A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #363 - Trade Unionism - German Model: The Far Right Infiltrates the World of Work (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

While in France, the far right generally continues to view unions as 
adversaries, in Germany, the far right has made their infiltration one 
of its strategic priorities. This article is a shortened and edited 
version of the article "In the Engine Room of Reaktion - Die AfD, die 
Arbeit und der Betrieb" ("In the Engine Room of Reaction - The AfD, Work 
and Business") published on May 27, 2025, on Gewerkschaftsforum.de, an 
online journal of trade union, social, and political analysis. It often 
begins innocuously. A discussion in the kitchenette, a slogan on the 
bulletin board, a colleague who thinks, "We're still allowed to say 
that, aren't we?" But what seems innocuous quickly reveals itself to be 
part of a well-thought-out strategy. The so-called New Right is 
attempting to exert its influence on companies and works councils - not 
with loud slogans, but discreetly and persistently, by being present and 
pervasive. Its goal: ideological hegemony in everyday work.

As early as 1998, the fascist German National Democratic Party (NPD) 
formulated a "three-pillar model" in its "Stavenhagen Strategy 
Document." These are: disseminating far-right ideas, organizing rallies 
and demonstrations, and gaining sufficient traction to get elected[1]. 
In 2004, a fourth pillar was added: the struggle within the 
"organized[political]will"[2]- particularly in companies and unions. The 
New Right's activists are pursuing this strategy with persistence. The 
company is to become the basic unit of authoritarian normalization: to 
conduct politics in this supposedly "apolitical" space.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is still often considered a "protest 
party of the left behind." But it has long been integrated into the 
center of society, the political system, and the world of work. In the 
2025 federal elections, 38% of blue-collar workers voted for the AfD; in 
the regional elections in East Germany, this figure even exceeded 40%. 
The party is particularly strong among 25-44 year-olds-the classic 
target group for unionization.

Following the February 2025 elections, the AfD now holds nearly a 
quarter of the seats in the Bundestag, the German parliament.
Steffen Prössdorf
An Authoritarian Consensus
The AfD does not need to build strong corporate structures to do this. 
Its success is fueled by the frustration of many workers with union 
bureaucracy, lack of participation, and political alienation.

The right-wing consensus is born from within: among workers who oppose 
"gender gaga," immigration, or "political correctness." Right-wing 
groups link it to real concerns, such as collective agreements that 
divide staff into "core" and "auxiliary" roles, or escalating workloads 
and longer working hours. They add racist narratives and fantasies of 
authoritarian solutions, speaking of "secret elites" who "control from 
above."

Since 2014, several so-called workers' organizations have emerged within 
the AfD[3]. These structures have been supported by upstream 
organizations such as Ein Prozent and right-wing media outlets such as 
Compact. At a conference for this New Right magazine, following the 
AfD's electoral successes in 2017, Compact editor Jürgen Elsässer 
declared that the time had come to "bring the wind blowing through 
Germany into the workplace." The pseudo-union Zentrum Automobil (ZA), 
founded in 2008 by a former member of a neo-Nazi group, Oliver 
Hilburger, is particularly active. Since 2022, Zentrum has been active 
not only in the automotive industry, but also in the healthcare sector, 
public services, and service industries.

The right wing has gained access to co-management in the workplace 
through several channels: through its own lists in works council 
elections, through candidacies on the lists of dissident right-wing 
unions such as the Christian Metalworkers' Union (CGM), or through 
so-called independent candidates. They avoid open affiliation with the 
AfD, focus on individual support rather than collective struggle, and 
present themselves as pragmatic, hands-on individuals. Their agenda, 
however, remains clear: anti-democratic, anti-union, and nationalist.

Right-wing groups are running in works council elections under polished 
names such as the Alliance of Independent Works Councils at Volkswagen, 
Team Klartext at Klartext, and CGM-Alliance 2025[4]. In 2025, former ZA 
board member Horst Schmitt joined the OPEL works council in Rüsselsheim 
on the CGM ticket. The goal: to replace democratic co-management with an 
authoritarian vision. The right-wing presents itself as a "new voice 
from the grassroots" without ever improving anything structurally. 
Because the goal is not social justice, but ideological hegemony. The 
social issue is addressed in a regressive, ethnic, and anti-emancipatory 
manner. The aim is to deny the existence of a collective countervailing 
power within the company, to ridicule it, weaken it, and destroy it.

"We do not forget! #corona," covered with a "Fucking fascists" tag. The 
AfD has largely capitalized on conspiracy theories surrounding Covid-19. 
ConceptPhoto.info
The ideology of the "corporate community"
Right-wing actors are thus reviving a long-standing ideological 
tradition: the idea of the "corporate community." The Nazis already 
attempted to mask social conflicts in favor of ethnic unity through 
their company cells. Today, the narrative of the "honest worker" is 
used, supposedly defending himself against encroaching unions, 
"left-wing green utopias," and diversity. Collective bargaining 
agreements are considered superfluous, and strikes are detrimental to 
"labor peace."

This way of thinking can be adopted by many companies: right-wing works 
councils do not attack the interests of capital, but oppose 
co-determination and union structures. AfD works councils present 
themselves as protectors and exploit insecurity within the company to 
push through authoritarian solutions "with no possible alternative."

The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) detected this development 
early on but barely reacted to it. As early as 2000, a DGB commission 
noted that racist and authoritarian attitudes were also widespread among 
union members. But instead of drawing the right conclusions, the 
orientation toward social partnership, service unionism, and political 
neutrality dominated in the years that followed.

For an Anti-Fascist Trade Unionism
Industry negotiations were technocratized, and political education was 
neglected. In practice, this meant internal peace rather than conflict 
management, member service rather than organization, and symbolic 
actions rather than genuine politics. The result is a vacuum that 
right-wing actors are filling-not with better concepts, but with 
emotional narratives and resentment. This also applies to the 
Keynesianism of arms, which many unions support. In this context, Oliver 
Hilburger has every right to present himself as a trade unionist "deeply 
convinced that the union must, as a matter of principle, commit itself 
to peace," as he stated at a press conference for the creation of the 
Zentrum Nordwest regional office on April 24, 2025.

To counter the right-wing offensive, a strategic reorientation of the 
unions is required: political training, class-based collective 
bargaining, a clear demarcation from the right, and a consistent 
anti-war policy. But above all, a new image is required: no longer as 
neutral service providers, but (re)becoming an active social movement 
that once again transforms companies into places of solidarity.

The infiltration of the right is not a coincidence. It follows a plan 
and will continue unless it is resolutely fought. The federal works 
council elections in spring 2026 will therefore be a real-life test to 
assess the unions' ability to mobilize, defend the right to strike, show 
solidarity with colleagues with or without German passports, and defend 
collective agreements.

Andreas Buderus (German correspondent)

Validate

[1]"Fight on the streets, in heads, and in parliament."

[2]"Fight for the organized will."

[3]As in "Workers in the AfD" or "Alternative Official Services."

[4]Respectively, the Federal Works Council, Team Klartext, and 
CGM-Bündnis 2025.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Modele-allemand-L-extreme-droite-infiltre-le-monde-du-travail
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