Notes from the class struggle: Small group workplace organizing in present-day Germany and the Netherlands

Groundless firings, withheld wages, bad working conditions-these and other abuses are certainly nothing new. The large mainstream unions are often unwilling to fight and are losing members and influence as a result. For those employed in precarious positions, whether as immigrant or flexibilized labor, the state often offers little or no protection. How can we defend ourselves against the power of the bosses? This pamphlet aims to show what small groups and unions can achieve in workplace disputes. These examples and analyses of successful small-scale actions should prove instructive to workers in a variety of fields from a variety of backgrounds, whether they are in the transport or manufacturing sector, students or illegal immigrants, or are employed in another branch of industry. The articles collected here show that through creativity, organization and fighting spirit small groups of workers and activists are more than able to hold their own against the bosses. With exampels from Amsterdam, Berlin, Bremen, Hannover u.a.