Anarcho-syndicalism

The black cat used by the Industrial Workers of the World — a major syndicalist formation — as a symbol for sabotage.

Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist strand of thought and modus operandi of revolutionary organizing in which emphasis is placed on the formation of radical trade unions and other syndicates to represent the workers. Anarcho-syndicalists seek the building of unions to both advocate immediate demands and to eventually achieve social revolution by means of a general strike.

Application

Anarcho-syndicalism, like all other anarchist tendencies, has rarely seen application to real-world revolutionary struggle. The most notable anarcho-syndicalist experiment was in Revolutionary Catalonia between 21 July 1936 to 8 May 1937 which emerged in the course of the Spanish Civil War. This entity was promptly defeated by Francoist forces due to the anarchists' self-imposed lack of organization.

Anarcho-syndicalist organizations

• Industrial Workers of the World
• Confederación General del Trabajo
• Free Workers' Union
• Workers' Initiative

See also

• Anarcho-communism