Indian General Strike: Solidarity Rally
5:30-7:30pm Tuesday 28/2 @ Federation Square
On February 28, over 100 million Indians will join together and walk off the job in what is likely be the largest strike of workers the world has ever seen.
Workers around the world will be standing in solidarity with those fighting for economic justice in India. In Melbourne we invite all those who support workers' rights to join together at Fed Square, the site of several inspiring political actions involving Melbourne's Indian community.
Called by Workers' Solidarity Network, supported by the Melbourne Anarchist Club.
Gentrification: the Polish case
Films screenings @ 7pm Friday 24/2 @ MAC, 62 St Georges Rd, Northcote.
THE BOURGEOISIE RETURNS TO THE CENTER
A documentary film made in 2010 by SzumTV, Poland. In Polish with English subtitles
The film "The Bourgeoisie returns to the Center" is about processes of exclusion and gentrification in Polish cities, and about the resistance of tenants and squatters against these processes.
In recent years old buildings in the city centers and working class districts have been demolished and replaced by new expensive housing estates. Property developers and local governments both support this process that causes rent increases for all people in those areas. Living in the city centers becomes a privilege for the rich. Housing property deemed valuable is renovated and the poor are displaced. The bourgeoisie reconquers the city centers – the process of gentrification begins.
For the labor activists, representatives of tenants' associations, left-wing academics and squatters who speak in the film, having a decent house to live in is not a privilege but a right. They describe how the struggles for good housing take many forms: rent strikes, fights against evictions, mutual support groups, squatting, etc.
This film is about Poland, but processes of gentrification and the struggle against them happen in many countries in Europe, but also in Asia, Australia...
MOTHERS' STRIKE
A short film about the particular situation of women workers who refuse to carry the double burden of wage and reproductive work in Poland's 'Special Economic Zones' (SEZ).
Walbrzych is a city in southwest Poland, with 122.000 inhabitants. The city was an industrial center since the late 19th century (e.g. textile, coal mining, glass industry). After the capitalist transformation at the beginning of the 1990s, a decision was made to close down the coal mines. That, together with mass redundancies in plants that survived the first years of a market economy, resulted in rapid unemployment and mass emigration.
Since 1994, the Polish government has established 14 SEZ looking for a solution to the negative effects of the transformation. One of the largest SEZ called “Invest Park” was founded in Walbrzych in 1997 and will operate until 2020.
Despite the long-term existence of Invest Park, in 2010 the unemployment in the area reached 20 percent. Lack of income caused a lack of existential security for many households. Today the majority of jobs offers come from the SEZ. There are over 100 businesses in Invest Park, among others: Toyota, General Electric, Bridgestone, Electrolux, IBM, Wabco, Colgate-Palmolive, Cadbury. Investors are entitled to get public aid, lower taxes and other incentives.
Labour costs in the region are lower than in other regions of Poland. The companies are completely adapted to the requirements of the post-fordist system of production: work is not only low-paid, but also temporary, part-time and often based on special civil law contracts. Production is fully adapted to market requirements and working hours are flexible. When production speeds up, workers work even 18 hours a day for a few days or weeks; when it slows down, they get no new contracts and no income.
This temporary and low-paid employment system contributes to the increasing housing problems in the city. Even people with jobs are in danger of becoming homeless. A few years ago the homeless who did not want to wait in very long queues and in vain for social housing, started to occupy hundreds of derelict, abandoned apartments. That became especially popular among single mothers, as renting a flat is beyond their financial capabilities.
When workers solved their housing problem by occupying empty flats, their position on the labor market changed: in the film women describe how they are able to ignore the most unfavorable job-offers. Suddenly they realize that unemployment doesn't necessarily mean homelessness.
Sedition Launch Party!
25 February, 7:00pm start @ Melbourne Anarchist Club: 62 St Georges Road Northcote.
It's time to (briefly) hang up our activist cloaks and channel some of our revolutionary fervour into celebrating our exciting new collaborative anarchist publication - Sedition.
As well as sparkly new copies of Sedition and the standard excellent company, we'll have bands and a special theatre performance as part of the 'End Of The World News' series. This time we'll be exploring (in an interactive fashion) the question: what if Occupy Melbourne had occurred in the midst of a revolution?
About the publication:
Sedition is a mutual collaboration between three geographically disparate Australian anarchist collectives, the Melbourne Anarchist Club, the Jura collective from Sydney, and Organise—the Adelaide anarchist communist group. This project is a constructive medium for discussing the way forward for anarchist groups and anarchism in Australia, importantly—both in theory and praxis. We aim to establish better communication and organisational networks between our groups and to produce thought provoking literature that challenges the established order.
Some of the articles featured in our first edition will be:
- 'Casualisation & Flexible Work: How Far Can The Bosses’ Push Before We Snap?'
- 'Complicity, Traitors, Compromise And Other Media Interactions'
- 'Intersectionality– Implications For Anarcha-Feminism'
- 'Importing Zapatismo: Mexican Revolutionary Ideas And Their Relevance In Australia'
Invasion Day 1938: An Opera
'That was worse than dying'- Falls Festival Audience Member
Music Night @ MAC!
Next Friday (27/1) music nights are starting back up at MAC.
Each night will have a music theme (New Wave, Hip Hop, Indie Rock, etc) and are planned to be held on a semi-regular basis.
Next Friday's theme will be updated here pronto, be prepared: costumes appreciated.
Fantin Reading Group: Summer Reading Black Flame
Fortnightly:
At the first Fantin Reading Group session we ran back in 2009, we started with the first chapter of Michael Schmidt & Lucien van der Walt's Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism. This is a great book that was published in 2008 and which covers most if not all of the issues in establishing the core ideas of anarchism, accompanied with a huge amount of historical research. More info on the book can be found here. The South African organisation Zabalaza, to which the two authors belong, is also a good resource for solid anarchist critiques on a broad range of topics.
Next: 29/1 Chapter 2 Socialism From Below: Defining Anarchism
The chapter is available online at fantinreadinggroup.wordpress.com, also there may or may not be copies of the book available to buy, for around $25.
Thanks to all those who have been attending regularly. If you haven't come yet don't worry, each chapter is fairly self contained and deals with specific political aspects of anarchism, syndicalism, anti-imperialism, feminism, etc.
All welcome to attend Fantin Reading Group.
PS. Thank you to all those who attended the Anarchist Economics FRG meeting two weeks ago making it a big success.
End of Year Mac BBQ!
12pm-5pm Sunday 18/12
On the 18th we'll be having a BBQ for members, supporters and anybody who is interested in learning about the activity of the Melbourne Anarchist Club.
The secretary will give a brief report of the group's activity over the past 12 months, and what has been planned for next year so far.
We are a family-friendly space, there will be a kid's area with some toys and games provided.
Vegetarian & meat options available.
1960s & Reggae
1960s Themed Music Night
7pm+, Friday 2/12/2011: Entry by donation
No artist will be played twice! A range of sixties classics and some lesser known rarities. Doors open at 7pm sharp, come and experience the musical legacy of a classic decade. These music appreciation nights are part of the ongoing cultural and fundraising activity of MAC.
Reggae Music Appreciation Night
7pm+, Friday 9/12/2011: Entry by donation
The best selection from all types of reggae, from early reggae to dance hall and dub. DJ'd by an experienced reggae bass player who knows their stuff.
Other upcoming events
Propaganda Working Group
1pm meeting, 2pm poster run, Sunday 11/12/2011 (2nd Sunday of each month) @ MAC
PWG is an opportunity to meet up and exchange information: leaflets, stickers, posters, pamphlets, and have them distributed around each others networks. We also talk about potential projects, and go on a poster run after the meeting.
MAC is located at 62 St Georges Rd, Northcote.
Anarchist Economics, Fantin Reading Group
2pm Sunday 20/11 @ MAC, 62 St Georges Rd, Northcote
Due to the busy schedule this week, we have decide to move our reading group session on Anarchist Economics to Sunday 20/11 (instead of this Sunday). There is one reading on the site, Proudhon, Marx and Anarchist Social Analysis by Michael Schmidt and Lucien van der Walt, which is chapter 3 of their book Black Flame.
Propaganda Working Group
MAC has recently created a mandate for a propaganda working group. We meet on the second Sunday of every month, with this month falling on the 13th. Meeting at 1:00pm, poster run at 2:00pm.
The Propaganda Working Group is an opportunity to meet up and exchange information: leaflets, stickers, posters, pamphlets, and have them distributed around each others networks. We also talk about potential projects, and go on a poster run.