A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #373 - Unionism - Union Repression: Bodet, the Time for Solidarity Has Come! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

For several months, Flo, a SUD Industrie union representative, has been 
the target of attacks from the management of his company, Bodet Time & 
Sport, based in Trémentines (49). It seems that speaking his mind and 
doing his job as a staff representative irritates the bosses. ---- 
Elected for 12 years within the company, Flo tirelessly defends its 
employees. He is committed to the values of self-managed unionism, a far 
cry from the compliant unionism that prevailed until now. When it comes 
to holding management accountable and defending employee rights, there's 
no room for half-measures. Especially when management is trying to 
impose a weekend of work.

From then on, things escalate very quickly. On April 3rd, he received a 
letter summoning him to a pre-dismissal interview. Four days later, he 
was suspended without pay, with immediate effect. On April 15th, his 
pre-dismissal interview took place, during which he was accused of three 
offenses, all related to his union activities. Professionally, Flo's 
record is impeccable, as the director reiterated during the 
extraordinary meeting of the Works Council (CSE) convened on April 17th 
to decide on his situation. Unsurprisingly, the CSE, where the SUD 
Industrie union holds a majority, voted against his dismissal. 
Management persisted and therefore contacted the labor inspectorate. The 
inspectorate launched a formal investigation. From then on, Flo and his 
supporters demonstrated to the labor inspectorate that he was a victim 
of union repression and that, in the past, he had been repeatedly 
obstructed in carrying out his union duties.

This procedure clearly aimed to silence a union member. Bodet's 
reactionary management[1]wants him fired and will go all the way! 
They've even gone so far as to ask the production manager to file a 
police report, which is completely absurd. An excerpt reads: "He harshly 
criticized me, using insulting remarks, for prioritizing orders over 
social responsibility and employee well-being." He is reportedly 
suffering since then; these remarks are haunting him, and he's taking 
anti-anxiety medication. This same manager had no qualms about making 
employees work weekends, imposing overtime during the heatwave in June 
2026, or covering up genuine harassment cases.

A first inter-professional and inter-union support rally of about a 
hundred people took place in front of the company on April 17th during 
the Works Council meeting. Everything is being done to ensure that our 
colleague doesn't lose any wages and that his legal fees are covered. A 
wave of solidarity, which began within his company, quickly spread to 
the national level.

On June 19, the labor inspectorate refused the dismissal, but also 
considered that Bodet was "exerting pressure on the union and violating 
the employer's duty of loyalty." As for the alleged verbal abuse: "no 
personal attacks or threats. He is simply showing signs of fatigue 
following a tense mandatory periodic negotiation." Bodet now has two 
months to appeal. Let's make sure our comrade doesn't feel alone by 
contributing massively to the solidarity fund and by being ready to 
mobilize in the streets. There will always be a fighting unionism to 
organize the workers at Bodet!

Jon (UCL Angers)

Submit

[1]Bodet's management includes members of the boards of directors of 
independent, fundamentalist Catholic schools. In 2014, a family member 
donated 165,000 euros to Dieudonné, etc.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Repression-syndicale-Bodet-l-heure-de-la-solidarite-a-sonne
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en