Workers Solidarity Movement

This is the 100th issue of Workers Solidarity. Why do we bother? After all, nobody gets paid for writing, or doing layout, or stuffing envelopes, or putting copies through neighbours’ letterboxes, or giving them out at union meetings or in city centres. 

Well, we are sick and tired of a system that won’t provide us with decent health care, or economic security, or affordable housing. We are sick and tired of a system that pays farmers in one country not to grow food while people in another country starve to death, a system that spends billions on weapons of mass destruction but won’t cough up to keep people alive.

La huelga que iba a precipitar la formación del Soviet de Limerick fue convocada por la muerte de Robert Byrne un republicano y Trade Unionista.

This article in English

Byrne había trabajado como telefonista en la Oficina de Correos de Limerick. En enero de 1919 perdió su trabajo. Fue expulsado por asistir al funeral de un volutario de Limerick (John Daly). Algunos días más tarde la casa de sus padres fue tomada por la policía. Byrne fue arrestado y sentenciado a 12 meses de prisión con trabajos forzados por posesión ilegal de un revolver y munición.

Friday 9th November saw hundreds of people travel from around Ireland to show solidarity with dozens of local Corrib protesters in the latest 'day of action' against the attempt by Shell to impose a dangerous experimental gas pipeline on the community. WSM members from Dublin and Cork took part in the protests, here we present their account of what happened along with a selection of photographs from indymedia.ie.

This is an archive of some talks given to WSM meetings between 1991 and 2007 on the general subjects of class politics, trade unionism and the changing nature of the working class.  For more articles and talks check the relevant subject indices

This is the text of the old 'Environment & Animal Rights' position paper.  It was removed at the 2007 National Conference and is kept here for archiving purposes. You can read the current paper 'The Environment'

Friday 2nd at 8-30

A weekend of workshops, talks and films will be held in Seomra Spraoi from 16th-18th November. The purpose of the weekend is to get people new to activism from various backgrounds and groups to meet up, get to know each other and learn from the experience of the current Gluaiseacht activists and others. We hope to create enthusiasm for the various campaigns and some formal and informal networks which would kick-start some serious activism through Gluaiseacht and the other groups invited to participate.

The Workers Solidarity Movement is urging anarchists and other supporters of Shell To Sea to get to Rossport for the day-of-action on November 9th. WSM members will join people from around the country in showing, one year since Gardai batoned protesters, that we will not be intimidated.

The main trade unions in education are sponsoring this confrence in Dublin. Anyone can attend, and it will be particularly useful for teachers, students and others in the education system who want to resist the increasing commercialisation of schools and universities.

In recent times, with the increasing influence of business interests on the state, and with the near destruction of social security, workers’ existence is becoming more and more insecure. Precarity is a term that has been developed alongside casualisation to describe the changes wrought by these and the form of working class existence that has developed because of them. Rather than the job-for-life and job security associated with such, workers’ are being coldly moulded into an acceptance of labour that rests on the whims and qualms of the bosses rather than an environment that it is within the workers‘ power to effect and change.