A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #353 - Wage Insubordination 353 (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

IKEA on Strike ---- Approximately EUR3.6 billion. This is IKEA's 
expected turnover for 2025. Mandatory annual wage negotiations for the 
10,900 workers in 36 stores threw a wrench into the works on June 20th, 
despite the current temperatures: a 0% collective increase is what the 
world leader in furniture is proposing. A joint union has called for a 
work stoppage. At the same time, employees say they are experiencing 
"significantly deteriorating working conditions and seeing their social 
benefits methodically undermined," such as the elimination of the 
solidarity day offered, and a variable bonus conditional on 
"unattainable" targets. The strike brought together "25% of the 
workforce present" in 19 stores on July 1st. "We asked for a collective 
raise, but Ikea France management refused it in favor of individual 
raises. Three unions even walked out of the negotiations. For us, this 
is neither fair nor serious. We're paid the minimum wage, and now it no 
longer covers inflation. An Ikea employee is poorer than they were three 
years ago."
The Swedish brand has been targeted by various strikes since the 
beginning of the year in other countries, such as the Netherlands, 
Italy, and Canada, over wage levels and working conditions.

Strikes at Renault
At the Renault Sovab plant in Batilly, Meurthe-et-Moselle, where the 
Masters are produced, management had already laid off 700 temporary 
production workers in March. It is now targeting maintenance workers. 
The new organization would result in salary losses ranging from 73 euros 
gross for maintenance workers on 3x8 shifts, to more than 1,000 euros 
gross for those on VSD (Friday-Saturday-Sunday). All VSD workers would 
be forced to switch to SD (Saturday-Sunday in 2 x 12 hours). In 
addition, nine out of a hundred positions would be eliminated, which 
will further deteriorate working conditions. Management would like to 
impose that, in the case of Saturdays worked in production, the morning 
work be carried out by the maintenance team on 3x8 shifts. Consequently, 
the VSD team would be forced to work Saturdays from noon to midnight! A 
petition expressing their refusal of this reduction has been signed by 
more than half of the hundred maintenance workers, including 70 on 3x8 
shifts and 30 on VSD. On Friday, June 20, at 5:20 a.m., about fifteen 
workers, mostly technicians from the sheet metal VSD, walked out and 
delivered the petition to the director. Walkouts have also recently 
taken place at the Renault plants in Douai and Maubeuge.

Strike at Boeing Defense
Under growing pressure from rank-and-file workers, who had already 
rejected a previous agreement supported by IAM[1]of District 837 on July 
27, the union was forced to call a strike, the first in these plants 
since 1996 (which lasted 99 days). Approximately 3,200 highly skilled 
workers at Boeing plants, which manufacture the F-15 fighter jets and 
military drones, rejected the new contract proposed by the company on 
July 27 and voted to go on strike. The strike began on Monday, August 4. 
The strike began at the Saint Louis and Saint Charles (Missouri) plants, 
and at the Mascoutah (Illinois) plant, where workers rejected a wage 
agreement proposed by management. This agreement included a 20% wage 
increase over four years and an increase in pension contributions. Since 
then, new proposals (a 40% increase) have been put on the table, without 
convincing the employees. The workers are not just asking for wage 
increases; they are demanding comprehensive recognition of their role in 
a strategic industry. The sites assemble the F-15, the T-7 trainer, 
missiles, munitions, and certain components of the 777X. The machinists' 
strike will notably lead to the shutdown of the assembly lines for the 
F-15 and F/A-18 fighter jets, as well as the T-7A trainer and MQ-25 
refueling drones. These three sites are to manufacture the F-47, the 
future spearhead of the US Air Force. Presented in March 2025 by 
President Donald Trump, the F-47 is to replace the F-22, which has been 
in service for two decades. These factories also produce weapons for 
Israel. This strike will especially "increase the financial pressure on 
Boeing's Defense and Space division, which generates nearly a third of 
the company's revenue." Today, Boeing's Defense and Space division 
generates 36% of the group's revenue. Last year, two factories were 
already immobilized for more than fifty days. The strike is not only 
about wages or benefits. This is an explosion of class conflict at the 
heart of the American military-industrial complex. Boeing workers are 
demanding an end to the erosion of real wages, intolerable working 
hours, and exploitation by a company that profits from mass murder 
around the world.

The greatest obstacle to the strike's development is not Boeing 
management, but the IAM bureaucracy, which acts not to defend workers 
but as an extension of the state and corporate management. As president, 
Biden boasted that the AFL-CIO unions functioned as a "national NATO," 
essential for suppressing working-class opposition to war abroad and 
class war at home.
This social movement is part of a broader context of tensions between 
Boeing and its unions. Earlier this summer, a seven-week strike led by 
IAM District 751 in Washington and Oregon concluded with an agreement 
providing for a 38% wage increase and a $12,000 signing bonus.

Negotiations, which resumed on August 25, have stalled. Boeing Defense 
announced on September 3 that it would consider "slight adjustments" to 
its latest contract proposal to approximately 3,200 striking union 
members in the St. Louis region, where fighter jets and munitions are 
produced. Boeing has maintained production through contingency plans, 
but "production has certainly slowed in some areas due to the strike," 
acknowledged a senior Boeing Defense executive in St. Louis, adding, 
however, that production of its Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) has 
not decreased. The American aircraft manufacturer announced on Thursday, 
September 4th, the launch of recruiting "permanent" workers to replace 
those on strike. However, these new hires announced by the American firm 
will not allow it to resume normal operations for several months. These 
new recruits will need to be trained. And when the end of the strike is 
voted on, these "replacements" should, normally, be dismissed as part of 
an agreement between the union and the employer. Suffice to say, this 
emergency solution found by Boeing may ultimately satisfy no one.
A preliminary agreement with the union, reached on September 10th, 
provided for a general wage increase of 24% over five years and a 
ratification bonus of $4,000. Boeing estimated that total employee 
compensation would increase by an average of 45% over the term of the 
contract. "We've found a way forward with a five-year offer that 
increases wages by an average of 45%," said the Boeing Defense vice 
president, before emphasizing: "This remains the best agreement we've 
ever offered to IAM 837, and we encourage our teams to vote yes." But 
striking workers at Boeing Defense overwhelmingly rejected the company's 
latest contract proposal on September 11, prolonging the strike. The 
rejected offer included a smaller increase in pension contributions and 
a lower ratification bonus than the one accepted last year by members of 
IAM District 751, which assembles Boeing's commercial aircraft in the 
northwest United States.

In the United States, other major players in the industry have recently 
experienced labor unrest, with "unions gaining influence due to the lack 
of highly skilled mechanics." Workers at aircraft engine manufacturer 
Pratt & Whitney, for example, walked out for three weeks last May, 
causing an engine shortage at Airbus. The Boeing strike is part of a 
rising tide of resistance within the American and international working 
class. Thousands of GE Aerospace workers face the expiration of their 
collective bargaining agreements at the end of the month. Postal workers 
are facing privatization and job cuts. Teachers from Philadelphia to Los 
Angeles are facing school closures and layoffs. Autoworkers are facing 
mass layoffs and unsafe working conditions.
Sources: wsws.org, the business press

Massive London Underground Strike
London Underground workers held a five-day strike for wage increases and 
a reduction in working hours to 32 hours per week. Traffic was almost 
completely paralyzed and all city activity was disrupted. Union leaders 
suspended the strike after being called into negotiations, with no 
guarantee that anything positive would come of it for the strikers.

Strike at EDF
A strike began on September 2nd at EDF, called by the CGT (General 
Confederation of Labour). The union is demanding a wage increase but 
also a reduction in bills for customers.
Since August 1st, the VAT levied on the subscription price has increased 
from 5.5% to 20%. The union states that "the payroll represents only 17% 
of the bill," while "42% is dividends." The CGT is also demanding a 9% 
increase in the most precarious wages, specifying that some hires are 
being made below the minimum wage.
"Robin Hood" actions are being carried out, i.e., the reconnection of 
meters for people whose power had been cut off.

Worker and Popular Mobilizations in Syria
Since mid-August, multiple mobilizations have taken place in different 
regions of the country. Demonstrations in working-class neighborhoods in 
Homs and Damascus against forced population displacement, student 
protests in Zweida, teachers' mobilizations in Aleppo against wage 
freezes. A strike by workers at the port of Tartus against false 
promises of reinstatement. Farmers' mobilizations in Daraa province. 
Women's rallies in the city of Shahba against the ongoing kidnappings of 
men and women detained for several months.
These scattered movements are carrying multiple demands: struggles for 
wages and jobs, but also to protect homes and demand the release of 
prisoners. These mobilizations, although scattered and often local, 
reflect the depth of social anger affecting all segments of the 
population, from workers to students to farmers.
Syrian security forces killed at least fifteen people during 
demonstrations organized in several cities across the country on Friday, 
September 12. Arrests, torture, and intimidation: the new authorities do 
not hesitate to use force to crush the protests. This bloody repression 
demonstrates the regime's inability to respond to popular aspirations 
other than by crushing them.
Sources: Revolutionary NPA

Saur employees on strike in Martinique
Saur Martinique employees have entered their sixth week of strike 
action, which began on August 11. The contract for the award of the 
drinking water production and distribution contract signed between the 
Saur group and the Cap Nord urban community took effect on January 1, 
2025, and was accompanied by agreements regarding a so-called "welcome" 
bonus. This bonus was to be paid to employees joining Saur at the start 
of the contract, i.e., the majority of employees coming from the 
previous contractor. The twenty or so employees already working at Saur 
Martinique were also to receive a bonus of the same amount following an 
internal agreement. At the beginning of the year, since employees were 
unaware of the exact terms of the agreement, management allowed 
themselves to pay them only half of the bonus. Then, when it came time 
to pay the second half, it decreed that the amount would be conditional 
on results, which was not included in the contract at all! It added that 
the payment of this bonus would serve as a mandatory annual negotiation 
(NAO), declaring 2025 a "blank year." Starting August 29, the prefect 
sent requisitions to the strikers. Saur, for its part, decided to seek 
the help of a mediator to resolve this conflict, in which, in addition 
to bad faith, it had accumulated irregularities. For their part, the 
strikers organized leaflet distributions in the municipalities and 
meetings with the public. They benefited from its support despite the 
disruptions to water distribution caused by the strike. Sources: 
Workers' Struggle

Notes
[1]International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. IAM 
represents approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the 
aerospace, defense, airline, shipbuilding, railroad, transportation, 
healthcare, automotive, and other industries in the United States and 
Canada.

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