/r/SyndiesUnited

Photograph via //r/SyndiesUnited

Subreddit for memes AND serious discussion of Syndicalist theory

Syndicalism is the reorganizing of society from ownership by the employing class to the working class mediated and organized by the trade unions. The state itself would be in most cases substituted or negated by these unions which would manage local economic society at the local scale and cooperate (by choice) at a larger scale to organize larger efforts, effectively meaning a synthesis of certain stateless bottom-up anarchist ideals. To remedy the issues of the trade unions becoming the new bosses much the way vanguardism has historically turned out the officials in the unions would be elected by the workers through direct democracy and have the risk of being able to be recalled at any time through the same process of direct democracy.

On the issue of reorganizing the workplace directly the way these unions would work is radically different than how most operate in the current neo-liberal system. The unions wouldn’t mediate and negotiate with the employing class but rather remove them entirely and establish what are in effect worker cooperatives organized by the union and where the workers themselves manage the workplace (ie electing managers, making important workplace decisions collectively, making hiring/firing a democratic process, etc).

On the issue of revolution, the main idea of syndicalism is the general strike. If all or even most of the laboring workers agree to strike, however long it may be necessary, to secure the transfer of the means of production to the workers minimal bloodshed would be required which is very different than that of vanguard ideas of civil war and purging all bourgeois elements. The general strike is known to be able to bring economies to their knees and cripple the employing/landlord class to the point where serious concessions are possible which is dissimilar to the way strikes work in our contemporary thought, which is to gain minor pro-worker concession and be more of a means of class collaboration rather than class conflict.

A final note, these unions would be bottom-up and some recommend anarchist collectivism principles in how to manage from the bottom up, read more about the CNT-FAI during the Spanish civil war or about Makhnovia which were two regions very influenced by certain syndicalist ideals of ownership by the proletariat rather than the Marxist dictatorship of the proletariat.

Here are the rules:

  1. People of all political beliefs who are interested in Syndicalism are welcome, but you must uphold a "good-faith" attitude (This video does a pretty good explanation of good and bad faith) "Bad-Faith" and trolling will result in a ban.

  2. A lot of you may come from /r/Kaiserreich and that's great! However, you should keep in mind rule 1, and do keep in mind that this subreddit is not associated with the game. Trolling in reference to the game will result in a ban.

/r/SyndiesUnited

8,485 Subscribers

9

Syndicalist club for my university

My university is very politically active and has many political clubs. I have been thinking for a while to start a syndicalist club. Any ideas on how I could get it off the ground?

3 Comments
2024/03/21
01:48 UTC

8

What separates Syndicalism from anarcho-syndicalism?

Just the title

5 Comments
2024/03/19
17:56 UTC

10

During our recent interview with Grace Blakeley, she broke down the instances where capitalists shut down any hint of worker's empowerment before it was too late for them.

0 Comments
2024/03/09
17:12 UTC

8

Are there classic sydicalists here or just anarcho-syndicalists?

2 Comments
2024/02/28
09:32 UTC

5

Lainey Newman, research assistant at Harvard Law School, discusses her recent book Rust Belt Union Blues: Why Working-Class Voters Are Turning Away from the Democratic Party, and the influence of unions as third places and their integral part as community infrastructure.

1 Comment
2024/02/22
19:24 UTC

3

Vote for LaFollette to help bring about syndicalism and industrial democracy to America!

0 Comments
2024/01/19
00:36 UTC

3

What are your general opinions on Treintism?

For those who are unaware of what it is, "Treintism" was a movement within the CNT. The name comes from the spanish word for "thirty" and it's a reference to the so called "manifesto of the thirty", which was written as a protest against the growing influence of the FAI. This eventually lead to their expulsion from the CNT and the formation of the Syndicalist party.

2 Comments
2024/01/11
12:02 UTC

1

What is the best way to achieve socialism in your opinion?

1 Comment
2024/01/09
07:33 UTC

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