A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #362 - Trade Unionism - Internationalist Solidarity: Inter-Union and Pro-Palestinian Direct Action (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Genocide in Gaza, open war between Israel and Iran, the flotilla 
incident... The CFDT-CGT-UNSA-Solidaires-FSU inter-union call of June 10 
for a demonstration four days later took place in an increasingly 
dramatic context. Trade union confederations calling for mobilization in 
the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are nothing new. 
Internationalist reflexes are still present. This time, the inter-union 
movement is relatively broad and is limited to "calling on French and 
European decision-makers[...]to act immediately." This is in line with 
the call of the International Trade Union Confederation of June 5. For 
concrete support for direct action, one should, for example, read the 
joint appeal of the National Collective for a Just and Lasting Peace 
between Palestinians and Israelis (CNPJDPI)[1]. On the union side, it 
only included the CGT, FSU, and Solidaires.

But despite the context conducive to renewed mobilizations and the broad 
appeal, June 14th will remain a modest event. The year 2024-2025 will 
not go down in the annals of union mobilization history, and calling for 
action four days before the date of the demonstration was rather 
optimistic. Mobilizing colleagues or even one's own members on 
international issues remains a complicated exercise. In some places, it 
is also the overactivity and lack of coordination within the activist 
microcosm that is demotivating: in Marseille, no fewer than six meetings 
in less than four days around this weekend. The government is also 
pulling out all the stops to fracture the mobilization. By dangling the 
carrot of "recognition of the Palestinian state" while threatening some 
pro-Palestinian organizations with the stick of dissolution.

In the workplace, union actions in support of Palestine exist. Here, 
dockworkers from Fos-sur-Mer and Italy are refusing to load components 
for weapons destined for Israel. There, awareness is being raised among 
arms industry workers and their unions. For example, in Saint-Étienne, 
in front of the Aubert & Duval company, the cargo was blocked at Fos. 
Sometimes these awareness-raising actions come from the unions 
themselves, as the CGT did with Urgence Palestine in front of 
STMicroelectronic in Grenoble[2]. In the National Education system, 
unions are mobilizing to support high school students and a disciplined 
colleague. In the airline sector, at Roissy, the CGT 93 Departmental 
Union, the Roissy Local Union, and SUD Aérien are calling for the 
refusal to load military cargo. And in the historical spectrum of 
proletarian actions, let us remember that those who produce also know 
how to slow down production. Even sabotage it.

These one-off actions should be supported and celebrated, but without 
hiding the current weakness of the labor movement. This weakness is even 
more glaring on international issues. Strengthening our militant trade 
union organizations, and in particular their internationalist actions, 
allows us to no longer depend on the goodwill of our "political 
decision-makers." Failing that, let's continue to pull out all the 
stops. The Human Rights League invites us to march on Brussels with, 
among others, the CGT, FSU, and Solidaires.

Francis (UCL Marseille)

Validate

[1]"In Gaza, the genocide is unfolding before our eyes - Let's demand 
sanctions against Israel to stop it - Let's demand action, immediately!" 
", Cnpjdpi.org, June 11, 2025.

[2]"Prevent STMicroelectronics from arming Israel," Alternative 
libertaire No. 361, June 2025.

ttps://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Solidarite-internationaliste-Intersyndicale-et-actions-directes-pro
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