Syndicalism Lives

Syndicates and syndicalism

Syndicalism was a movement, originated by labor, to organize workers so they could defend themselves against workplace oppression and exploitation. The term derived from the word syndicate.

Syndicate, noun: ˈsindikət'

1. a group of individuals or organizations combined to promote some common interest.

"large-scale buyouts involving a syndicate of financial institutions"

verb: ˈsindəˌkāt

1. control or manage by a syndicate.

"the loans are syndicated to a group of banks"

Syndicalism and the Labor Movement

The labor movement used the concept of syndication to organize themselves into general labor groups that worked together rather than against each other. They used various tools to win concessions from business & employers. These tools include The General Strike. Unfortunately, principles that work objectively for one, work for all. Fascists, Organized Crime, and Business all hijacked the concept of Syndicate.

Syndicalism

In the 1930s the Fascists took an idea, syndicalism, that had been a tool intended for the labor movement, even Marxism, and turned it into a tool of repression. After the 30s the tool passed out of the vocabulary of both the left and the right. Why? Because the left saw it as no longer a tool that helped them. The right didn't like the name "Syndicalism" because, even though it had become their tool, it still echoed memories of the labor movement. The term "syndicate" lived on as a description for organized crime. Organized crime had also found syndicalism as a powerful tool. Business and organized crime continued to practice it's principles. But they no longer used the term. A few fanatic "anarcho syndicalists" use the term. You can hear them state what their version of the principles of syndicalism are, but their arguments make no sense (see example here: http://www.politicalsciencenotes.com/articles/top-10-principles-of-syndicalism-explained/394) for an example.

Taft Hartley

In the United States the tool of the General Strike was outlawed in the United States in 1947.

The Taft–Hartley Act prohibited

jurisdictional strikes,

wildcat strikes,

solidarity or political strikes,

secondary boycotts, and mass picketing,

closed shops,

and monetary donations by unions to federal political campaigns.

Taft Hartley didn't kill Unions right away. It simply defenestred them so that they'd whither away over the next years. Meanwhile Businesses organized, and used syndication to gain the power they'd gotten congress to take from power, for themselves.

Syndication for Dictatorship

The core notion of syndicalism; is that people are stronger together. The lesson of syndicalism, is that when people divide, those with the most resources and best organization, prevail. The corporate world used those principles to get control over academia, create think tanks, and mostly to organize themselves. Organizations like the Conservative National Policy group, ALEC, and etc..., exert massive power over our country. Business leaders thought long term. They created the Federalist Society years ago in order to prepare a generation of lawyers to take over our legal system and change our laws. Citizens United removed limits on what businessmen could donate (bribe) but did nothing to rescind Taft Hartley. Hence the imbalance of forces.

Before Taft Hartley made these things illegal, they'd been illegal before and labor had simply ignored them. The General Strike is still powerful. People working together works. Syndicalist principles live on.