Читать книгу Anarchism and Workers' Self-Management in Revolutionary Spain - Frank Mintz - Страница 6

Catalonia was where anarcho-syndicalism organised best at grassroots levels, although there was a separation with the upper echelons of the CNT—a phenomenon that set the ­pattern for other regions.

The army was defeated mostly by the CNT-FAI and Civil Guard and Assault Guards, as well as by a number of Catalanist and POUM militants. Catalonia’s Generalitat government, headed by Companys, had shown itself incapable of fight, even though it had been behind an outbreak of insurrection back in October 1934. “The proletariat armed itself; we did not have enough arms to issue to the proletariat”.53

The Catalan CNT’s regional committee found itself with almost complete mastery of the situation by 20 July 1936. A regional plenum of local and comarcal committees was hurriedly convened for that afternoon! In the wake of the attempted revolutions in 1932, January and December 1933 and in Asturias in 1934, and the publicity given to libertarian communism and the resolution passed on the subject by the Zaragoza Congress a month and a half previously, the policy to be followed was obvious, but the decision making conformed to Horacio M. Prieto’s understanding of libertarian communism [see Appendix V].

Marianet (aka Mariano Vázquez, secretary of the regional committee of Catalonia) later wrote: “[The CNT-FAI] did not let itself be over-awed by the climate, nor was it intoxicated by the swift, emphatic, resounding victory it had achieved. And amid this utter mastery of the situation, the membership looked at the wider picture and exclaimed: The towns in fascist hands must be liberated! Libertarian communism is non-existent. We must first thrash the enemy wherever he may be”.54

At a gathering of some 2,000 militants on 21 or 22 July 1936, after Vázquez and García Oliver had announced that libertarian communism was being set aside, José Peirats made a highly critical riposte, which was cut short by Juanel who gave him a tongue-lashing.55 Faced with such closed minds, Peirats walked out, as did the comrades from Hospitalet de Llobregat, except for Xena. Federica Montseny threatened to have them ‘seen to’.56

Although the leadership sang the praises of alliance with the republican bourgeoisie and put their anarchist aspirations on hold, the rank and file, espousing Horacio M. Prieto’s rationale and following the Isaac Puente line, was not interested in such considerations. Which explains the emergence of self-management in spite of everything, and despite all the leaders.

The 21 July 1936 edition of Solidaridad Obrera, on its front page, carried the following statement from the regional committee:

In these grave times, it behooves each and every one of us to abide by the general watchwords emanating from this committee. We have a common foe [illegible] in fascism. We are taking it on. Our struggle is with it, and it is it that we must crush. Nothing more, nothing less. At the same time, cognizant of our responsibilities, we have determined that all essential supply services should remain in operation, as should communications, lest the people run short of basic foodstuffs, and lest priceless liaison be interrupted.

—Regional Committee, Barcelona, 20 July 1936

Note: This very morning we broadcast instructions over the radio for the bakers, milkmen, market employees, etc., to return to work so that vital necessities should not run short […]

This statement, then, asserted that they had reverted to an almost normal economy, something that sat uneasily alongside the repeated exhortations to libertarian communism associated with previous essays on revolution.

Two different watchwords very soon surfaced: Back to work57 and Against looting.58

At the same time, two campaigns were launched: 1) Alliances entered into with other sectors against the military, despite the notable earlier resentments that still simmered;59 and 2) Protection for foreign-owned assets, given the danger of intervention if this was not done.60

Meanwhile, with the military barely routed in Barcelona, the CNT-FAI decided to raise militias for the liberation of Zaragoza. Since the unions had taken over the lynchpins of the economy—metalworking, transport, energy services, communications, trade and provisions—from 24 July on it proved possible to outfit some 2,500 men and women.

Metalworking: On page two of its 22 July 1936 edition, Solidaridad Obrera announced that the CNT metalworking union was inviting “iron boilermakers and welders” to adapt production centres for “the armor-plating of trucks and other necessary tasks”.

On 12 August, a journalist writing in the Boletín de Infor­mación CNT-FAI wrote: “In metalworking firms, as a result of the events in July, two new forms of administration have surfaced. One, involving worker management without restrictions of any sort, by means of take-over. The other represents a greatly attenuated bourgeois mode of administration through monitoring activity carried out by workers’ factory committees”.

By way of an example of straightforward take-over, let us look at the Torrens Company, which employed 500 workers and which armor-plated six trucks during the fortnight after 20 July 1936. And if we are looking for examples of worker monitoring, it affected several factories, inclining us to the view that this was the most widespread arrangement.

Barret S.A., with a workforce of 2,000, was not taken over because: “The Belgian consulate brought it to our attention that 80 percent of its capital came from the country it represents”.61 The inference is that it was not turned over to armor plating. At the Girona Company—with its 1,500 workforce—4 armored trucks were produced between late July and 6 August; at the Vulcano Company, with its 520 workers and joint CNT-UGT committee, trucks were being armor-plated and it was “working around the clock”.

It should be said that, for blatantly ingratiating purposes, the Generalitat had passed laws decreeing the forty-hour working week and a 15 percent wage increase.62 The CNT spoke out against the cut in work hours in a time of war, and against wage increases at a time of economic straits.

As might have been expected, torn between the two schools of thought, quite a few workers and collectives took the course of least resistance, boosted by the all too reasonable impression that the war would be over in weeks, since two days had been enough to see off the right-wing coup across one half the country.

So, in the factories listed above, the Generalitat’s measures were, as a rule, implemented.

At the Vulcano plant, as well as at Maquinaria Terrestre y Marítima, the UGT also sat on the committee. The CNT made the running, but the UGT lent a hand after a while.63

Transportation: Catalonia had three railway companies: the Madrid-Zaragoza-Alicante (MZA) line, the Northern line and Catalan Railways.

The MZA line: In 1936 the company was operating at a loss, primarily due to the high salaries paid to directors. The line was taken over by the UGT and CNT. When Spain was divided by the war, there was a 70 percent decline in traffic. The same source mentions a levelling-out of wages and reduction in fares.64

Catalan Railways: Operated at a profit, and high salaries were paid to the managers.

Northern Rail: An under-manager earned a minimum of 41,000 pesetas a year, and a porter 5.5 pesetas a day (about 1,650 per annum). According to a number of sources, an industrial worker was earning 10 to 12 pesetas a day (3,000 to 3,200 per annum).

Given this situation, it made sense to amalgamate all three lines, especially in wartime. This was achieved within a few days; the timetables were overhauled, rolling stock centralised and wages amended according to the principle of fairness, etc.

The article, “The future structures of the railways”,65 refers to electrification of Spanish railways, something that became a reality many decades later.

Transportation services in Barcelona presented a similar picture: they were centralized,66 wages were standardised,67 hours were cut so as to provide work for the unemployed,68 pensions were paid to retired employees,69 a range of initiatives overhauled and reconciled time-tables, shift arrangements, spare parts, and a number of other practices that had been in place for years. And the workers made all of these improvements within days because they knew their trade, and could identify what problems needed resolution.

Energy sources: Initially, gasoline was distributed free of charge, and it was only after mid-August that it was priced, and rationing introduced.70 It seems extravagant that unification of the railways should have been pursued while gasoline was free. One plausible explanation is that this might have been the result of different capabilities among trade unionists.

The water, gas and electricity companies were taken over by their trade unions towards the end of July.71

Communications: The Telefónica, a subsidiary of the US Bell company, was controlled by the CNT-UGT, which was to ­become a political issue in May 1937.

Commerce: Large stores, like El Siglo and El Águila, were impounded.72 Barbershops and hairdressers were collectivised in mid-August.73

Provisions: The Damm brewery with its 610 employees, overhauled its payroll by cutting high wages and doling out a 70-pesetas pension instead of the previous 35-pesetas one.74

A workers’ committee proceeded to re-open a pasta factory, which had closed down after it had gone bust.75

The nerve centre of Barcelona’s food supply, as well as its greatest achievement, was the Borne market in the city centre.

Public Entertainment: Almost right after the failure of the attempted coup, there was a gathering together of musicians, actors, stage hands, etc., who decided to join the CNT. They launched an Entertainments Union and solved the problems of unemployment (500—of 1,500—musicians were unemployed), favouritism and wages. The Argentinean anarchist writer Rodolfo González Pacheco staged a number of plays, and numerous documentary films on the war and self-­management were shot.76

After this short flurry of activity, there was a tremendous slowing down due to the contrary activity of the CNT-FAI leadership and the failure to take over the banks. The question of whether or not self-management was a spontaneous phenomenon has been left open. Chronology offers us one way to determine the answer since, if self-management began at around the same time in many firms, we may infer that the order came from above and the application was at the grassroots level; whereas, if things were less coordinated, the inference is that in each factory or workshop there was debate, delay and hesitancy until a final decision was reached.

This chronology falls into two distinct phases. The first, a period when there was no lawful authority, lasting until 8 August 1936, which saw the Generalitat government taking control of firms, and thus underpinning the activities of the rank and file committees.

Company Take-overs:

19 July Trams, Furnishings77

20 July Torras Company, Girona Company, Ribera Metals & Silver, Hispano-Suiza, Maquinaria Terreste y Maritima, Vulcano Company,78 Northern Rail, the El Siglo store

21 July MZA

22 July Metro

23 July Public Entertainments

24 July Catalan Railways79

25 July The Transatlántica Company,80 Water Services81

27 July Xalmet Company82

28–31 July Light & Power,83 Sanitation84

1 August García García Industrial Foundries85

2 August Pompeia Bookstore86

3 August Gabernet Advertising87

5 August Spanish General Bookstore Co.88 Escampa-Unión Publishers89

7 August Publicitas,90 Field Steel Erectors91

This makes a total of twenty-six firms: nine involved in metalworking, six in transport and eleven in the service sector, covering a wide range of activities and spread over a lengthy period of time. At the García García Company, the owner offered his firm to the workforce.

As for the second, later period, one might have expected that there would have been a surge in take-overs. Instead, the take-overs continued but usually at a slower rate.

Metalworking and Automobile industry:92 Between 11 August and 31 August, eleven firms were taken over through the imposition of an audit committee: six by the CNT and one by the UGT, plus three joint CNT-UGT take-overs and one of indeterminate complexion. In September, there were twenty-three cases of take-over: eight by the CNT, eight joint CNT-UGT operations, and seven of indeterminate complexion. Among this total of thirty-four cases, we find fourteen CNT committees, one UGT committee, eleven CNT-UGT committees and eight of indeterminate persuasion. In nine instances, the cited motive was the absence of the employer (six CNT committees and three UGT committees). In eight instances, the employer voluntarily ‘gifted’ his firm to his workforce (two CNT committees and six committees of no particular political persuasion).

In several instances, firms shared the same street but did not follow the same pattern. Thus there were Nos. 6, 172 and 295 in the Calle Pedro IV; there was a CNT take-over on 27 July; on 1 September there was a joint CNT-UGT take-over; and on 15 September there was a take-over of indeterminate hue. Something of the sort happened with Nos. 419, 533, 574 and 674 in the Calle de Corts. On 28 August we find a CNT take-over, a UGT take-over in late August, a CNT-UGT take-over on 10 September and another joint take-over on 28 September.

The Clothing Industry: Undated records, fifteen take overs; we have three of CNT provenance, eleven on behalf of the CNT-UGT and one on behalf of the CNT-UGT plus another organisation. In August there were eleven cases, starting on 12 August: five from the CNT, three from the CNT-UGT, one from the CNT plus another body and two of undetermined provenance. In September there were nineteen instances: two emanating from the CNT, and seventeen from the CNT-UGT. Thus, out of forty-five take-overs, there were thirty-one joint CNT-UGT committees and ten CNT committees.

In three instances the employers gifted their firms or entered into a partnership. As with the other industries, we find different arrangements on the same street: on the Ronda de San Pedro there were five CNT-UGT cases in August—on 20 September and on 8 and 13 October. On the Calle Trafalgar, Nos. 6, 15, 36 and 80 were involved: there was one CNT committee, three CNT-UGT committees involved in take-overs on 31 August and 7, 9 and 14 September.

Printing Trades and Paper-mills: In August, starting on the 13th, there were twenty-nine instances: twenty-one CNT, seven CNT-UGT and one CNT-UGT-POUM. In September, there were thirty-nine take-overs, most of them during the first fortnight, and thirty-two were UGT and seven CNT-UGT. So, out of sixty-eight instances, the UGT was in the ascendancy on fifty-three committees, as against fourteen CNT-UGT committees and one for the CNT and POUM.

The UGT’s ascendancy had no impact on the features set out earlier. As far as the employers went, there was one who was made ‘technical director’. There were also variations between firms in single locations. On the Ronda Universidad, there were two cases of take-over on 21 August, one on 26 August, one on 1 September—all four emanating from the UGT—and, on 22 September a joint CNT-UGT take-over.

Whilst there was a glaring absence of directives, the reference to employers ‘voluntarily gifting’ their firms remains suspect. Fear and opportunism must have played a large part. However, special mention must be made of the stance adopted by the Federació de patrons perruquers i barbers de Barcelona i Pobles limítrofes (Barcelona and Outskirts Wig-makers’ and Barber Employers’ Federation), which made contact with the CNT’s barbershop employees’ union on 9 August to discuss collectivization. On 11 August there was an extra-ordinary meeting of that employers’ Federation:

Following a short debate and clarification of a number of related points, a vote was taken and the contents of said document were unanimously and unreservedly endorsed by acclamation on every count. At the same time it was resolved that once collectivisation came into force the aforesaid employers’ associations would automatically be disbanded, their members becoming, ipso facto, members of the Barcelona and Outskirts Barbers’ Sindicato Único, enjoying all of the rights and obligation pertaining thereto.

On 14 September, collectivisation of that industry was formally enacted into law, with the employers’ assets and those of their Accident Fund transferring to the collective.

From the preceding list of events, we may deduce that, alongside the UGT,93 the CNT seized the nerve centers of the Barcelona economy, as borne out by the decisions taken by the Regional Committee. So what was the political impact?

Let us take a look at statements emanating from the UGT, the CNT94 and from the Generalitat. Companys was asked by the News Chronicle:

Just supposing that the Catalan people were to champion anarcho-syndicalism. Would the Government of Catalonia go along with that?

That is not how I see things. The democratic bourgeoisie, free of any interest in finance capitalism, has no right to override the will of the people. Should that happen, the bourgeoisie would be obliged to go along with it.95

As for the CNT, on Sunday 9 August 1936, there was a huge anarchist rally held in Barcelona, involving Vázquez, Montseny and García Oliver, at which the official line of the anarchist ‘notables’ was made public.

Given the abandonment of many of the industries vital for the economic reconstruction of the revolution we are compelled to go further than we had intended. Let us take on the responsibility, discarded without any thought of extracting the least advantage from it.96

To put this another way: Gentlemen of the bourgeoisie, if there is libertarian communism, it is the doing of the rank and file, but we, the leadership of the CNT, are doing our damnedest to apply the brakes to it.

On the international scene, we face the threat of foreign intervention […] Let us offer them no excuse, however […] When the consuls came calling upon us, we swiftly marked out foreign-owned firms so as to preclude anyone’s tampering with them. And when such has been the desire, we have even posted our own sentries to ­ensure respect for such foreign interests.97

In other words, we are the multinationals’ trustworthy brakes and firewall against the working class.

I call upon the entire proletariat to remain at its post in production and to shirk no sacrifice. We have to bear it especially in mind that our brethren on the front place no limits upon their sacrifices.98

This is not the time to go around calling for the forty-hour week or 15 percent pay rises.99

That is, discipline and obedience, enforced by a faker who, in the same breath, can speak of the militians on the front-line and of the capitalists they faced. Small wonder that Peiró, the erstwhile treintista, was to opine:

It is right and proper to take the measure of comrade García Oliver’s integrity in facing up to present and future reality. We may be sure that lots of those who heard that comrade’s address at Sunday’s rally will not forgive him for his honesty in stating that at the present time—and in the near future, we might add—there can be no thought of the thirty-six-hour week, nor of the forty-hour week.100