It is a story of
a factory abandoned by the
employers, forgotten by the
state and the government and ignored by bureaucratic trade unionism. It is a
story of a factory where, same as in many other places, the workers became
unemployed in the context of this disaster that the rulers call economic
restructuring while we call it global capitalist crisis and collapse. It is a
story of ravage and destruction, like so many other stories around us.
But, above all,
it is a story of a part of the working class that refuses to give up. It is the
story of self-direction of the workers with direct democracy based on a
class-conscious primary union, where collective interest and the general
assembly are the organizing principles. It is the story of the take and
self-management of the VIO.ME factory, where the need for dignified work and
subsistence rises above everything else. It is the story of a community of
struggle where everyday problems seek collective solutions. It is a story of
creativity.
For this reason
the struggle of the workers of Vio.Me. has awakened the solidarity of thousands
of people, of the workers and the unemployed in every corner of the globe. For
this very reason, only in the last year, from Melbourne to Tokyo and from
Washington to Berlin, dozens of events have been organized in support of this
struggle. For this very reason unions, collectives, social spaces and
initiatives in every Greek town, small and large, demonstrate their solidarity
every day and in every possible way. This is also the reason why the rulers, the state and the
employers, are fearful of the workers of Vio.Me and oppose their struggle in
every way.
Today, four
months after the reopening of the factory of Vio.Me. by the workers themselves
under complete self-management and workers' control, the state and the
government are still trying to place obstacles and prevent the unrestrained
operation of the factory. Four months on, the government is trying to
financially strangle the fight, denying to this day to the workers, already
unpaid for two years, the extraordinary unemployment allowance that it has
conceded in many other cases. But the workers and their union are not going to
give in to economic blackmail.
We appeal to each
and every working person who perceives the attack of the owning class to our lives and our means of subsistence, to
each and every unemployed person who sees in self-management of the means of
production a way out of misery and poverty, to every trade union, collective
and social space of the movement, to stand beside the struggle of the workers
of Vio.Me.
On Wednesday, 26 June the workers of Vio.Me. are calling for an international day of solidarity. They distribute the products produced under workers control in a central event in Thessaloniki.
On Wednesday, 26 June the workers of Vio.Me. are calling for an international day of solidarity. They distribute the products produced under workers control in a central event in Thessaloniki.
And they urge the whole of society to stand by
them, organizing solidarity events in Greece and abroad.
We demand the unrestrained operation of the
Vio.Me. factory under self-management and full workers' control.
We demand the immediate legalization of its
operation.
Production in the hands of the producers and factories in the hands of the workers!
Workers self-management and grassroots direct
democracy!
From the occupied buildings of the Greek public broadcaster and the striking workers throughout Greece, to the heroic uprising of our brothers, the workers and the unemployed of Turkey, we are part of a movement that strives to take our lives in our own hands! Together we will win!
Central solidarity event in Thessaloniki:
WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE
From the occupied buildings of the Greek public broadcaster and the striking workers throughout Greece, to the heroic uprising of our brothers, the workers and the unemployed of Turkey, we are part of a movement that strives to take our lives in our own hands! Together we will win!
Central solidarity event in Thessaloniki:
WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE
In the liberated
social space “Scholio”
VAS.GEORGIOU
& BIZANIOU str.
from 9 in the morning, mass distribution of the ecological cleaning products produced in the self-managed factory, at night rebetiko folk music benefit concert.
