Concept of the FAU Magdeburg

It could be so easy, productivity increases more and more, less work is really needed to guarantee a humane life for all. But instead we accumulate more stress, either we are burned out at work, drilled at school or university for survival, or we are harassed by authority. The lives of most people are set by fear – fear to lose their jobs, to be alone, to lose contact.

We are a group of people in different living situations (from job apprentice and student to unemployed and Full-Time-Worker). What unites us is our wage dependency, which means that we all have to sell our work to the market so we can at least afford our rent and fill our fridge.

We have unionized into the local group of the FAU (Free Workers Union),

because we are certain that the existing unreasonable as well as inhumane system needs organized resistance.

We are of the opinion that political free time activities, isolated fights against racism, sexism and the exploitation of our planet aren’t enough if we want to question today’s hierarchical structures.
The FAU therefore tries to organize a resistance and to fight for change where we ourselves are the most affected: at work, in the face of authorities, at university, in school or in our environment in the city district.

In contrast to the DGB- Unions we don’t consider ourselves obligated to social partnership,

which promotes an amicable agreement between employer and worker. We are entirely on the side of the wage dependent and will fight for their interests – the original goal of unions.

The FAU is an anarcho-syndicalist union – without officials and wads of cash and instead with the goal of overcoming capitalism and with it all forms of exploitation and discrimination.

Because of that, solidarity is a central element of how we see ourselves.

With us no one is left alone. We fight together and support each other. Members decide for themselves what they fight for and how they achieve their goals. That is not only more efficient and flexible than the substitution policy of DGB- Unions, but also promotes the ability of social emancipation.
You can only learn from fights you fought yourself.

A Union should offer the platform for social fights at all areas. Organizing at the workplace is only one aspect of union work for us. We have to take into account gender-equality and environmental issues too, if we want to attack evil at its base and question current authorities and property circumstances. Only a Union of that kind will be able to organize a class struggle from the bottom up.

Our work includes questions of Social and employment law to support one another in struggles with the employers or the officials in charge. Finally, we want to fight the battles at our workplaces or at the authority office together with our co-workers and acquaintances.

In order to be able to understand struggles, also on a global level , we want to have a continuous and goal-oriented theoretical debate and want to organize public discussion and Information events, and also readings or concerts.

For all our activities we want to use our contact to our comrades in other local groups or syndicates of the FAU as well as our international comrades in the international confederation of labor ( ICL).

That is a not exactly small goal when compared to the size of our union. To make this goal happen we need as many comrades as possible. Maybe you can support us?

Don’t be afraid- we are not and neither do we need political professionals or revolutionaries. And not everyone hast to take part in everything that we do. We are aware that most people have limited time to do so. Even just paying your contribution helps already.

So if you

  • have problems at work, with the authorities or want support others with their struggles
  • want to think critically about the current work conditions
  • are interested in the History of libertarian workers movement

then you are just right for us.