Workers Solidarity Movement

MFebruary saw many of the newer members meet up at a day long session for discussions about anarchist ideas, why we talk about class, how we fight women’s oppression, anarchist organisation, anarchist history, the Spanish Revolution, Russia: revolution and counter revolution and practical organising in our unions & communities.

On this page we have archived educationals and talks given to WSM meetings dealing with the anarchist movement in general. Specific topics include arguments for political organising, analyses of contemporary prospects for revolution, travellers' accounts of anarchism in Africa and South America and others. Some of the pieces are useful only for historical purposes, but most are still relevant today. We hope you find it useful.

Belfast WSM, along with members of Organise!, trade union activists and other left groups as well as workers from Delaney's itself, took part in successful pickets outside Delaney's restaurant on Thursday and Saturday.

November saw WSM members gather for their national conference. These take place twice a year and all members can attend, submit motions and vote. The National Secretary reported that membership had increased by 25%. Although we are still a small organisation this was encouraging, as was the increased circulation of Workers Solidarity. A report is available at www. wsm.ie/story/3156.The closing weeks of 2007 saw WSM members who have been working with the Wheelock family’s campaign for an inquiry into the death of Terrence after his arrest by gardai from Dublin’s Store Street station help organise a public meeting, which saw 200 people fill the ballroom of the Royal Dublin Hotel.

November saw WSM public meetings about anarchism in Cork and Dublin, with 40 people at one and about 60 at the other. With the crisis and a growing employers’ offensive on wages there is a greater openness to radical ideas, and we will be holding more meetings around the country over the next couple of months.

The Workers Solidarity Movement held its Autumn 2007 National Conference in Dublin on the 3rd/4th November. National conferences take place every six months and are the prime decision making body on positions and priorities for the organisation. All WSM members can attend, vote and submit motions and amendments either as individuals or as groups.

This is the 100th issue of Workers Solidarity. Why do we bother? After all, nobody gets paid for writing, or doing layout, or stuffing envelopes, or putting copies through neighbours’ letterboxes, or giving them out at union meetings or in city centres. 

Well, we are sick and tired of a system that won’t provide us with decent health care, or economic security, or affordable housing. We are sick and tired of a system that pays farmers in one country not to grow food while people in another country starve to death, a system that spends billions on weapons of mass destruction but won’t cough up to keep people alive.

The Workers Solidarity Movement is urging anarchists and other supporters of Shell To Sea to get to Rossport for the day-of-action on November 9th. WSM members will join people from around the country in showing, one year since Gardai batoned protesters, that we will not be intimidated.

The Workers Solidarity Movement held its Spring 2007 National Conference in the Teachers' Club at the end of April. Our conference saw around 70% of the membership attending with many new faces since our last conference 6 months ago.

Full list of amended papers from this conference is below

Short Term Perspectives - http://www.wsm.ie/story/454
Constitution - http://www.wsm.ie/story/32
Trade Unions (short term) - http://www.wsm.ie/story/423
International - http://www.wsm.ie/story/848
Partition Of Ireland - http://www.wsm.ie/story/804
Publications - http://www.wsm.ie/story/456

As well as taking part in local and national demonstrations in support of the Rossport residents, about 20 WSM members participated in the mass trespass of Shell's Mayo construction site on February 16th. This marks a step forward for the Shell To Sea campaign because it recognises that lobbying politicians is not enough, when you are continually lied to or brushed off you have to take action yourself.