• Where does the future of the auto industry lie? In job cuts, plant closures, or a shift to arms production? Or in a shift from producing private vehicles to public transportation? With the “Action Newspaper for a Transportation Industry with a Future,” we want to kick off the discussion on this topic. The “Action Newspaper” is published irregularly, but always in connection with major moments of mobilization surrounding the transportation industry: days of action, demonstrations, rallies, strikes…
  • Action Newspaper – “For Industrial Jobs with a Future and Without Arms” – Issue No. 4 for the Fall Campaign is still available for order and is now also available for download at New
  • “The Fall of Attacks” (working title): Action Newspaper for an Industry with a Future, No. 4, will be printed on September 14—please pre-order now . “Dear
    Colleagues, This fall,
    one thing is following another in rapid succession: The federal government’s attacks on the healthcare system, the basic pension, the old-age pension, working hours, wages, and collective bargaining agreements are accompanied by massive job cuts,     especially in the automotive industry, including suppliers: There is talk of more than 100,000 job cuts this year alone, following 144,000 last year—but the cutback plans extend well into the 2030s.
    At the same time, a series of collective bargaining negotiations is coming up in sectors with strong bargaining power: ports, the metal and electrical industries, Volkswagen, and the steel industry—and employees at Charité Hospital will not simply accept the termination of their relief collective bargaining agreement without a fight.
    The push to convert production facilities into defense plants has gained momentum, especially among suppliers. The energy transition is falling victim to increasing militarization and budget cuts.
    Last year, in three issues of the “Aktionszeitung – for a transportation industry with a future,” we wrote against this trend and explained why the transformation of our industry toward ecologically sustainable production would not only significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions but could also secure jobs on a massive scale. At that time, we made this case for the transportation industry. In the meantime, the same can be said for sectors such as the energy sector and the chemical industry, among others. Added to this are job cuts resulting from social spending cuts.
    The editorial team of the “Aktionszeitung” therefore met in August and is planning a fourth issue of the publication. Naturally, it must respond to the changed situation and cannot focus solely on the transportation industry. We are therefore changing the subtitle to: “For an Industry with a Future”—because our goal is to preserve these locations through adapted production.
    And, of course, we will cover the protests that have already taken place throughout the summer and will only increase in the fall.
    Several nationwide action dates are coming up soon: the DGB rallies on September 26, the student strikes against conscription on September 25, and the peace movement demonstrations on October 3. But hopefully that won’t be all—in any case, our colleagues in parts of the auto industry are already really stepping up the pressure.
    We are therefore designing this action newsletter so that it can be distributed throughout the fall. We reaffirm the view that social cuts and military buildup are two sides of the same coin. We’re giving a voice to colleagues from various workplaces, sharing their plans and suggestions for what must be done to stop these attacks. An initial statement from the Mercedes plant in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim summed it up perfectly: “A general mobilization is needed to counter a general attack.” (…)
    The connection between the ability of militant coworkers to mount a determined resistance—combined with concrete alternatives—and the fight against the continued rise of the AfD is obvious—this,     too, will be addressed in the newspaper. And we want to recall some of the successful struggles over working hours and social security.
    Action Newspaper No. 4 will again be 4 pages long. It will be printed on September 14 and delivered the following day, so that it will definitely be available in time for the IGM’s Auto Action Day on September 21 and the social protests on September 26.
    The terms are the usual ones: You pay only postage and shipping.
    However, we also ask for donations, as it is uncertain how much of the costs will actually be covered by the grant applications we’ve submitted to various foundations.
    We (…) ask that you place your orders promptly so that we can determine the print run…”
  • Campaign Newspaper No. 3: “For a Transportation Industry with a Future” Now Online and Available
    for Order     . From the Contents:
    – “Disarm Rheinmetall” kicks things off with a call to sabotage the war economy (p. 1).
    – Jürgen Bönig explains how the militarization of infrastructure fuels climate change (p. 2).
    – GKN is a flagship example of conversion projects. Kathy Ziegler attended the GKN Literature Festival in Florence (p. 3).
    – Stephan Krull comments on Trump’s tariff policy: “Neither free trade nor protectionism” is his motto (p. 4).
    – Examples of resistance—including successful ones—include Conti, Bosch, Boge, Troisdorf, and Frankfurt am Main. Robin Wood joins the effort with an action outside the VW plant in Osnabrück.
    See the Action Newspaper No. 3 externer Link on their website externer Link —where you’ll find all the information on how to order—against war and militarization, against the transformation of the auto industry into arms manufacturers, for trams instead of tanks, for securing jobs through a shift toward sustainable public transportation …
  • Trams Instead of Tanks: Life or Death—What Are We Working For? “Action Newspaper—For a Transportation Industry with a Future”: Issue 2 Available Online “We
    stand at a crossroads: Are we heading toward a war economy, which will inevitably lead to war that will then affect us as well? Or will we manage to turn our backs on the madness of trade wars, militarization, and climate catastrophe, and resolutely move toward a socially and environmentally sustainable economy by any means necessary?...“ Editorial from the Action Newspaper No. 2; also featured in this issue: Work Less and a Good Life for All; Waggonbau Görlitz Must Stay; Learning from history: The works meeting—a place of resistance; GKN strike in Zwickau in 2023: Could activists have made a difference?; At Tesla in Grünheide: Resistance in the production hell… Download the 2nd issue from their website externer Link