WSM administration document on the Practice of the WSM last amended at October 2005 National Conference

a Workers Solidarity Movement
policy statement

Practice of the WSM

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'Practice of the WSM' is a set of guidelines we have drawn up to
ensure that the group functions effectively, and in a properly
anarchist manner.

SMOKING

Passive smoking is a health hazard. Bearing this in mind it is
requested of all members that they refrain from smoking during any
indoor meetings. In consideration of members who do smoke, time will be allotted at meetings for
smoking outside the meeting room.

MEMBERSHIP

We recognise that the amount each member can contribute to the organisation will be different and that we want to be able to include as members people who have limited free time because of other commitments. But membership of the WSM is also based around some minimum level of activity which should include attending branch meetings and some level of external work.



Active members

Attend WSM branch meetings and National Conference
Ideally are part of a WSM priority working group



Members on Leave of Absence

Members who are unable to carry out the above for a period of more than a couple of months can go on leave of absence for up to 9 months. This is intended to help members who find their free time greatly reduced due to to working full time and having heavy education or family commitments. It is also intended to allow members who feel burnt out to take an organised break from activity.



To take a leave of absence they should inform their branch secretary and the national secretary in writing that there are doing this and give the month in which they intend to resume active membership.



Members on Leave of Absence should try and attend some of the educational events organised by the WSM. They should maintain contact with the WSM and follow its development through looking at the web site. They do not have a proxy vote at meetings but can end their leave of absence at any meeting and vote at that meeting. They are required to continue paying subs to their branch.



Dormant members

Any member who has not been an active member for two or more months but who has not taken a leave of absence will be considered Dormant. Their branch secretary should inform them of this in writing and ask them to either return as an Active Member, take a Leave of Absence or resign from the WSM.



If they fail to reply within a month the branch secretary will inform the national secretary who will write to them again. If they have failed to reply within a month then the national secretary will put forward a motion to the next DC noting they have de facto resigned from the WSM. They will be informed of this in writing and their account will be removed from the internal web site. To become an Active Member in the future they will need to go through the membership procedure.



Out of country

Members who are leaving the country for an extended period of time will be subject to the above unless they apply for out of country status. Out of country members must have previously been members of the WSM. They

a. retain access to the internal web site

b. are willing to report on local events for Workers Solidarity and attend local anarchist events on behalf of the WSM

c. do not have a proxy vote in the WSM

d. contribute at least 50 euro a year to the WSM

e. distribute at least 5 of each issue of the
magazine

INTERNAL CONDUCT

Since the WSM is not a vanguard organisation (except in the sense
of a vanguard of ideas) we must avoid the internal characteristics of
a vanguard organisation. To this end we must encourage all members to
take part in speech writing, article writing, proposing perspectives,
and similar activities. When tasks such as these come up we will
always ask the question "Who has not done this before (or has done it
least)?" so that we can try to include less experienced people.

We must also ensure that people do not get left behind. This means
assuming that people have less knowledge about the group than is
generally accepted. Explanations are needed about how decisions are
made, what conference is for, what branch meetings are for, how the
paper is organised, etc. If members do not understand something it
should be automatic that somebody will take time to explain the
matter thoroughly. Although it is nice to win arguments, we should
not underestimate the importance of bringing up issues and
encouraging people to explore ideas. For peoples politics to develop
they have to be able to articulate their ideas. We must not let
ourselves be drawn into adversarial style debating. It is not, nor
ever shall be part of any members responsibilities to hassle, harass,
humiliate, embarass, guilt-trip or put down in any way, any member,
or for that matter anyone else, by comparing work done by different
members or any similar method. Members shall not be asked at any
meeting why they will not be attending any event. At the same time,
we must ensure that the same people do not get stuck with the same
tasks all the time, and, conversely, that everyone takes part in some
activity. While debates may sometimes become heated, it must be
accepted by all members that every member of the WSM is a committed
anarchist, and their activities and comments/statements are directed
at reinforcing the group's libertarian credentials.

When debating or intervening at meetings name calling etc should also be avoided. The other traditional tactics of rolling your eyes, heckling etc when the other person is speaking should not be used. This sort of stuff is very intimidating for anybody new to politics, it also can make it look like you are unable to answer the points being made.

CHILDCARE

No member should be forced to miss anything because they have to
mind children. Any member who requests it will be reimbursed in full
for the cost of childcare. Childminding facilities will be advertised
for all public meetings. Those requiring childcare will be requested
to contact us in advance to enable us to provide facilities.

REPORTS TO MEETINGS

In order to save time at meetings, reports from campaign groups,
other meetings etc., should, where possible, be prepared in advance,
in the style used to prepare a report for the IB. For example, a
report from a campaign group would include details of how many
attended the meeting (and how many apologies), what major decisions
were taken, any reports of how previous major decisions were carried
out, what other political groupings were putting forward.

Internal WSM Website

Given that one of the functions of the Internal Website is to be
our journal of record, it is necessary that contributions be
understandable to members who may consult it in future years.
Therefore, descriptions must be clear, eg. texts of talks should
state who gave them and to what audience. Dublin branch reports
should be clearly identified as coming from Dublin, care should be
taken with spelling (at least to the point where meaning is clear),
etc.

A hard copy of all internal bulletins will be printed and stored

CAMPAIGNS

That a co-ordinator be elected when we are involved in specific
campaigns (e.g. a strike support group, 'Justice for Abu-Jamal',
service charges). This person will be responsible for collecting
information about the issues involved, informing the WSM of same,
preparing reports for the IB, and the co-ordination of our activity
within the campaign.

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As amended October 2009