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SolFed pamphlets

SolFed's 'Theory and Practice' series of pamphlets is published to both document interesting accounts from workers in struggle, as well as attempt to draw theoretical lessons from them. Both original and republished texts are included. Most, but not all, are from the anarcho-syndicalist tradition. All are selected for their relevance for workers looking to organise today.

T&P 1: Workmates: direct action workplace organising on the London Underground

In the late 1990s, plans to outsource track maintenance on the London Underground were being pushed through by the government. Workers at one depot responded by forming a new workplace group, both inside and outside the existing union, the RMT. This pamphlet charts the highs and lows of the Workmates collective, highlighting their successes and failures, their radically democratic organising method and their creative forms of direct action. We hope it can provide an inspiration to other workers frustrated with the limits of the existing workplace organisations. A copy of the pamphlet costs £2 including postage and packaging (to UK, please get in touch for international or bulk orders).
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T&P 2: Anarcho-syndicalism in Puerto Real

The 1987 struggle against threatened closure in and around the shipyards of Puerto Real, Spain, in both workplace and community witnessed the anarcho-syndicalist union CNT playing both a prominent and decisive role. The CNT’s involvement meant that the methods of organising and the forms of action taken departed from those common to reformist unions - with dramatic consequences. Mass assemblies both in the yards and surrounding localities involved workers, their families, neighbours and all supporters. A copy of the pamphlet costs £2 including postage and packaging (to UK, please get in touch for international or bulk orders).
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Posters

Pyramid of capitalist society

Design by prole.info, inspired by an old I.W.W. drawing, this poster is a portrayal of class society as it appears to us today. The whirlwind of market forces encircle and shape society, operating through our activity, yet behind our backs. People at different levels of the modern capitalist pyramid enjoy it or defend it or cope with it or fight it or get drunk to forget about their place in it.   A1 size, £4 plus p&p.

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DSG Felix

Barcode prisoner

International week of action against Ryanair - placards

Poster designs, two unbranded and one with the SF logo on, for use at pickets and protests against ryanair recruitment scamming.

SolFed pamphlets

Some of these SolFed pamphlets are out of print but their text is made available here

A short history of British Anarcho-syndicalism

Anarcho-syndicalism is a distinct school of thought within anarchism. It seeks to abolish the wage system and private ownership of the means of production which lead to the class divisions in society. The three important principles of anarcho-syndicalism are solidarity, direct action and workers' self-management. It focuses on the labour movement more than other forms of anarchism and looks to unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the State with a new democratically self-managed society.
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Health and Safety at Work - An Anarcho-syndicalist approach

This pamphlet is based on a course organised by North & East London Solidarity Federation called "Organising for Health and Safety" back in 1997. Part 1 introduces the idea of health, safety and welfare standards at work, and places them in the context of capitalism. Part 2 suggests ways of finding out about and taking up health and safety issues. Part 3 details some common problems and definitions, and Part 4 provides a case study from the Norwich and Norfolk Solidarity Federation, and introduces the idea of union support surgeries. Part 5 compares and contrasts modern trade unionism with anarcho-syndicalism as advocated by the Solidarity Federation, and argues for social revolution. Finally, there are appendices on tactics, basic rights and information of practical use.
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Out of the Frying Pan, a critical look at Works Councils

Works Councils are coming to Britain. But what are Works Councils, and what will they mean for working people and trade unions? Are the TUC unions right to welcome the changes in labour relations which Works Councils will bring? Works Councils, far from empowering people, act as a tool by which management can control and pacify people at work. The truth behind Works Councils is exposed here through the views of workers in France, who have witnessed their failure at first hand. The message is clear; there is nothing to be gained and much to lose from the introduction of a Works Council system in Britain. Out of the Frying Pan is a new, critical analysis of Works Councils and a look ahead at a real future for organising and fighting back in your workplace.
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The Economics of Freedom

This pamphlet has been written by a group of people in the Solidarity Federation. We are actively involved in taking direct action for a better world. However, we are also interested in what this better world might be like and how it might work. In the current world of US-led terror against terror, corporate cronyism and corruption, and widening global and class inequality, we all want and deserve better. The Solidarity Federation is the British section of the anarcho-syndicalist global movement. Anarcho-syndicalism is about direct democracy – democracy from the bottom up - no party politicians, corporate managers or union leaders. Direct democracy means decisions are made by all those present. Hence, we cannot be prescriptive about what a future, decent economy might work like. It will be decided by the people there at the time. Hopefully, it will happen soon, and everyone will be involved. However, in the meantime, it is rather a cop-out to simply say, “we'll sort that out later” and then, fall back on abstract principles or vague concepts. So, we thought it would be useful to develop a detailed model (but not a straightjacket) of how it could work. This is the result.
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Online Purchase

Pamphlets, posters and T-shirts are available from the Solidarity Federation Publicity Commission. You can use your your debit/credit card, or a PayPal account if you have one.