AUT: FWD: A syndicalist counterpoint to Tom Keefer

[Michael Handelman <mhandelman1@xxxxxxxxx>]

A Syndicalist Counterpoint
to Tom Keefer
John Hollingsworth (member,
Ottawa-Outaouais IWW and OCAT)

I found this is an interesting article from Tom Keefer
regarding the anti-capitalist organizing in Calgary.

I believe he intends some general lessons for the
anti-capitalist globalization movement.  I share some
of his analysis (especially regarding the importance
of organizing workers as part of any nominally
"anti-capitalist" organizing frame, a real gap right
now in our movement), and do not share other parts
(I'm unconvinced that we share the same understanding
of "respect for" or "coordination of" a "diversity of
tactics", although the basis of his critique is a
refreshing change from the usual pathological pacifist
catechism).  I also don't think calling *any*
mobilization against the executive board of global
capitalism a "clear defeat" is helpful, although I
emphatically agree that getting naked and bathing in
mud while "snake dancing" around motorists just
reinforces negative stereotypes of activists as the
"other",  unrepresentative of the broader social base
we seek to organize.  But as an organizer, I also tire
of  armchair critiques, not necessarily that Tom (who
I don't know personally, but  by reputation of a long
and colourful history of revolutionary activity as a
tireless student activist) is doing this.  I read this
piece assuming it  to be "critique from within", and
that Tom implicated himself in the  anti-capitalist
organizing in Calgary to some  degree.

Mostly, I want to talk about  the organizing in
Ottawa.  I do not feel that the bulk of Tom?s
commentary applies as readily to the organizing of the
actions in Ottawa, where I believe that clear  lessons
from the past were learned and applied.  In fact, I
think that a lot of what he  describes as wrong with
the organizing in Calgary and some putative solutions
were part of our work here in Ottawa.  The tenor of my
 own commentary is perhaps more celebratory and less
critical, but it?s a  refreshing change for me to feel
able to do that.  Clearly, the sheer force of numbers
that was associated with Quebec City and Seattle were
not present in Ottawa either, but I am uncertain if
this is due to deficiencies in our organizing so much
as
the heightened climate of fear that has been
established by the security  apparatus of the state
and certain sellout elements of the ?progressive?
mainstream left.  Also, the major  national unions did
not always intelligently focus their own resources and
 mobilize members, in part due to discomfort and
unfamiliarity with our  organizing principles, and
because of prior commitments out west.

In the organizing for Take the Capital!, which came
out of the first regional anti-G8 "consulta" organized
by anti-capitalist globalization activists in the
Northeast, Ottawa was chosen
as a regional convergence point, based on its
importance as part of the everyday operations of the
G-8.  It was also a practical response to the
selection of Calgary/Kananaskis as a staging area by
the more mainstream and anti-DOT organizations at the
outset, the militarization of Kananaskis, geographical
location ("summit hopping" is generally something that
only a few, including the media, can manage), and the
emergence of a solid
network of anti-capitalist organizers who have been
organizing locally and in concert with elsewhere in
Ontario and Quebec.

The organizing for Ottawa was a testament to the
ability of a predominantly (though not exclusively)
anarchist organizing community with very little in
terms of financial resources to
organize effective logistical and operational support
for massive economic  disruption, mass marches, and a
variety of autonomous symbolic and direct actions.
Also, the decentralized
character of much of the organizing was a strong point
in Take the Capital!, with a diverse variety of groups
selecting their own roles and entry-points in the
actions and the organizing.  All of this occurred in
the absence of any significant institutional support,
although our mobilization equaled or exceeded
elsewhere where this was the case (that is, in
Calgary). In fact, to the chagrin of many of us at
points, our organization and the media hysteria that
went on for several months prior to actual events on
the ground (building to a fevered pitch in the weeks
before and days of actions) contributed to a situation
where many people from outside of the Northeast
organized themselves to get to Ottawa, even where
geography might have suggested Calgary as a more local
location.  There were others from the west coast
and folks from different European countries too who
decided to come here.  Some of this may have had to do

with political and strategic considerations apart from
the level of organization in Ottawa.  It was
interesting to note that wobblies from the U.S.
Midwest didn't go to Calgary, but came to Ottawa,
where the whole of the organizing framework was
explicitly anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and
based on respect for the full range of resistance and
diverse tactics.

In Ottawa, some elements (not always "reformist" union
leaders and NGOs, contrary to our own stereotypes, but
an amalgam of "radicals" and liberals in the anti-DOT
camp) actively continued and ratcheted-up their
efforts at marginalizing us, but in the end probably
only succeeded in auto-marginalization as their
arguments against us became increasingly abstract and
spurious.  In fact, their shamelessness and
opportunism turned off many who previously had been
sympathetic to their point of view, and the
reasonableness and consistency of the pro-DOT
organizers, our willingness to enter into dialogue to
facilitate a range of goals and means to these goals,
and militant but disciplined actions on the ground
built some important bridges.  It is my personal hope
that within local activist circles authoritarian
tendencies and cults of individual leadership may soon
wither away into nothingness.  Believing in the
movement, and the ability of people to learn and
self-organize in the absence of centralization,
marshalling, individual "leaders" telling people what
to do, etc., is part of is what has contributed to the
vitality.  Further, it would be great if as a
community we can get on with the important work of
peer-to-peer and worker-to-worker organizing without
preconceived identities around tactics and needing to
tag everything in terms of false dichotomies such as
?non-violent? or ?violent? before we can organize
together.

The emergence of a well-organized Witness group from
outside of the organizing group as well as the formal
group providing legal support (Legal Support Ottawa),
originally treated with some suspicion by organizers
due to some initial ambiguity over their reporting
function vis-à vis demonstrators, was a very welcome
development.  Some unions also provided critical
support, in particular the Public Service Alliance of
Canada (PSAC), the largest union in Ottawa.  In the
case of the PSAC, the leadership played a very
positive role, especially in their critical support
for the Seven Year Squat that took place across the
street from their national offices.  PSAC activists
also were key to supporting the World March of Women -
Ottawa?s ?revolutionary knitting circle? which did an
important symbolic action on J26 outside the Sparks
St. offices of the Canadian Council of Chief Executive
Officers (formerly the BCNI).  Other national unions,
including the Canadian Union of Public Employees
(CUPE) and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)
provided some support to the Take the Capital!
Organizing, and even the Saskatchewan Federation of
Labour (SFL) provided some financial support.

This is not to gloss over important gaps in labour
support.  The mobilization of union rank-and-file was
quite limited, which remains
our greatest challenge.  Notably, the Ontario
Federation of Labour (OFL) and our own local labour
council were absent from the organizing, but Ottawa
area militants have been used to that for some time
now.  There is far too much opportunism, individual
?labour politician? career path considerations, and
crass reformist politics in the ?house of labour?.
Certainly, the anti capitalist globalization
activists? critique of porkchoppers and union
bureaucrats remains quite salient at these levels,
however it is far from clear whether anarchist
organizers have appreciated the need to come up with
strategies beyond the rhetoric to deal with this
serious problem.
There are several immediate steps that can and should
be taken.  As class-conscious anarchists and
anti-capitalists, we need to do far more to support
workers? struggles.  Walking the picket lines of
striking workers, and organizing affinity groups and
flying squads to provide support, is important and
time-honoured work

for many of us.  Contrary to the ?get a job? rhetoric
of the mainstream, many of us do have jobs, and
organizing on-the-job should be more of a priority.
It is also a known fact that individuals identified as
having participated in public dissent have been
disciplined and fired from their jobs, which requires
an active job defence, another area where there is a
strong tradition of tried-and-true direct action that
we can depend upon.  In the advent of the failure of
institutional leadership within the labour movement to
mobilize their own members, we must continue to assert
our autonomy from official structures and leadership,
and to take our direction from workers on the line.
And we need to continue to organize to meet the
demands of the unemployed for fair employment and a
non-starvation social wage, to build employed worker
support for this, and our collective need for
affordable housing.

One of the important successes of the Ottawa
mobilization and actions in my view was the emergence
of real strategies of direct action made especially
effective as a result of piggybacking onto the mass
mobilizations.  Some of these actions subverted the
dominant perception about how and where we target
capital.  The Ottawa-Outaouais Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW) sponsored and organized actions, with
a good deal of outside support, agitating at
Starbucks.  Operations were hit through slowdown and
slow sales (but good tips for the workers!), while
excessively-friendly management politely (and
repeatedly) informed us not to ?solicit? or to
photograph or film events. Workers received
information about issues in support of unionization
and CAW 3000?s contract battle out west, with lead-up
activities (including postering, leafleting and
talking to workers) at all Starbucks outlets in the
area 1-2 weeks prior to the days of action.  Although
it is unclear at this point as to whether our outside
organizing drive will lead to a union here in Ottawa,
given the strong fear factor among workers that was
set into motion by management (Starbucks workers are
required to sign a document forbidding them to
disclose any information about Starbucks operations to
?third parties) it is clear that this tactic had far
more of an impact on Starbucks operations than merely
smashing (insured) windows.  (Again, not that I
personally have any particular qualms about smashed
windows per se, but the fact is that we were
interested in something other than symbolic action.)

The most powerful instance of real direct action that
came out of the anti-G8 organizing was the daring
occupation of a long-abandoned heritage home on
Gilmour St. by a number of local activists and
homeless youth.  The ?Seven Year Squat?, so named
because of the length of time spent on waiting lists
for social housing and the length of time that the
building had been abandoned, was the first public and
political squat in Ottawa since the occupation of
Department of National Defence property for housing by
returning sailors after WWII (they were charged with
?piracy? at the time).  Members of Anti-Capitalist
Community Action (ACA) and the Ottawa Coalition
Against the Tories (OCAT), along with other activists,
helped to organize this autonomous action.  The
political, strategic and tactical frame of the action
was both timely in the face of a massive social and
affordable housing crisis in a city with the lowest
rental vacancy rates in the country, and in terms of
building some linkages between different social groups
both within and outside the squat, including housing
agencies and anti-poverty activists.

In a short period of time, a real community space was
created, with real processes of collective
decision-making and problem-resolution coming
together, and work including renovations,
establishment of a ?community garden? and establishing
a place for local groups to meet.  This ?temporary
autonomous zone? wasn?t a fiction, but a reality for
the first time in Ottawa, and was linked to important,
concrete demands.  Two of the squatters? demands were
that the City enact a ?use it or lose it? bylaw that
would expropriate unused housing stock if left vacant
for over a year, and that the City purchase and
convert the Gilmour St. property into community
housing. While the City of Ottawa decided to not
respond with negotiations in good faith, instead
opting for an early morning raid seven days after the
occupation, with over 100 riot police and regulars,
support personnel including firefighters and
paramedics, and equipment including two command
stations (modified RVs), two commandeered OC Transpo
buses, and three fire trucks equipped with ladders,
many in the mainstream had to ask if the cost of the
operation was worth it.  Certainly, when looking at
the relative costs of entering into meaningful
negotiations and a probable resolution with the
squatters, the obvious answer is a resounding ?no?.
23 people were arrested, most with indictable (if
spurious) charges including break and enter and
multiple charges of mischief over $5,000.  (If you can
help support their legal defence, please contact
joelireardon@xxxxxxxxxxxx and she will provide you
with information on a bank account that is being set
up for this purpose.)

By effectively creating a political trial, the City
and police have opened up a huge can of worms for
themselves.  With the police making the absurd threat
to charge anyone who they can prove set foot inside
the building, they have effectively pushed their
political masters into the hole they dug for
themselves in refusing to enter into meaningful
negotiations.  The squatters provided extensive
?community tours? of the building, including hundreds
of supporters and interested members of the public,
not to mention visits by news media.  Before the
police raid, public support
continued to build, something quite unanticipated and
very threatening to the powers-that-be.  Clearly, they
are
attempting to use this threat as a pretext for arrest
of activists, further undermining their credibility in
charging the principled and courageous squatters with
serious-but-spurious offenses as they have chosen to
do.  By asserting social rights over the abstract
property rights of those with ambiguous claims to
ownership, the squatters underlined the needs that
exist within the community, and a means of meeting
those needs by actively reclaiming these rights.  As
the now-destroyed banner hanging from the porch at 246
Gilmour St. said, "Sick of Waiting? Occupy!".

So, by way of my own
conclusion, it seems to be clear that the organizing
for Ottawa managed to move beyond some of the
limitations of the past and move things forward in
some important ways.  My personal list includes the
following: -          picking our own targets for mass
mobilization and our own battles, not necessarily
where the political elites and their masters choose to
site their major meetings but where their day-to-day
operations and day-to-day struggles actually
occur; -          making genuine links between local
and global struggles, and building revolutionary
capacity within our own communities; -
beginning the transition from protest to resistance
through creative and daring direct action and real
civil disobedience; -          energizing old
activists and
bringing in new activists into the resistance
movement; -          challenging and exposing the
hypocrisy of the accommodationist liberal-left, the
failure of the reformists to realize reforms, and
their admonitions to quietly lobby and work within the
system, discrediting this as a means of change; -
    proving our capacity for mass mobilization; -
    developing our affinity groups and networks of
resistance; and -          formulating solid demands
tied to solid action, and raising the costs of
non-compliance to these demands to capital and the
state

We shall see where things go
from here, and while there is little doubt that the
months and years ahead will
be challenging ones, this is also a time of great
opportunity for various groups to come together and
build on the victories that we have won in Ottawa/the
"Capital".  Many of the bridges that have been built
need to be maintained, and more bridges undoubtably
must be built - while at the same time we need to
continue to reject accommodation to established power
and sellout compromises that do not meet our demands,
in line with our increased collective power to force
and realize these demands.  Ottawa was in no way a
retreat.  We
have just begun.

In solidarity,
John

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