On Their Bike

Two articles on an occupied bicycle factory at Nordhausen, Thüringia, Eastern Germany, where production under workers' collective self-management was due to begin on October 22.

The site has been occupied since July 10 after being bankrupted by a private equity buyer, a scenario which can only get more common as scorched-earth restructuring takes hold in the ongoing credit crisis. (The financial press reports that big private equity players like Blackstone and Lehman have been raising billions of dollars for new 'distressed' funds, a.k.a. 'vulture funds' or asset strippers.)

The first text, by Workers Solidarity Cologne, puts the occupation into the context of emerging independent forms of struggle by German workers against the logic that labour must always bear the cost of collapsing capital values. The second, by Wildcat (published in German in issue 79) comes from the new edition (number 9, out NOW!) of the excellent English-language prol-position newsletter [http://www.prol-position.net/] (reproduced by kind permission), looks at the tension between workers' independent action and bureaucratic representation, and suggests that the best outcome would be a 'dignified exit' with the workers dictating the terms, rather than any attempt to prolong self-managed business as an end in itself.

Strike Bike: an Occupied Factory in Germany

The 124 workers of the bicycle factory Bike Systems in Nordhausen weren't willing to be pushed into unemployment without a fight. Their actions against the closure of their factory are highly unusual in Germany. They have occupied the factory since the 10th of July. At the end of October they will start producing 2,000 solidarity bicycles under self-management: the Strike Bike.

Nordhausen is a small town in Thuringia (former DDR). Of its 43,000 inhabitants 7,500 are unemployed. Bicycles have been produced here since 1986, initially as part of an engine factory with 4,000 workers. After German reunification, only the bicycle production remained, and most recently 135 workers and up to 160 temporary workers were labouring there. In December 2005 private equity fund Lone Star bought out Biria Group, the owner of the factory in Nordhausen and another in Neukirch, and proceeded to 'restructure it into the ground', in an apparent bid to eliminate competition for nearby MIFA, in which the fund also holds a 25% stake. In December 2006 the Neukirch factory was the first to be closed. There was no resistance and their fellow workers at Nordhausen were relieved to have been spared. Until, that is, they were told at a staff meeting on the 20th of June 2007 that production at Nordhausen would also stop by the end of the month. Here, also, things remained calm initially. No protest, no suggestions for resistance. During the following days workers showed up, dutifully finished off the last jobs and threw goodbye parties.

Up to here it sounds just like any other of the common sad stories we have experienced in so many places: when they said the company was in trouble the workers did without pay – to save their jobs. When the company needed them, they worked overtime and on weekends. And when the factory is finally being closed, nothing can be done?

But it turned out differently this time. At another staff meeting on the 10th of July the works council announced the latest news regarding the Sozialplan[1]  (redundancy programme). The managing directors had explained that the remaining company capital would not even pay for the notice period. Thus additional pay-offs or employment and qualification schemes (Auffanggesellschaft)[2] were out of the question. There was no more calm after this announcement. The workers, outraged by this ‘injustice’, had the idea to occupy the factory – and immediately put it into practice. Everyone agreed and everyone took part.

Looking for the lost strike culture

The workers had no experience with struggles. They had never been on strike and there was no role model for their occupation. It surprised them, how well they were able to make it work. First they assigned the different shifts to the picket line round the clock, they painted transparencies and used oil drum fires for the cold at night. ‘Please blow your horn’, a worker wrote on her sign. There has been an incredible noise outside the gates ever since. Almost everyone who comes past on the busy road loudly announces their solidarity.

Texas-based Lone Star juggles hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. The workers have taken on a mighty enemy – and they had nothing in their hands to put Lone Star under pressure. The last bicycles had been delivered; there was no material left in the hall and only few machines. On the second day of the occupation the company tried to get an eviction order, so as to bully the workers with an ultimatum and threats. But the court decided in favour of the workers, who declared that they were holding a lengthy staff meeting. The police left and the occupation was thus made almost legal.

Over the last few years, workers in a few factories have stopped work by holding staff meetings stretched over several days in situations where they were not allowed to strike legally. In Germany, striking is only allowed under very limited conditions. Workers cannot call a strike, only trade unions can. But there is a hole in the law when it comes to staff meetings: it states nothing about their admissible length. Thus, the six day wildcat strike at Opel in Bochum in October 2004 was officially called an ‘information event’, and instead of working, 2000 workers at the multinational Alstom in Mannheim talked about planned redundancies for five whole days in April 2005.

For a long time it looked as if workers in Germany were willing to put up with anything but in the last few years there have been a few strikes against redundancies and further deterioration of working conditions: at Gate Gourmet at Duesseldorf airport, at AEG Nuremberg (a household appliance manufacturer), at the machine factory CNH, at the Bosch-Siemens household appliance factory in Berlin, in the civil service and currently at Deutsche Bahn, where train drivers are demanding a 31% wage rise. So far struggles have remained isolated and have not condensed into a strike wave. There are autonomous approaches in the struggles, but until now the negotiating logic of unions has dominated and the material results are no reason to celebrate. But in the individual struggles one can sense the intention to start developing a workers' power again, going beyond the usual strike rituals of the union buraucracy, which are not supposed to hurt anyone and never do. New forms of action such as blockades were tried out and there have been attempts to overcome the isolation of single sites: the Gate Gourmet workers from Duesseldorf and London visited each other and the Bosch-Siemens workers were allied with Siemens workers from other cities on their ‘solidarity march’. As the unions don't usually support such attempts it was necessary to work with support groups on the left. At the beginning of the occupation only few workers at Bike Systems in Nordhausen were organised in Germany's largest metal workers' union IG Metall (IGM). IGM supports the occupation. But at the same time the workers are working together with the small anarcho-syndicalist union FAU on the 'Aktion Strike Bike'.

Strike Bike: a little bit of self-management and a lot of publicity

The unusual news that a factory was occupied in the middle of Germany prompted some leftists to travel to Nordhausen. They talked about of past times and far away countries: the occupation of the watch factory LIP 1973 in Besançon (France); the takeovers of factories in Argentina since 2001. Some proposed to do the same thing: not to wait for an investor but to start production again under self-management. But the workers were sceptical – for good reasons. After all, this is not about a small bicycle workshop, but about 124 workers and a factory that acts on the global market. Individual components come from China and other Asian countries. Final assembly in Europe can pay off, as transport for finished bicycles is more expensive, but the profit margin is small. It is also not clear what kind of buying conditions the workers as self-managed production unit would be able to negotiate. They are too small when compared to multinationals and too big for a self-managed niche production. It would be hard to start out with the occupied factory almost empty. The workers have calculated that they would need 7 million euros as seed capital in order to be able to take up production again. All in all these aren't good conditions for an experiment in self-management – but some occupiers started to like the notion. When the FAU offered to support distribution, the idea of producing a ‘worker-solidarity-bicycle’ in a limited edition was born.

The Strike Bike is a simple, solid bicycle costing 275 euros. So as to be able to buy the material at an appropriate price at least 1,800 bicycles have to be made and the customers have to pay in advance. The workers announced their plan on the 21st of September. FAU started a website and mobilised all its contacts: the workers themselves and other leftists distributed the idea and order forms. The Strike Bike got all sorts of different circles excited. During the first few days there was still some scepticism whether so many pre-orders could be got together. But more and more orders arrived everyday from all parts of Germany and numerous other countries. The necessary number was outdone. The Strike Bike is already sold out, the material for 2000 bikes has been ordered. Production will start on the 23rd of October.

The occupation has been going for three months now. The workers with their Aktion Strike Bike want to refute Lone Star's statement that the factory ‘cannot be rehabilitated’. But they are also showing that self-managed industrial production is possible, not only in Argentina. For the future they are hoping for an investor. Apparently there are several interested parties. If it is not possible to continue production at all or not soon enough they demand a political solution. There are currently negotiations with LEG Thuringia about an Auffanggesellschaft (see above).

The conflict has taken on new dynamics because of the announcement of self-managed production. Before then, mostly local and left media had reported on the occupation. But now the Strike Bike is featured in the middle-class press and on several TV channels. This publicity will help the workers with demands to the state. Whatever will be the outcome of this action – through it the workers have already shown that resistance is possible. They have not let themselves be pushed into unemployment without a redundancy plan by the usual logic that the company is indebted and there is no more money. They have not complained and appealed, they acted. If their example is taken on, some financial investors might think twice about buying companies for asset-stripping.

Workers Solidarity Cologne

INFO

There are two films on the occupation of Bike Systems on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxBmxViFcAI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1HfKffHcEThe website for Strike Bike (multilingual):

http://www.strike-bike.de

Information in German:

http://www.labournet.de/branchen/sonstige/fahrzeug...

Contact for the occupiers:fahrradwerk@gmx.de

FOOTNOTES

[1] An arrangement made by the work council and the employee for compensation or lessening of economic disadvantages for the employee resulting from planned company changes. (translator's note)

[2] A company formed by an insolvent business as part of the Sozialplan to help workers into another job through training and/or employment schemes; basically it's a state-funded 'soft landing' into unemployment. (translator's note)

How Long will the 'Bureaucratic Course' Last?

Impressions from the occupied factory hall in Nordhausen

The news was posted on LaborNet at the end of July: a bicycle factory has been occupied in Nordhausen (Thüringen, east of Germany). Of their own accord the entire permanent work-force (125 workers) organise the day-and-night occupation of their company, which is threatened with immediate closure. They want to fight against being dismissed without a Sozialplan (a contract normally negotiated by the union: e.g. dismissed workers get severance pay or a guaranteed one year employment in a qualification scheme). The news on LaborNet already had links to seven newspaper articles which report on the dedication of the workers to act against the plans of their profit-hungry (still) employer. They will stay together like a family, if necessary till Christmas. "Wow", we thought and started our first trip to the factory at the beginning of August.The plant is easy to find: We only have to turn into Freiherr-von-Stein Street when we hear the honking of passing cars and the whistles of the occupiers. They stand or sit around on the pavement, they have attached banners at the fence. Warm welcome, good atmosphere, several people immediately come to say hello to us, offer cake and coffee ("the cake has been offered to us as an act of solidarity by a collective from Hamburg").Until recently there have been three different bike factories in the region: the Mitteldeutsche Fahrradwerke (Mifa) in Sagerhausen (422 workers), the Sachsen Zweirad in Neukirch (240 workers) and the very same Bike Systems in Nordhausen. In 2000 Bike Systems was threatened with bankruptcy for the first time. Back then the BIRIA Sachsen bought the company and integrated it in close cooperation with its plant Sachsen Zweirad in Neukirch. The purchasing department, service department and the dispatch were re-located from Nordhausen and over two-thirds of the former 400 workers disappeared. Only the production department and its 125 workers remained. "At that point the hiring of temp workers started", a Bike Systems worker tells us. During the main season between January and June up to 160 temp workers hired by Mifa have been employed in Nordhausen. In December 2005 the plants in Neukirch and Nordhausen were taken over by the US investor Lone Star. One year after the take.over the Sachsen Zweirad factory in Neukirch was closed and all 240 employees were dismissed with a Sozialplan (see above). The severance pay was 21 euros per one year of employment with the company (after 20 years you get only 420 euros!). Lone Star sold the bike orders of Sachsen Zweirad for a 25 per cent company share to Mifa which up to that point had been the main competitor of Bike Systems. During the last months Bike Systems had no clients of its own any more, they only produced for orders from Mifa. The workers received a reduced basic wage, they worked at weekends and on bank holidays and their holiday and Christmas pay was cut completely.On the 20th of June 2007 a shock hit the remaining 125 workers: despite all the concessions made by the workers Lone Star will close the plant in Nordhausen as well. Production was supposed to run for another ten days, in order to finish the final orders, after that negotiations over a Sozialplan would start. Till 30th of June the workers assembled the last bikes, then they themselves dismantled the assembly lines and emptied the storage halls - expecting an acceptable Sozialplan. They did not wake up to reality before 10th of July, when it became clear that Lone Star will neither offer severance pay nor stick to the legal notice period for dismissals."For years we accepted any deterioration and now all 125 people occupy the factory together. The idea came up on a company assembly and everyone thought that it was good." The occupation was formally declared as a permanent company assembly (works council members have the legal right to call for such assemblies) - initially until the 30th of August.Immediately after the company closure became known the main Mifa manager came to the plant and tried to head-hunt 60 to 90 people: he offered permanent contracts and the same wages as at Bike Systems. But only three people took the offer and thereby lost their claims concerning Lone Star. At Mifa workers earn even less, they work 40 instead of 38 hours like at Bike Systems and they get 24 days annual holiday instead of 30. If you add the travel expenses to Dangerhausen you will be better off receiving unemployment benefit than working. In addition the working conditions are said to be bad, the plant is very old, people are not allowed to talk at work and all attempts to form a works council have been blocked by firing the workers involved.A worker shows us the factory. The halls are empty, the storage halls for material are empty, dismantled machines and tools are stashed in boxes. A few bikes are put away in a corner. "They will be fetched soonish, they all belong to Mifa anyway." Most of the workers only unwillingly remember the proposal made by various lefties to produce bikes under self-management: such ideas do not meet their interests and possibilities - at least if the proposal of self-managed production is put forward as a long term solution. We say that even if they wanted, under the given circumstance they would not be able to continue the production: "That's right, we would not be able. There is no material left here." The Mifa has taken away all material and some machine parts and after consulting a lawyer the workers decided not to obstruct the looting."Bloody hell, so you really let them rip you off!" He agrees: "Yes, we are with our asses against the wall. We cannot go on strike anymore, so we had no other choice, but to occupy the plant. We have got nothing to lose anymore. But we stick together like a family." The relations amongst the workers are actually very warmhearted. They all agree on what they are doing, they all know the score and feel a great urge to communicate it to others.The workers say that they have a very able lawyer and that he is trusted by everyone. "He has already represented us in the negotiations during the bankruptcy." It was Mr. Metz, as well, who elaborated the claims concerning Lone Star: set up a Sozialplan, created a so-called Auffanggesellschaft (employment scheme for dismissed workers) and examined the possibilities to save jobs.In cooperation with the work council Mr. Metz assesses the legality of proposed actions. Any actions which 'would get us into trouble' are avoided and all the other actions are registered with the police and the respective administrations. The workers are grateful that someone does this job. You cannot keep an eye on the general situation if you are on the street and on demonstrations the whole time while negotiations take place inside. Someone has to do this. "We are workers. We don't have a clue about what we can do legally. At least most of us don't..."The metalworkers union IGM is present, but hardly visible. The whole premises are decorated with self-made banners and cardboard signs. Here and there you can see an IGM sticker, but there is no obvious evidence of union activities. Only about a third of the work-force is in the union.The most important target is the public now. Several actions aim at public relations and opinion: a visit to the Landtag (state parliament), a party for children, a concert on the premises, a collective blood donation at the Red Cross ("Before Lone Star sucks out our last drop of blood we’d rather donate it"), a stall at the town festival, a town round-trip in a historic tram, leaflets, ... other actions are supposed to follow. Workers tell us that RTL (private TV channel) filmed at the factory, but it was not broadcast. First of all the workers in Nordhausen want to get the attention of politicians and potential new investors. The workers are angry about the fact that so far verbal addresses of solidarity were the maximum reaction of politicians. "We want that finally someone takes some money into their hands and does something with it". Or that we at least get a proper severance pay and a Transfergesellschaft (transitional employment company)."When we left after some hours we are impressed by the enthusiasm, the good mood and the openness of the occupying workers. But we were unimpressed by their unreflected trust in regional politicians and the impact of the media and by their fear or hesitation to develop their own activities and to leave the path of mere friendly and legal public relations.Two weeks later we went to Nordhausen again. In the meantime Mr. Müller had issued the bankruptcy declaration. For the workers this means that they get up to three months bankruptcy compensation payment (Insolvenzausfallgeld?), then they get the sack by 1st of November 2007 at the latest. The company assets available in case of the companies' wind up were increased from 830.000 to 1.5 million euros. In addition the company offers transitional employment and qualification schemes til 2008.Despite this the occupation continues. We arrived with the proposal to drive to Sangerhausen (50 km) together with some of the workers, in order to distribute leaflets to the Mifa workers there. Noone showed interest in the proposal and apparently there was no idea of contacting the workers in Sangerhausen. "The whole thing is not their fault."Compared to our last visit the atmosphere had changed completely. No cars beeping, no people gathering in front of the gate. On the factory premises the majority of the very few picketers played cards or darts. Whoever was able to had taken holidays, unfortunately most of our previous acquaintances, as well. The remaining strike shifts are sat out. No one seemed to be interested to talk to us, even those who we had talked to during our last visit. On one hand the few people we talked to said that they were happy to receive the bankruptcy payment now. On the other hand no one made the impression of being at all happy. The drive was entirely gone. The workers said that they are bored, but that they stay on the premises only because the lawyer told them that it would be better from a legal point of view. "I'd rather be inside there and assemble bikes for ten hours a day than hanging out here outside. At least you would have something to do", one worker says. We want to know the reason why they do not leave the plant in order to make their demands known and whether they have any leaflets about the current stage of the conflict. "Nope, we do not have any leaflets". Whether the works council and the lawyer inform them about the negotiation process. "Yes, they keep us informed". What's the score after the negotiation meeting yesterday and what is the current state of negotiations? But noone has exact information. "Somehow everything goes according to the bureaucratic course of things". Alledgedly there is a new offer for a takeover of the company, according to the lawyer the chance that a new investor will buy the company has increased to 35 per cent. One has to wait for further results of negotiation. Whether they have watched the (so far unreleased) documentary on the Bosch-Siemens-Hausgerätewerk (see ppnl no.8) which was made available for them. "I think someone watched it", says a woman and points towards some benches, "I think some people have watched it". Next to the documentary DVD someone has put joining forms of the metal union IGM.When it comes to struggles against company closures the following questions become central: can workers (still) develop any power at all, and what is the basis of this power? What would be success for such struggles? In most cases, like in the case of Nordhausen, it is a struggle for a 'dignified exit'. This 'dignified exist' can be worth fighting for if those people in struggle gain self-confidence and develop solidarity in the course of struggle and if they experiment with and experience their power in a collective process. We had the impression that this did not happen in Nordhausen (so far). During the whole period of occupation the old company hierarchies were left untouched and active (e.g. the shift-manager was responsible for the decision of who was put on which strike shift, there was a hierarchy regarding access to information and regarding decision making). All workers stuck together, no doubt about that - right from the start the struggle was about a common solution. But instead of using the first weeks of occupation in order to discuss about regional and wider networking and about actions to hit Lone Star effectively, the workers relied solely on their legal representatives. At the end they felt as mere pawns in the legal battle amongst lawyers. They felt that they had no impact on the events themselves and that they had handed over the responsibility to others. They were afraid that they might lose the little they were entitled to once they intensified the struggle for a Sozialplan. This fear reduced their scope of action to a mere symbolic level and thereby paralysed them completely.A struggle for severance pay can be interesting, too, once it overcomes old hierarchies and divisions, even if the struggle is only about defining the degree or terms of a defeat. But in order to achieve this the struggle has to be led by the workers themselves. Often (and in the case of Nordhausen, too) the discussion about severance pay - the last thing you can lose - serves the bosses as an emergency brake during negotiations and as a means to immobilise potentially rebellious workers. Though initially the workers in Nordhausen made a very determined impression, it seems that this mechanism worked out in their case, too.Update One:Three weeks after our last visit, on the 6th of September about 80 workers went to Frankfurt/Main in buses organised by the IGM metal union. There they protested in front of the Lone Star head-quarters, fitted out by the IGM and accompanied by many supporters from, amongst others, Nordhausen, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Göttingen. They demanded the withdrawal of the bankruptcy decree and the continuation of production. Meanwhile the workers in Nordhausen had to apply for unemployment benefit ALG I, because - unlike what they had hoped for - the bankruptcy compensation money was not paid immediately after their last proper wage. For a few weeks at least this will mean a significant deterioration of their financial situation for all workers. The demonstration in Frankfurt is the first initiative taken by the workers to tackle the company directly in order to put pressure on it. During a meeting in Hamburg two Bike System workers gave following interesting information: the temp workers at Mifa earn only 5.77 euros before tax hourly wages. These workers are the majority at Mifa. They gave following reason for why parts are manufactured in China, but assembled here: despite higher labour costs assembling bikes here is still 20 euros cheaper than transporting fully assembled bikes from China to Germany. 20 euros is not much, so they see only little space for putting pressure on the employers...The struggle in Nordhausen is not finished yet.Update Two: 19th of September in 2007:Staff of occupied bicycle factory in the Thuringian Nordhausen take up production in self-management again. For this aim 1,800 binding orders on bicycles must be received till 2nd of October. So the collegues are working together with the anarcho-syndicalist union FAU (Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union – Free Workers-Union), which produced for this campaign the internetpage www.strike-bike.de.\

Wildcat

SOME QUESTIONS for further discussion[Mute]

The occupation has sparked a vigorous debate among German workers and leftists on Nordhausen in particular and self-management in general. Mute would welcome further comments (post at the end of the article) regarding the following or any other aspects of the strike:

– Practical details. What happened to make it possible to start production with only €275 x 1,800 (i.e. €495,000), rather than the €7 million originally calculated to be necessary?

– New developments. Has there been any reaction from Lone Star since the failed attempt to evict? For example, might the company try to claim part of the proceeds from orders as rent on 'its' site and machinery? In general, has the private equity owner shown signs of being worried about a threat to its asset-stripping plans?

– Have the workers shown any more interest in talking to those at Mifa? Is there any sign of interest or support there or elsewhere in local industry?

– Has the plan for self-management had an effect on what Wildcat described as weakening morale at an earlier stage?

– Will 'the old company management hierarchies' still be in place in self-managed production? Does the FAU have any role in decision-making?

– Has IGM sought to become more involved? What are workers' attitudes to this?

– Are there concrete plans regarding the length of the action: do 'reserve orders' imply a second production series? Will the occupation continue if production is stopped?

– What is the 'political solution' to be pursued if production fails: what are the 'demands to the state', and how will they be made?

– If an investor is found and ongoing production is attempted, should the action still be regarded as a strike? Have workers imposed particular conditions on potential investors?