Workplace takeovers
Workers Control From the Commune to the Present
Ours To Master and To Own
From the dawning of the industrial epoch, wage earners have organized themselves into unions, fought bitter strikes, and gone so far as to challenge the very premises of the sytem by creating institutions of democratic self-management aimed at controlling production without bosses. With specific examples drawn from every corner of the globe and every period of modern history, this pathbreaking volume comprehensively traces this often underappreciated historical tradition.
Recent years have seen a proliferation of recuperated workplaces around the globe, laying the foundations for a truly democratic workers’ economy.
Workers’ Control in the Crisis of Capitalism
![](http://www.azzellini.net/sites/azzellini.net/files/imagecache/Story-Image-Switcher/285814_103663776452875_336183090_o.jpg)
In February 2016, a dozen former workers of a small woodworks plant in the small Greek town of Patrida, some 60 kilometers from Thessaloniki, had had enough. Since 2008 they had been tricked by the owners. With a promise to pay back everything soon, the bosses did not pay the workers their full salary anymore, reduced working hours and announced bankruptcy without making it official. But the situation never improved and the workers never saw their money. Finally, in December 2015, the plant closed.
Ocupar, resistir, producir - Vio.Me.
Vio.Me. en Tesalónica fabricaba pegamento industrial, aislamientos y otros materiales de construcción químicos. En 2010 los trabajadores y trabajadoras fueron enviados cada 4 ó 6 semanas de vacaciones sin cobrar sueldo. Cuando en julio de 2011 el propietario dejó de pagar los salarios totalmente, los trabajadores decidieron ocupar la planta y hacerse cargo de su propio futuro. En febrero de 2013 Vio.Me.
Occupy, Resist, Produce – Vio.Me.
Vio.Me. in Thessaloniki used to produce industrial glue, insulant and various other chemically derived building materials. In 2010 the workers agreed to be sent on unpaid leave every 4-6 weeks. Then the owners started reducing the workers’ wages, assuring them that it was only a temporary measure and they would soon be paid what they were owed. The owners’ main argument was that profits had fallen by 15 to 20 per cent. When the owners broke their promise to pay the back wages, the workers went on strike demanding to be paid.