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Occupation of factories is a method of the
workers' movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...
used to prevent lock outs. They may sometimes lead to "recovered factories", in which the workers self-manage the
factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
. They have been used in many
strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the ...
s, including: *the 1919–20 '' Biennio Rosso'' (in particular the Turin factory occupation of 1920) *
1936 French general strike Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
(see
1936 Matignon agreements The Matignon Agreements (French: ''Accords de Matignon'') were signed on 7 June 1936, between the Confédération générale de la production française (CGPF) employers' organization, the CGT (France), CGT trade union and the French state. They w ...
) *in the
May 68 revolts Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which h ...
, supported by the
Council for Maintaining the Occupations The Council for Maintaining the Occupations (french: Conseil pour le Maintien des Occupations), or CMDO, was a revolutionary committee formed during the May 1968 events in France originating in the Sorbonne.René Viénet (1968) The "Council for Ma ...
*in the 1970s in Italy (35-day occupation of the
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
) *Upper Clyde Shipbuilders workers staged a work-in during 1971–72 with about 260 further occupations in Britain in the following decade *the
1971 Harco work-in The 1971 Harco work-in was an action undertaken by workers at a steel plant in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. The work-in was the culmination of a protracted industrial dispute between the owners of Harco Steel and the workers at the Ca ...
, Australia * 1973 Uruguayan general strike *
Lip factory LIP is a French watch and clock company whose turmoil became emblematic of the conflicts between workers and capital in France. The LIP factory, based in Besançon in eastern France, began to experience financial problems in the late 1960s and ear ...
in France in 1973 *the occupation of the ceramics factory formerly known as Zanon in Argentina starting in 2001, that under workers' control changed its name to
FaSinPat FaSinPat ( es, Fábrica Sin Patrones, lit=Factory Without Bosses), formerly known as Zanon, is a worker-controlled ceramic tile factory in the southern Argentine province of Neuquén, and one of the most prominent in the recovered factory move ...
*the occupation of the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago in 2008, and the re-occupation of the factory in 2012 *A 77-day occupation of the
Ssangyong The SsangYong Motor Company ( ko, 쌍용자동차 주식회사) is a South Korea–based automobile manufacturer. It traces its origins back to a manufacturer established in 1954. The name SsangYong appeared in 1988, after its acquisition by the ...
car factory in 2009 *Current occupation of Viomichaniki Metalleutiki in
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
, along the lines of factory occupations in Argentina.


Biennio Rosso

Radical unionism started after the first world war. The movement was a result of increasing internal commissions or "faculty councils". Around November 1918, the councils/commissions had morphed into a national problem. By February 1919, the federation of Italian metal workers had successfully received a contract permitting these commissions in their factories. In May 1919, these commissions began to transfer into councils that were managing the factories and were dominating the power structure of said workplaces. The contract also prevented democratic elections of these council members or "stewards". In April 1920, at Fiat, there was the beginning of sit-in strikes by the workers, which eventually grew to 500,000 workers striking at its peak.


The French General Strike

In France in January 1936, the PCF, a Stalinist communist organization spurred the creation of a coalition of radicals called the "popular front". This organization was designed to defend democracy and disassemble fascist bonds. In May 1936, the popular front won a majority election and assembled a cabinet of eighteen socialist, thirteen radicals and four independent socialist to govern. Communists supported the leaderrLeon Blum but refused to join the cabinet. This change in power was spurred by a massive general strike in the years preceding where thousands of factories had been occupied by French workers to ensure said democratic governance. Blum effectively ended the strike when this government came to power.


May 68 Revolution

During a period of civil unrest in France in the 1960s, student protests were joined by factory occupations and strikes by French workers. See
May 1968 events in France Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which ...
.


Fiat Occupation in Italy

In the 1960s, a historic movement of strikes and factory occupations had a significant effect on Italy. After constant failure by the government to follow through on promises for reform in Italy, a surge of uprising and strikes occurred between 1968 and 1970. Earlier strikes at northern factories in Turin were successful in gaining momentum in 1962. The Lancia factory walkout was successful in gaining some workers rights. The Michelin Factory strike around the same time had less success. A large strike in Turin however, amassing 93,000 of the Fiat workforce for a massive walkout and intimidation of those who did not participate. After further political negotiation and action through the years that followed, and unsatisfactory changes in policy coupled with increasingly educated and aware workers, the series of massive strikes broke out in 1968. The autumn of 1969 is considered the climax of these strikes and they continued through the early 1970s resulting in significantly improved conditions for Italian workers. In 1973, over 6 million workers were on strike.


Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-In

The Upper Clyde Shipbuilders was a consortium of Scottish shipbuilders that was birthed in 1968 by an adjoining of five shipbuilders. It was liquidated in 1971 resulting in an occupation/work-in campaign by shop stewards in shipyards. See
Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS) was a Scottish shipbuilding consortium, created in 1968 as a result of the amalgamation of five major shipbuilders of the River Clyde. It entered liquidation, with much controversy, in 1971. That led to a " work-in ...
.


Harco Work-In

The Harco work-in of 1971 was an occupation by steel plant workers in New South Wales, Australia. The 4-week long work-in was the result of a dispute between Harco owners and workers on company sacking and rehiring practices during low production periods to save money. See
1971 Harco work-in The 1971 Harco work-in was an action undertaken by workers at a steel plant in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. The work-in was the culmination of a protracted industrial dispute between the owners of Harco Steel and the workers at the Ca ...
.


Uruguayan General Strike

During 1973, a close of parliament and essential dictatorship by the president created unrest and the leftist union called for a general strike and occupation of factories. After two weeks most of the union leaders were in jail, exile, or dead. See 1973 Uruguayan general strike.


French LIP Factory

When the LIP factory in France decided to close a factory due to financial problems in the late 60s and early 70s, strikes and a very public factory occupation eventually transferred control and management of the factory to the workers. See LIP (company)


Zanon Factory Occupation

During the Argentine uprising of the early 2000s, there was a complete takeover of the Zanon tile factory in Argentina. The workers went on strike in the year 2000, the first of a series of strikes that was spurred by the death of a worker from a heart attack. They also were adamant about making their conflicts with the company very public. Workers traveled and occupied places other than factories as well. In January 2001, there was a 6-day strike over unpaid wages. In April 2001, there was a 34-day strike over outstanding wages. These strikes were followed by many other occupations and strikes that ultimately cause the factories to lose almost 50% of their production.


Republic Windows and Doors Occupation

When Republic Windows and Doors company was declared bankrupt in December 2008, an organized sit-own strike of 200 workers in the factory occurred to protest federal labor law violations by the company.


Ssangyong Car Factory Occupation

A long occupation of the Ssangyong car factory by 900 factory workers and several thousand others began on May 22, 2009 after a list of firings was released by the company that showed over 1000 workers to be laid off. This was the result of the company filing for bankruptcy in February 2009. Workers were essentially sieged by the company during their occupation and workers refused all company negotiations that did not include jobs.


See also

*
Sit-down strike A sit-down strike is a labour strike and a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at factories or other centralized locations, take unauthorized or illegal possession of the workplace by "sitting do ...
*
Bolivarian Circles The Bolivarian Circles ( es, Círculos bolivarianos) are political and social organizations of workers' councils in Venezuela, originally created by President Hugo Chávez on 21 December 2001.http://www.bauleros.org/TEMAS/PAISES/ARGENTINA/2001-1 ...
*
History of Solidarity Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, pronounced ), a Polish non-governmental trade union, was founded on August 14, 1980, at the Lenin Shipyards (now Gdańsk Shipyards) by Lech Wałęsa and others. In the early 1980s, it became the first indep ...


References

{{Organized labor Labour movement Labor relations History of social movements Labor disputes