, and can only be returned if accompanied he Solidarity Federation is an organi- which arise from our oppression. We recog- by a request (and SAE if appropri- sation of workers which seeks to nise that not all oppression is economic, but ate). Tdestroy capitalism and the state. can be based on gender, race, sexuality, or Capitalism because it exploits, oppresses anything our rulers find useful. Unless we Contact us and kills people, and wrecks the environ- organise in this way, politicians – some ment for profit worldwide. The state claiming to be revolutionary – will be able to DA Collective, PO Box 29, South because it can only maintain hierarchy and exploit us for their own ends. West PDO, Manchester, M15 5HW privelege for the classes who control it and 07 984 675 281 their servants; it cannot be used to fight the The Solidarity Federation consists of locals [email protected] oppression and exploitation that are the which support the formation of future revo- consequences of hierarchy and source of lutionary unions and are centres for working privilege. In their place we want a society class struggle on a local level. Our activities Bulk Orders based on workers’ self-management, soli- are based on direct action – action by work- AK Distribution, PO Box 12766, darity, mutual aid and libertarian commu- ers ourselves, not through intermediaries Edinburgh, EH8 9YE, Scotland nism. like politicians or union officials – our deci- 0131 555 5165 sions are made through participation of the That society can only be achieved by work- membership. We welcome all working peo- [email protected] ing class organisation based on the same ple who agree with our aims and principles, www.akuk.com principles – revolutionary unions. These are and who will spread propaganda for social not Trades Unions only concerned with revolution and revolutionary unions. We or direct from the DA Collective ‘bread and butter’ issues like pay and con- recognise that the class struggle is world- ditions. Revolutionary unions are means for wide, and are affiliated to the International ISSN 0261-8753 working people to organise and fight all the Workers Association, whose ‘Principles of issues – both in the workplace and outside – Revolutionary Unionism’ we share. 2 Direct Action www.solfed.org.uk Spring 2008 editorial Them and Us class war, the credit crunch and a culture of resistance otions of belong- What would you expect carry on as if nothing from public funds. We ing to the working to happen if you were to had happened? No? Well can add the case of Rose Nclass are…outdat- completely mess up your that’s exactly what hap- Gibb, the NHS boss who ed and belong to the era job? A £¾million golden pened with Tory MP, presided over Britain’s of flat caps, factories, goodbye plus £2.5million Derek Conway, after it worst superbug out- steel works and going pension pot? Maybe not, emerged he’d paid his break which contributed down the pit. but that’s what Adam son a full salary and par- to over 300 deaths at Applegarth, incompetent liamentary expenses for Maidstone and Such denials three years for not a tap Tunbridge Wells NHS by various of work. A stark con- Trust. Gibb has rejected academics, trast indeed to the treat- a £75,000 pay off and has politicians ment of those on or begun a legal claim for a and other below the poverty line bigger pay-off, reported commentators who come under the to be in the region of of what is as merest suspicion of fid- £¼million. plain as the dling their benefit nose on your claims. We could go on, but the face are one point is that these people clear reflec- These are just two of the not only get treated dif- tion of the more prominent exam- ferently, they absolutely ongoing class ples of how the system believe they are entitled war. Another is stacked in favour of to it. And with the com- is the inequal- our rulers and bosses. ing economic slowdown ity that is rife We can add the revela- guess who they think throughout tions regarding should bear the brunt. most aspects Prescott’s food bills, of Brown’s Blair’s TV licence, culture of resistance Britain. It is Brown’s cleaning costs with this in and Cameron’s mortgage And the attacks have mind that the Applegarth - got something to be pleased about? payments, all claimed already begun. The latest install- recent ment of our series ‘No former chief executive budget has such thing as class?’ (see of Northern Rock has removed page 11) has a look at walked off with after the 10p tax class divisions as shown master minding the first band while up by poverty and access run on a UK bank for the govern- to education and health over a century. No such ment is services. luxury though for the trying to 2,000 Northern Rock impose a expenses, fiddles & staff set to lose their 2% ceiling pay-offs jobs as a direct result. on public sector pay Yet another way the What would you expect rises over class division is mani- to happen if you were the next fest is in how people caught siphoning off three expect to be treated tens of thousands of years. If when things go wrong. pounds of your employ- this goes Or to put it another way er’s money to family and ahead it – it’s one rule for them friends? A 10 day sus- will and another rule for us. pension and then just Gibb - not enough to be pleased about? amount to 3 Direct Action www.direct-action.org.uk Spring 2008 editorial pay cuts for provided some millions of war commen- workers since, tary (see ‘War is as everyone murder for prof- knows, the it’, page 14, and real inflation ‘The first casu- rate is far alty of war’, higher than page 16) while the massaged this issue’s his- figure the torical focus is Treasury the Barcelona works with. ‘May Days’ of 1937, which However, there leading Labour’s attack on the working class were a major are signs of turning point in resistance. The coordi- can wrest control of the to widen. However, here the fortunes of the anar- nated one day strikes by struggle from our union there are also hopeful cho-syndicalist led social teachers and civil ser- leaders, prevent them signs of the growing cul- revolution that took vants that are due to go from doing shoddy and ture of resistance. One place during the Spanish ahead as we go to press inadequate deals behind inspiring development Civil War (see page 18). are to be applauded. If our backs and go on to involves the use of Amongst our interna- Labour’s attacks on the establish the basis of a direct action principles tional coverage we have British working class genuine culture of work- to tackle official shilly- an interview with a mili- are to be beaten off, ing class resistance to shallying and outright tant of the USI, our anarcho-syndicalists and capitalism. Such recent illegality in areas like Italian sister organisa- other workplace offerings by the likes of housing provision (see tion, which gives some activists must use the the Unison leadership ‘London Coalition insight into the issues anger and momentum and the way forward are Against Poverty’, page facing workers and anar- that is building to revi- the subject of ‘With 8). The potential for this cho-syndicalists in Italy talise and reestablish friends like these…’ (see kind of approach to (see page 23). As well as workplace based organi- page 6).