In early April, several hundred people gathered for a long weekend in San Francisco to follow up on the work that was begun at AR last summer. The conference organizers' goal was to discuss concrete plans and projects that could be undertaken in the Bay Area region. At AR there had been a lot of ideas for projects (like NBN) that grew out of discussion groups, but the organizational obstacles presented by thousands of miles between members prevented many from bearing fruit. So by trying to recreate the spirit of AR at a local conference we were learning from our mistakes, which is good. After all, the main problem faced by anarchists and the like is a chronic inability to hold on to gains that we make--The mass movements of the '30s and '70s are primarily fond memories, as the offspring of the flower children smoke cigars, play golf and withdraw into cynical hedonism. I don't mean to discredit those who have gone before us, but clearly we have been losing ground.
A major focus of BCR was maintaining momentum from AR, the largest North American gathering of anarchists in almost a decade, and it seems that we did pretty well: Members of numerous groups and factions and ideological strains got along pretty well for the most part, and big circular discussions of theory were mostly exceptions, rather than the rule. The facilitators did a fantastic job of keeping general assemblies of over a hundred moving, and the smaller group meetings were generally productive. There were conflicts of course, but fewer than I would expect from that many freaks in one place. The conference successfully brought together a large and unruly group with diverse interests, and provided many with opportunities to compare notes and plan future collaboration.
One feature of the conference was the caucuses, which were modeled after the "Core" sessions of AR. One such caucus was hosted by the Network of Bay Area Worker Collectives (NoBAWC). We had a group of twenty people including representatives from a number of co-ops, some of which have not previously been active in NoBAWC. The discussion started with a general talk about issues faced by various groups. Most interesting was the situation of BookPeople, a book wholesaler: While they are worker-owned, the owners are nearly powerless, and some have begun a campaign to unionize.
Then we had a more structured discussion of what co-ops can do to re-create a movement. We looked at the question of whether to create an association of co-ops, and what form that could take. We also discussed projects that can be undertaken with or without a second-level cooperative--setting up a fund for starting new co-ops, buying some land to serve as a retreat center for workers who need a break and as a potential source of food, and a regular local newsletter. Finally NoBAWC invited all in attendance to come to one of the regular meetings.
Since the conference things have really taken off. NoBAWC meetings are now much larger than before the conference, the agendas are full, and decisions are being made on a regular basis: Within a month there will be a 10% reciprocal discount for members of participating co-ops. Also in the planning stages is a website, to be located at www.nobawc.thecoop.org. And finally, some co-ops may participate in an alternative currency called BREAD. After years of NoBAWC being as much a social as a political group, there is an activist wind blowing. For the Bay Area's cooperatives, Building a Community of Resistance is living up to its name.
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