The message below will be printed and destributed at our visits at the revuparated companys during our Visit to Argentina
Greetings
from the self-organized workers of Viome
We
the workers and supporters of VIOME salute you. From a country known
for the last many years only as a land of vast political and economic
crisis, we come as a part of the "other side". As a part of
the resistance, a part of the various workers and social movements
that grew and struggle all these years. As a part of a society forced
to remember the gruesome reality of capitalism but on the other hand,
a society eager to find ways and means to overcome. That is how our
journey began some six years before. That May of 2011 was our turning
point, a starting point for what you see of us today. Let us share
with you our milestones from then.
We
worked in a chemical industry
producing high-quality building materials (building
adhesive etc). Sometime in May 2011, the
managers of the
mother company
of the group (Philkeram Johnson, a
ceramics industry) filed for bankruptcy. We
were left unpaid, facing the terror of unemployment when the crisis
in Greece was at its peak, and unemployment rates were high (+20%).
We ware offered
many options with multiple possible outcomes. But as the days and
months past and many actions from different perspectives were taken,
it was made profound that we ourselves could be our only saviors. So
the decision was clear, inspired by paradigms as Zanon, we took over
the factory. And by 2013 the factory was working again, but not
producing the same products as before, not even in the same way. We
decided through structures of social
control and direct democracy that the new
solidarity
product of the factory would be household cleaning products,
affordable, eco friendly, made from natural ingredients without
dangerous chemicals. At first it seemed difficult but we decided to
work in very different way than before. No bosses, the "boss"
was the daily workers
assembly. No experts, everyone learning each ocher's
skills and spreading knowledge. We are all equal after all.
This
decision paid off, because we could at last financially
support ourselves and our families, live a
life of dignity made by our own hands. Slowly but steady
a solidarity network was created helping the
message of our struggle to spread
and distributing our products all over Greece and at many
times abroad. But
that was not enough, we are a part of a society under attack. We
could not see a future where we were absent, closed in our factory
working when the popular families are
suffering. Not only out of some kind of ethical dilemma but because
VIOME was
supported by the people and produced for the people. That's why we
supported and became part of many social
movements that appeared in the years
coming. From the workers at the shutdown public media, to the
struggle of the citizens of Chalkidiki against gold mining, to every
big and small struggle in Greece. That's how the Solidarity Caravan
was born. An
initiative of action and mobilization,
a caravan of people trying to unite all those
social movements
on a common ground of struggle and solidarity so that we can all win
together. Every idea and initiative must be backed up with actions.
That is why our recuperated, self-organized factory was not enough,
we had and have more to give:
In
the Greece of crisis healthcare was one of the first to get hit.
Degradation in the quality of health services, exclusion of the
majority of people and both medicine and therapy costs sky-rocketed.
So,
we took the initiative and we went through a co-creation of a free
healthcare structure
inside
VIO.ME’s
factory;
one more intent to
connect the VIO.ME recuperated factory to the society and the society
to the factory. Workers’
Medical Center
is operating in VIO.MEs’
factory
from
January 2016, referring
to
workers and
unemployed,
with
or without social security registration or coverage, to
members
of workers unions’,
workers
run cooperatives and
social centers.
It
was
created through the connection and collaboration between two
self-managed ventures,
SE
VIO.ME
and the Solidarity Social Medical Center of Thessaloniki; a
social health care collective, that provides primary medical and
pharmaceutical treatment to all the city
residents,
excluded
from the social security system,
without any distinctions and discriminations. The
Workers Medical Center is a
community venture;
an autonomous, self-managed, self-funded and anti-hierarchical
healthcare structure with the imperative of
direct democracy. It operates
through a general
assembly
and a Health
Team;
and a step further;
the SE VIO.ME
workers
participate
equally, with the healthcare
profecionals and
share a common ground to discuss, exchange opinions and decisions
making for
another way of treatment
of health issues,
as a working community for health. The Workers
Medical
Center practices
Primary
Holistic
and
Integrative
Health
Care.
It
gives
emphasis to occupational issues. It’s
operation
is based on the perception of the human being as a
psycho-physical-social unity and the
“patient” (called
“incomer” at the Workers Medical
Center), as an
active participant in his/her health care provision. Through
a holistic medical history, attempts to connect all the aspects of
life, as well as the working conditions, family relations and social
contexts, diachronically and synchronically between them, as a whole.
Solidarity
to the immigrants and refugees was expressed by providing
parts of the factory to make it a
redistribution point.
A point where
food, medicine
and hygiene items,
clothing, etc can
be brought from solidarity networks,
managed and distributed to who
and where there
is a need. As we always point out, we took
over the factory to open it to the society, so society as a whole can
be benefited.
This
journey was not without obstacles. Many flocked to the factory and
pledged solidarity, even the acting Prime Minister (before he was
elected of course). As always, commitment is challenged only in times
of trouble. That is when many promises remained just words. When we
demanded solutions to assure that the factory will remain a
production site, as it does these last years, no re-assuring answer
was given. Governments tried to scare us through eviction threats,
then came the cutting off of power and water supply. The judicial
system had its turn on us, trying to transform us to a scapegoat for
the other workers of Philkeram Johnson that did not follow our path
of recuperating the factory. Spreading lies and slander about the
money the company owed to these fellow workers, they initiated a
liquidation of the company’s land and buildings property as a
whole. Piece by piece, most of the assets of the company were
liquidated and many of the factory machinery was sold till 2014. But
anytime they tried to auction the VIOME factory we managed to cancel
it. Anytime they threatened us, their threats failed. All because of
the solidarity movement which in every step was by our side, fighting
with us and re-assuring that VIOME will remain under workers control.
That is our story till now. A story in a country savagely
deteriorating. A population seeing governments promise change but act
in the same manner, excluding, exploiting and oppressing the working
class, the youth and the elder, the poor popular layers of society
and anyone in need of help.
We
deem not to be a Messiah in this grim situation, but only a part of
the struggle to overthrow these foul way of living. The bourgeoisie
is our enemy, the first and last to accuse for this crisis. We don't
believe in faults of governments, misunderstanding between political
parties or central state unions being corrupted by false leadership.
We find the flaw in the system itself, how workers are exploited for
profit, how governments act solely in the interests of their
capitalist bosses, and how some unions have denounced their life,
meaning and way of existence. Our workers union is from the workers
and for the workers. With direct democracy at any step, and with very
frequent assemblies that keep us alive and agile, against complacence
or turn to bureaucracy. That is our perspective how not only
workplace can be run, but how the whole society can operate. Open,
self-organized, with direct democracy and assemblies.
It
is an honor for us to participate in the 6th International Gathering
of "The Workers Economy" for many reasons. At a first
glance because the workers movement in Argentina is the one that
managed to overthrew five governments. It succeeded that by giving a
fierce battle in the streets, by the barricades and most importantly
in the recuperated and self-managed enterprises and cooperatives. A
struggle that counts twenty years and is still going strong.
Argentina therefore is for us not only a bright light in the history
of struggle but also a vast and valuable source of inspiration,
knowledge and solidarity for any recuperated and self-managed attempt
around the world. So to discuss and exchange this hard earned
knowledge, from the ups and downs of the workers defiant struggle is
more than a blessing to us, it becomes a useful compass for the days
to come.
But
sharing our knowledge around recuperated and self-organized factories
is not our only goal in this gathering. We need to build closer and
stronger bonds with more and more workers who decide to take over
their enterprises or factories, those workers with whom we share a
common struggle and path. From that point on it becomes apparent
that all of us must try to build a common ground and action on an
international level. A common ground and action on all the
international issues of the workers movements, of the social
movements. We must stand together for what together inflicts us. We
must fight together, for what we can win together, for each and every
one of us and our communities. One of these actions in our opinion is
the creation of an International Solidarity Fund. A no-profit fund to
support the needs of all the recuperated and self-organized workers’
run initiatives, funded from within (from the recuperated and
self-organized workers’ run initiatives themselves). Another
initiative worth considering is the International Solidarity
Logistics Network. In order to create a network of transport, storing
and distribution, that allows let's say SE VIOME to distribute from
it’s warehouse products from recuperated and self-organized
enterprises all over the globe and in accordance these enterprises
can distribute SE VIOME’s products. This initiatives could
contribute not only for the products to reach more and more people,
but also that more and more people learn our stories of struggle, the
ways of living, working and producing without employers and
capitalists. Living by our own means. Also, a cooperation like that
can strengthen our relationships in am more sharing rather than
exchanging way. Last but not least, these news, ideas and struggle
must reach everyone from anywhere around the globe. This incorporates
a need for announcements, opinion statements and any kind of
informative material translated to as many languages needed so that
their message travel further then our national border confine us.
Our
movement requires from us a broader view, a sharper look upon our
victories and failures. In that perspective we believe that our
movement must form specific strong and distinctive features. Let's
see what some of these features can be. At first we strongly believe
that our goal is profound: "Seize the means of production.
Operate them under the self-management of the workers themselves.
Produce, distribute and share products and services – not
commodities, for the needs of the community – not the needs of the
capitalist profit and the bourgeoisie. A step forward to a broad
self-management of society". These can only be achieved when the
crosshairs of our weapons aim for the capitalistic system as a whole.
So we fight an anti-capitalistic struggle. That's why we acknowledge
taking over factories and businesses not as a parallel procedure of
the capitalistic market but as a step to a more broad movement
against the capitalistic market. Because if we don't crush the so
called "market laws" now, sooner or later the same "laws"
will crush us. We are not alone in this struggle. We fight side to
side with the workers, the unemployed, and every exploited group in
our countries. Through the recuperated and self-organized enterprises
and cooperatives we claim to become a part of a bigger picture. A
picture of a strong social movement for the radical transformation of
our whole society. That's why we stand with the righteous demands of
the exploited, that's why we fight with them side by side, because we
are no different we are the same people, the same exploited people of
this world.
We
fight for the structures that our movement builds. Structures where
the only democracy that reigns, is a vast direct democracy. Which
understands space as a horizontal shape, with only bottom to top
decision making and no top-down hierarchy. But direct democracy is
not enough, we try in any struggle to achieve the most possible
independence and autonomy from structures that speak in the name of
the workers but do nothing more than enslave them more. You know
their names, the names of the union bureaucracy and the regime
parties.
In
conclusion we hope and will work hard that this gathering alongside
with the local and regional gatherings become a breath of fresh air
for every struggle for workers self-organizing in every country of
the world. We have come a far way , we have opened a path for our
communities, from here, from now let us make that steps that will
make the final victory not so far away. Because we have already won
something precious, that must not be taken for granted. We have
transformed our workplaces from the painful reminding of wage-slavery
to a gathering point of solidarity, defiant struggle and allegiance
to a better future. Let us all then transform the whole world, from o
place of exploitation nightmares, to a place of freedom. Venceremos
!
