A-Infos (en) Argentina, FORA, Organizacion-Obrera #101: HISTORY, A NOT WELL-KNOWN PAGE FROM THE FIRST YEARS OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT - Rosario 1907 General Strike - N.A. (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

A little-known page of the first years of the Argentine labor movement 
and its founding organization, FORA, occurred in the city of Rosario in 
January 1907. This city, known as the Argentine Chicago for its 
industrial development or "the Argentine Barcelona "qualifier given by 
socialist leaders of Buenos Aires, in allusion to the high degree of 
mobilization of the local working class and the predominance that 
anarchist ideas had in them, had local characteristics that formed an 
experience of proletarian and urban anarchism that knew how to be a 
powerful germ of nascent revolutionary labor movement around the FOLR 
(Rosarina local workers' federation) founded in August 1902 and attached 
to the FORA.

It was in January 1907 that this incipient labor movement went on 
strike, escalating to a General Strike and days later reaching the 
national level, against the bourgeoisie, capitalists and political 
power. The origin of the conflict was not due to an economic demand but 
in defense of their dignity. As the newspaper La Protesta would say:

"The revolutionary act of the proletarian masses of Argentine Chicago is 
not due to the desire or desire - which was fair - to achieve economic 
improvements. No, this strike is not a strike of interests.
It's a dignity strike.
It is a strike of conscience.
It is a strike of the brave"[1]

The reason for the conflict? an ordinance of the Deliberative Council of 
Rosario that sought to impose on car drivers the obligation to process a 
good conduct book, which identified "its owner with the portrait, his 
digital impressions and other personal references."

In this way, the workers were subjected "to the discretion of employers 
and authority", "a simple bad note against its owner or its withdrawal 
from him was enough to create difficulties at work"[2]

During the last months of 1906, the Rosario road transport union, aware 
of the municipality's intention to demand this booklet, submitted a 
request to the Deliberative Council to modify the ordinance, but they 
did not receive any response, until in January of the following year. In 
agreement with the mayor and the police chief of Rosario, it was decided 
to move forward with the measure.

In an assembly held on January 15 at night, the coachmen and delegates 
of the vehicle unions, after a wide discussion, resolved to start a 
general strike of coachmen and cart drivers "in protest against the 
passbook that the municipality demands of them and for the fingerprints 
imposed on them by the police", they also rejected "other obligations 
imposed on them by the new traffic ordinance." Delegates from the 
carreros, sanderos, Matanzas, bread and milk distributors, private and 
public coach drivers were present at the meeting. A strike committee was 
appointed made up of two representatives from each sector.

As a consequence of the measure of force, the next day, the city of 
Rosario "woke up silent and without movement, as if it were a day of 
celebration."

On the 21st, also for solidarity purposes and to force a solution, the 
Rosarina Local Workers Federation attached to the FORA, declared a 
general strike. More than 30,000 workers, identified with the road 
workers movement, participate in this action.

The press, merchants and industrialists, primed with the support of the 
State, before seeking a solution to the conflict through the natural 
means of an agreement, consider the help of the national government to 
be convenient. Such service must consist of the implementation of a new 
state of siege and the sending of armed forces. The government does not 
declare a state of siege, but sends cavalry troops, a battleship, 
several other warships, its rifle and artillery forces and militarily 
occupies the city. Rosario is transformed into a besieged plaza. Its 
industry, commerce and transportation, totally paralyzed. Its 
population, with scarce and expensive food. Its dirty and smelly 
streets, walked by patrols of soldiers. Two and a half hundred workers 
end up in prison. Many, under strict surveillance by armed soldiers, are 
forced to carry out, like prisoners of war, cleaning the city.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, the FOLR met and resolved to request the 
adhesion of all labor organizations in the country. The Federal 
Committee of the FORA, which was meeting at that time, requested - 
through a special envoy - that a representation of the UGT be present at 
the meeting of the Federal Council. The governing body of the UGT 
decided to send a commission. Therefore, in fact, on Tuesday night the 
22nd, the JE of the UGT and the CF of the FORA met jointly.

On the 23rd, FORA launches a manifesto calling for a national strike, to 
which the UGT unionists will join, more than 7,000 workers also declare 
themselves on strike in the capital of the province of Santa Fe, in 
Puerto Borghi, Colastiné and other points, in solidarity. with the 
Rosario strikers and the workers of the Santa Fe Railway who were waging 
a bitter struggle with the company. On the 25th, by virtue of a joint 
resolution of the FORA and the UGT, the workers of the Federal Capital, 
La Plata, Bahía Blanca, San Nicolás, Mar del Plata, Mendoza, Córdoba, 
Paraná and other towns, began the general strike, in solidarity with 
their brothers from the second city in the country.

FORA Manifesto:

"ARGENTINE REGIONAL WORKER FEDERATION

To the workers

The time has come and it is necessary for us to get ready for the fight, 
our brothers from Rosario are currently fighting valiantly against the 
tyrannical bourgeoisie of that city, which wanted to impose absurdities 
and ridiculousness on the workers in things such as: notebook, portrait, 
impressions digital and other things typical of criminals and thieves 
like them.

The General Strike is imposed, the workers of this region never denied 
their support and solidarity when circumstances demanded it and it 
should not be in the current moments when we have to take the place of 
cowards, but rather that each one must take his place as a leader. 
combat, I have to go undaunted and serene to the fight to demand our rights.

The declaration of the General Strike will be made known to the unions 
through manifestos and through the workers' press.

Therefore, it is necessary for the commissions to activate the work so 
that the stoppage is complete.

The Federal Committee"[3]

The metropolitan police say that more than 80,000 Buenos Aires workers 
had responded to the call from the two labor unions. In union circles it 
is estimated at 150,000. A committee made up of three members from the 
FORA and the UGT is in charge of guiding the movement, whose foundations 
they explain in a vigorous manifesto.

"A solemn moment has arrived for the workers of the Argentine region," 
he says, "On the one hand, the legislators increase their enormous 
salaries by 50 percent for doing nothing, not even going to the place 
they call sacred, and on the other the rents of our miserable "housing, 
the seat of all illness, absorbs the majority of our salaries," points 
out the abuses of which they are victims with shots and swords as soon 
as any rally is held. At the same time, the capitalists are favored with 
soldiers to replace them in strikes."[4]

It highlights how those and warships are used to dominate those who do 
not want to be infamously marked in conchabo notebooks as if they were 
criminals"; exalts "the haughty attitude of the workers of Rosario, who 
went on a general strike to reject, with all their energy and conscience 
as free men, the unspeakable abuse of the Rosario police and 
Municipality." "Our attitude," the proclamation states, "could not be 
any other." After remembering the workers who fell in tragic episodes in 
the important city of Santa Fe and blaming the authorities for the 
strike with "their absurd claim that the workers be subjected to 
arbitrary and degrading conchabo notebook," he states: "We have to 
defend our comrades from Rosario and defend ourselves at the same time 
from authorities and capitalists.

The public powers have made a huge mistake if they believe that they 
will cut off right after right, freedom after freedom, with impunity. 
Our attitude today will teach them to be more measured in the future, to 
respect us as adversaries since they have not done so as men."[5]

On January 27-two days after it was declared-the general strike ended 
with the victory of the Rosario workers.

The Rosarina Local Workers' Federation and the Municipality reached an 
agreement on the following bases:

1° Complete abolition of the passbook for car drivers,
2° As soon as the Deliberative Council meets in March, the mayor will 
present a minute requesting the amendment of the articles that were the 
cause of the present movement,
3° The coachmen will be given a free booklet, without a portrait or 
digital impressions,
4° Freedom of all prisoners of the Department and Penitentiary Jail by 
the present movement.
5° Return to work and to their positions of all municipal workers, 
street sweepers and public cleaning car drivers.
6th Replacement of the workers of the Municipal Slaughterhouse,[6]

The workers thus obtain a new and resounding victory. They force, on the 
other hand, the mayor of Rosario to move to the capital of the province 
in order to find a solution to the conflict and also the chief of police 
to present his resignation.

[1]The Protest, Sunday, January 20, 1907
[2]The Argentine Trade Union Movement Sebastián Marotta, Volume 1, 1960, 
p. 253.
[3]The Protest, Wednesday, January 23, 1907
[4]The Argentine Trade Union Movement Sebastián Marotta, Volume 1, 1960, 
p. 254.
[5]The Argentine Trade Union Movement Sebastián Marotta, Volume 1, 1960, 
p. 254.
[6]The Argentine Trade Union Movement Sebastián Marotta, Volume 1, 1960, 
p. 254.

https://organizacion-obrera.fora.com.ar/2024/01/08/una-pagina-no-muy-conocida-de-los-primeros-anos-del-movimiento-obrero/
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