Free Workers' Union

The Free Workers' Union (German: Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union[2] or Freie ArbeiterInnen-Union; abbreviated FAU) is an anarcho-syndicalist union in Germany and Switzerland.

FAU
Free Workers' Union
Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union
Founded1977
Location
Members
1.000 [1]
AffiliationsInternational Confederation of Labor
Websitewww.fau.org

History
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The FAU sees itself in the tradition of the Free Workers' Union of Germany (German: Freie Arbeiter Union Deutschlands; FAUD), the largest anarcho-syndicalist union in Germany until it disbanded as a formal organization in 1933 to avoid repression by the National Socialist regime which had come into power that year. The FAU was founded in 1977, and grew consistently through the 1990s. Now, the FAU consists of just under 40 groups, organized locally and by branch of trade. It rejects hierarchical organizations and political representation and believes in the concept of federalism; most decisions are made by the local unions. The purpose of the federalist organization is to coordinate strikes, campaigns and actions, and for communication. It has 800 to 1000 members, organized in the various local unions.

The FAU publishes the bimonthly anarcho-syndicalist newspaper Direkte Aktion and pamphlets on current and historical topics.

Because it supports the classical concept of the abolition of the wage system, the FAU was monitored until 2011 by the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution).

The FAU was disaffiliated by the International Workers' Association in 2016,[3] and became one of the founding members of the International Confederation of Labour (ICL) in 2018.[4]

Labor disputes

Delivery industry and gig economy

The FAU is now also used as a form of representation and organisation by workers in the gig economy, such as workers in online food delivery services. At the end of 2016, the FAU, together with a number of other unions, launched an international network of delivery workers.[5] In Berlin, the FAU founded a special section called "Deliverunion" in mid-2017,[6] in which drivers of the companies Deliveroo and Foodora, among others, organised themselves.[7][8] Drivers of various services also subsequently organised themselves in other cities such as Leipzig, Dresden and Hamburg.[9][10] In June 2017, FAU demonstrators unloaded scrap bicycles in front of Deliveroo's Berlin headquarters in this context to protest against the working conditions of the company's bike messengers.[11] In Leipzig, FAU 2020 was in a prolonged dispute with the company Durstexpress.[12][13][14] In 2021, the FAU Berlin supported a widely publicised wildcat strike by workers at the delivery service Gorillas with solidarity actions,[15] FAU unions in Leipzig[16][17][18] and Magdeburg[19] were involved in various conflicts with Domino's Pizza. In 2022, the FAU Dresden announced that it was currently supporting members of the delivery service Flink in conflicts.[20] The FAU repeatedly emphasises that migrants in particular are specifically recruited for companies in the sector and that dependencies, poor knowledge of the legal situation and language barriers are used there for the systematic violation of labour rights.

Further industrial action in migrant sectors

In 2014, members of the "Foreigner Section" of the FAU Berlin started an industrial action under the slogan "Mall of Shame" against contractors and subcontractors who were in charge of the Mall of Berlin construction project. Specifically, this involved a large group of Romanian construction workers who were allegedly not paid their wages for several months.[21] Part of the struggle involved continuous rallies and demonstrations.[22][23]

During the Corona crisis, in May 2020, Romanian migrant workers organised themselves into the FAU Bonn, working for the Spargel Ritter company in Bornheim. The migrant workers went on strike after they were refused payment of their contractually guaranteed wages. They also protested against the housing conditions and the poor food supply on the asparagus farm. The strike succeeded in getting a larger part of the wages paid. The case was received in the regional and national media as an example of the exploitation of Eastern European workers in Germany.[24][25]

Gastronomy

In the catering industry, FAU trade unions frequently engage in smaller individual disputes, often over labour law violations. According to their own statements, the unions try to help their members to get justice quickly and in this way shorten long-term court proceedings.[26][27][28] For example, a major industrial dispute took place in 2014 in the pub "Trotzdem" in Dresden, where the staff went on strike for a total of four weeks, accompanied by rallies and demonstrations.[29][30] The unions have also been involved in the strike in the restaurant sector.

Ideology

In labour disputes, the FAU prefers to use direct action, by which it means using the most direct pressure possible, for example through public action or disruption of workplace procedures, to win disputes in the interests of workers.[31][32]

The trade union federation rejects parliamentarism and representation of the people as fields of activity. According to its own representations, real political goals are not to be achieved via parliament, but directly through the involvement of the trade union members concerned. It has a tactical attitude towards works council elections.[33] The principle of social partnership and exempt or paid functionaries are rejected

Depending on the local union, anarcho-syndicalism is also accompanied by the theories and practice of autonomies and operaism. With its activity, the FAU wants to prepare, besides a concrete improvement of living and working conditions, the social revolution with which the classless and dominationless society is to be achieved by means of a general strike.

The FAU was listed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Lower Saxony in the section on left-wing extremism in the 2013 report on the protection of the constitution.[34] It was also mentioned in this section in the Bundesverfassungsschutzbericht 2019,[35] after this had not been the case in previous years. When asked about the reason for observation by the MDR magazine "Exactly" in 2021 to several constitutional protection agencies, only the Saxony-Anhalt constitutional protection agency commented, giving the following reason: "At its core [... ] the FAU strives for a society without domination and property."[36]

Strike Bikes

After Lone Star Funds announced it would close a bicycle factory in Nordhausen, Thuringia, it had acquired, its workers decided to occupy the factory in July 2007. From 22 to 26 October the workers continued bicycle production. With the help of the FAU, over 1,800 of these red bicycles were sold under the label "Strike Bike". The occupation of the factory ended after the company's liquidator forced the workers out.[37]

Free Workers' Union Berlin

On 11 December 2009 the Berlin District Court issued an injunction on the Free Workers' Union Berlin (FAU-B) banning it from calling itself a union or grassroots union.The court decision was confirmed on 5 January 2010. The FAU views this as "the culmination of a series of attempts by the Neue Babylon Berlin GmbH to legally hogtie the strongest and most active form of workers' representation in the company. This attack on the basic right of freedom of association is a de facto ban of the union in Berlin".[38] On 10 June 2010 the Kammergericht overturned the injunction.[39]

Free Workers' Union in Switzerland

In Switzerland, the FAU is represented by independent local syndicates in Bern, Lucerne, Solothurn and, since 2023, St.Gallen. Since 2010, the "Schwarzi Chatz" (Swiss-German, German: Schwarze Katze, English: Black Cat) has been published, which also serves as a mouthpiece for the FAU syndicates organized in Switzerland. Since 2022, there has been a separate youth organization, the "Freie Arbeiter*innen Jugend" (FAJ for short).[40]

Notes and references
  1. "Publikationen".
  2. Arbeiterinnen is the female version of the male Arbeiter, both mean workers in English
  3. Secretariat (2016-12-05). "Statement of the XXVI Congress". International Workers' Association. Archived from the original on 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  4. "Founding of a New International". Freedom News. 2018-05-12. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  5. Peter Nowak (2017-01-06). "Flexibel ausgeliefert". nd-aktuell.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  6. ""20 Euro für den ganzen Tag"". Deutschlandfunk Nova (in German). 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  7. Georgia Palmer (2017). "Foodora & Co.: Die Revolte der neuen Dienstbotenklasse". Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik (in German). Blätter Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  8. Nina Scholz, Mirjam Kid (2017-07-04). "Urbanes Prekariat Food-Kuriere gehen auf die Barrikaden". Deutschlandradio Kultur (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  9. Simone Brannahl (2017-09-29). "Kuriere am Limit?". Arte (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  10. fbu (2019-03-13). "Lieferfahrer demonstrieren für bessere Arbeitsbedingungen". Leipziger Volkszeitung (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  11. Bernd Kramer (2017-10-27). Kurierfahrer: Der Arbeitskampf begann bei WhatsApp | ZEIT Arbeit. Hamburg: Die Zeit. ISSN 0044-2070. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  12. Marcel Kolvenbach (2020-11-06). ""Ein Klima der Angst"". Tagesschau (in German). Archived from the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  13. Michael Kees (2020-10-27). "Ausgeliefert - Arbeitnehmer werfen Durstexpress Vertragsbruch vor". kreuzer online. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  14. ""Darum müssen wir zusammen kämpfen!" – Interview mit einem Fahrer von Durstexpress". Perspektive Online (in German). 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  15. Timm Kühn (2021-06-16). "Wild bestreikt". taz (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  16. Felix Sassmannshausen (2021-06-21). "Es rumort bei Dominos in Leipzig". kreuzer online (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  17. Benjamin Kirchhoff (2021-07-28). "Gefeuert wegen Schnelltests". Junge Welt (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  18. Leon Grüninger (2021-08-15). "Radikaler Kampf um Löhne". Youtube (in German). MDR Exactly. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  19. "FAU Magdeburg setzt Lohnnachzahlung gegen Domino´s Pizza durch – Allgemeines Syndikat Magdeburg" (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  20. David Maiwald (2022-11-29). ""Das scheint der Lieferdienst gezielt auszunutzen"". Junge Welt (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  21. Sarah Emminghaus: Ein Fall, der zum Himmel stinkt. In: taz.de. 14. April 2015, accessed on 26 April 2015.
  22. "Dauer-Protest der Mall-Bauarbeiter". B.Z. (in German). 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  23. "Arbeiter der "Mall of Berlin" fordern ihren Lohn". B.Z. (in German). 2014-12-07. Archived from the original on 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  24. Dennis Pesch: Wild streiken statt Spargel ernten. In: Jungle World. 28. Mai 2020, accessed on 22 July 2020.
  25. Béla Csányi: Spargel-Chaos in Bornheim zeigt, warum wir als Kunden schuld sind. In: Express, 27. Mai 2020, accessed on 22 June 2020.
  26. Carsten Fuchs (2015-11-05). "Anarchos gegen Steuerzahler". Jungle World (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  27. Jennifer Stange (2018-06-01). ""Den Profit steckt der Boss ein"". kreuzer online (in German). Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  28. jW (2021-04-27). "Gewerkschaft FAU setzt Lohnzahlung durch". Junge Welt (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  29. Ulrike Kirsten (2014-02-27). "Kellnern in der Neustadt ist ein Knochenjob". Sächsische DE (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  30. Hauke Heuer (2014-02-22). "Klassenkampf in linker Szenekneipe - das "Trotzdem" in der Neustadt wird bestreikt". DNN (in German). Archived from the original on 2014-04-08. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  31. Carsten Fuchs (2015-11-05). "Anarchos gegen Steuerzahler". Jungle World (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  32. Daniel Herbstreit (2015-07-11). ""Einfach die Zwiebeln verschwinden lassen"". Zeit.de. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  33. Die FAU und Betriebsratswahlen: Pro-Contra-Diskussion in der Direkten Aktion in den Ausgaben Januar/Februar und März/April 2008 (accessed 26 January 2011).
  34. Verfassungsschutzbericht 2013 (PDF; 3.2 MB) Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sport, p. 141.
  35. "Verfassungsschutzbericht 2019" (PDF). Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Building and Home Affairs. July 2020. pp. 120–121, 156. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  36. Leon Grüninger (2021-08-15). "Radical Struggle for Wages". Youtube (in German). MDR Exactly. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  37. (in German) Kazim, Haznain: Bestellboom gibt Fahrrad-Werkern neue Hoffnung. Spiegel online. Retrieved February 7, 2008; (in German) Fabrikbesetzer weichen dem Insolvenzverwalter. Spiegel online. Retrieved February 7, 2008; Greiner, Peter-Stefan: Das Letzte. Neue Nordhäuser Zeitung online. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  38. (in English) fau.org: Grassroots Union: Prohibited! Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  39. (in German) Boewe, Jörn: Koalitionsrecht verteidigt Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  40. "Freie Arbeiter*innen Jugend - FAU Schweiz". faunion.ch. Retrieved 2023-03-12.

Further reading
  • (in German) Prinzipienerklärung (PDF) The declaration of principles of the FAU
  • (in German) Statuten (PDF) Union federation statutes of the FAU
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