79 lines
3.3 KiB
Plaintext
79 lines
3.3 KiB
Plaintext
Direct Action: 14 ways to improve your job
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1. Workers run the world. Everything would stop without our
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labour. Withdrawing our labour is our weapon, and the right to
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run things is our demand.
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2. At the same time, most work is a bore. As it is organized in
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our society, most labour kills the spirit and body of the worker,
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not to mention the mind. But to simply call for a four-hour day
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at eight hours pay is not enough. Who will benefit from the
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automation that could realize such a demand? Who should control
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technology's introduction and integration into the economy?
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Potentially, we can.
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3. Collective action is the source of our strength as workers.
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Many of the direct actions described below can be done by
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individuals, but they are far more effective when done
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collectively. This should not be mistaken for unionism. If
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collective action and union activity are simultaneous, fine. But
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collective action is not limited to unionism. Friendships and
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common grievances on the shop floor are enough to carry out most
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of the actions below.
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4. Slow down. Your job is killing you anyway. When your boss
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tries to speed things up, drag your feet.
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5. Work to rule. Follow every regulation and order down to the
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last detail, no matter how stupid they are. If you get absurd
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instructions, carry them out to the letter to demonstrate how
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absurd they are.
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6. Ask questions. Pick apart your boss' instructions with
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questions about everything, even about the most mundane details.
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Plead your ignorance and make your boss show his or hers.
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7. Strike through good work. If, as in a service-industry job,
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your strike would hurt other people more than your boss, strike
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by giving the public better or cheaper service, at your boss'
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expense naturally. Bus drivers can give cheap or free fares,
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restaurant workers can give heaping servings, hospital nurses and
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clerks can refuse to process billings or charge for services,
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etc.
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8. Pass the buck. Ask your boss to make every decision and every
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judgement on the job. You can bury your boss under a load of
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petty decisions.
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9. Don't forget the power of sit-down strikes and wildcat walk-
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outs. Well-timed collective action can win a demand or grievance
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in minutes.
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10. Practice deliberate inefficiency (aka "sabotage"). If working
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conditions are unsafe or brutal, a single loose bolt or missing
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part might bring things quickly to a halt.
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11. Report on poor working conditions and fradulent practice.
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Whistle-blowers, especially in consumer industries such as
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restaurants and hospitals, can be very effective. Call the fire
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brigade if there's a fire hazard. Call in the health and safety
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officiers. Call the tax man on your boss's dodgey bookkeeping.
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12. Everybody call in sick on the same day or days. The sick-in
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can cripple your workplace in a morning.
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13. Take what is rightfully yours. If your boss refuses to give
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you breaks or longer lunches, get everybody on the job to take
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them anyway.
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14. All of this is the day-to-day preparation for more dramatic
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forms of action such as a strike in one industry, the general
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strike of all workers in the economy, and the creation of organs
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of power and workers' self-emancipation (assemblies or councils)
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to run society. These forms of direct action, though far more
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organized, build from the simple direct actions described above.
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