The Free Workers' Union (
German: ''Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union'' or ''Freie ArbeiterInnen-Union''; abbreviated FAU) is an
anarcho-syndicalist
Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...
union in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
History
The FAU sees itself in the tradition of the
Free Workers' Union of Germany
The Free Workers' Union of Germany (; FAUD) was an anarcho-syndicalist trade union in Germany. It stemmed from the Free Association of German Trade Unions (FDVG) which combined with the Ruhr region's Freie Arbeiter Union on September 15, 1919.
...
(German: ''Freie Arbeiter Union Deutschlands''; FAUD), the largest anarcho-syndicalist union in Germany until it disbanded as a formal organization in 1933 to avoid repression by the
National Socialist regime which had come into power that year. The FAU was founded in 1977, and grew consistently through the 1990s. Now, the FAU consists of just under 40 groups, organized locally and by branch of trade. It rejects hierarchical organizations and political representation and believes in the concept of
federalism
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...
; most decisions are made by the local unions. The purpose of the federalist organization is to coordinate strikes, campaigns and actions, and for communication. It has 800 to 1000 members, organized in the various local unions.
The FAU publishes the bimonthly anarcho-syndicalist newspaper ''
Direkte Aktion'' and pamphlets on current and historical topics.
Because it supports the classical concept of the abolition of the
wage system, the FAU was monitored until 2011 by the ''
Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution ( or BfV, often ''Bundesverfassungsschutz'') is Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency. Together with the Landesämter für Verfassungsschutz (LfV) at the state level, the fed ...
'' (''Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution'').
The FAU was disaffiliated by the
International Workers' Association in 2016, and became one of the founding members of the
International Confederation of Labour (ICL) in 2018.
Labor disputes
Delivery industry and gig economy
The FAU is now also used as a form of representation and organisation by workers in the
gig economy
The gig economy is the economic system by which a workforce of people (known as gig workers) engage in freelance and/or side-employment.
Description
The gig economy is composed of corporate entities, workers and consumers. The Internal Reve ...
, such as workers in online food delivery services. At the end of 2016, the FAU, together with a number of other unions, launched an international network of delivery workers. In Berlin, the FAU founded a special section called "Deliverunion" in mid-2017, in which drivers of the companies
Deliveroo and
Foodora, among others, organised themselves. Drivers of various services also subsequently organised themselves in other cities such as Leipzig, Dresden and Hamburg. In June 2017, FAU demonstrators unloaded scrap bicycles in front of Deliveroo's Berlin headquarters in this context to protest against the working conditions of the company's bike messengers. In Leipzig, FAU 2020 was in a prolonged dispute with the company Durstexpress. In 2021, the FAU Berlin supported a widely publicised
wildcat strike
A wildcat strike is a strike action undertaken by unionised workers without union leadership's authorization, support, or approval; this is sometimes termed an unofficial industrial action. The legality of wildcat strikes varies between countries ...
by workers at the delivery service
Gorillas with solidarity actions, FAU unions in Leipzig and Magdeburg were involved in various conflicts with
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc., commonly referred to as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware-domiciled and headquartered ...
. In 2022, the FAU Dresden announced that it was currently supporting members of the delivery service
Flink in conflicts. The FAU repeatedly emphasises that migrants in particular are specifically recruited for companies in the sector and that dependencies, poor knowledge of the legal situation and language barriers are used there for the systematic violation of labour rights.
Further industrial action in migrant sectors
In 2014, members of the "Foreigner Section" of the FAU Berlin started an industrial action under the slogan "Mall of Shame" against contractors and subcontractors who were in charge of the
Mall of Berlin construction project. Specifically, this involved a large group of Romanian construction workers who were allegedly not paid their wages for several months. Part of the struggle involved continuous rallies and demonstrations.
During the
Corona crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, in May 2020, Romanian migrant workers organised themselves into the FAU Bonn, working for the Spargel Ritter company in
Bornheim. The migrant workers went on strike after they were refused payment of their contractually guaranteed wages. They also protested against the housing conditions and the poor food supply on the asparagus farm. The strike succeeded in getting a larger part of the wages paid. The case was received in the regional and national media as an example of the
exploitation of Eastern European workers in Germany.
Gastronomy
In the catering industry, FAU trade unions frequently engage in smaller individual disputes, often over labour law violations. According to their own statements, the unions try to help their members to get justice quickly and in this way shorten long-term court proceedings. For example, a major industrial dispute took place in 2014 in the pub "Trotzdem" in Dresden, where the staff went on strike for a total of four weeks, accompanied by rallies and demonstrations. The unions have also been involved in the strike in the restaurant sector.
Ideology
In labour disputes, the FAU prefers to use
direct action
Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...
, by which it means using the most direct pressure possible, for example through public action or disruption of workplace procedures, to win disputes in the interests of workers.
The trade union federation rejects
parliamentarism and
representation of the people as fields of activity. According to its own representations, real political goals are not to be achieved via parliament, but directly through the involvement of the trade union members concerned. It has a tactical attitude towards
works council
A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...
elections.
[Die FAU und Betriebsratswahlen: Pro-Contra-Diskussion in der '' Direkten Aktion'' in den Ausgabe]
Januar/Februar
un
März/April 2008
(accessed 26 January 2011). The principle of
social partnership and exempt or paid functionaries are rejected.
Depending on the local union, anarcho-syndicalism is also accompanied by the theories and practice of
autonomies and
operaism. With its activity, the FAU wants to prepare, besides a concrete improvement of living and working conditions, the ''social revolution'' with which the classless and dominationless society is to be achieved by means of a
general strike
A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
.
The FAU was listed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Lower Saxony in the section on
left-wing extremism in the 2013 report on the protection of the constitution. It was also mentioned in this section in the
Bundesverfassungsschutzbericht 2019, after this had not been the case in previous years. When asked about the reason for observation by the
MDR magazine "Exactly" in 2021 to several constitutional protection agencies, only the Saxony-Anhalt constitutional protection agency commented, giving the following reason: "At its core
.. the FAU strives for a society without domination and property."
Strike Bikes
After
Lone Star Funds
Lone Star Funds, legal name of main entity Lone Star Global Acquisitions, Ltd. is a global private equity firm that invests in corporate equity, real estate, credit, and other financial assets. The founder of Lone Star established its first fu ...
announced it would close a bicycle factory in
Nordhausen,
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
, it had acquired, its workers decided to occupy the factory in July 2007. From 22 to 26 October the workers continued bicycle production. With the help of the FAU, over 1,800 of these red bicycles were sold under the label "Strike Bike". The occupation of the factory ended after the company's liquidator forced the workers out.
Free Workers' Union Berlin
On 11 December 2009 the Berlin District Court issued an injunction on the Free Workers' Union Berlin (FAU-B) banning it from calling itself a union or grassroots union.The court decision was confirmed on 5 January 2010. The FAU views this as "the culmination of a series of attempts by the Neue Babylon Berlin GmbH to legally hogtie the strongest and most active form of workers' representation in the company. This attack on the basic right of freedom of association is a de facto ban of the union in Berlin". On 10 June 2010 the
Kammergericht overturned the injunction.
Free Workers' Union in Switzerland
In Switzerland, the FAU is represented by independent local syndicates in Bern, Lucerne, Solothurn and, since 2023, St.Gallen. Since 2010, the "Schwarzi Chatz" (Swiss-German, German: Schwarze Katze, English: Black Cat) has been published, which also serves as a mouthpiece for the FAU syndicates organized in Switzerland. Since 2022, there has been a separate youth organization, the "Freie Arbeiter*innen Jugend" (FAJ for short).
Notes and references
Further reading
Prinzipienerklärung(PDF) The declaration of principles of the FAU
Statuten(PDF) Union federation statutes of the FAU
External links
Official websiteFAU local federationsFAU union sectionsFAU related mail order and publishing houseFAU related pocket agenda
Official website of the newspaper Direkte Aktion
{{Authority control
National trade union centers of Germany
International Confederation of Labour
Anarcho-syndicalism
Trade unions in Germany
1977 establishments in Germany
Anarchist organisations in Germany
Syndicalist trade unions
Trade unions established in 1977